After a week that saw everything from a demolition derby to a country music star, the 164th Cass County Fair ended with a bang — or rather, several bangs.

Thousands of guests watched the fair’s grandstand finale as six 12-foot tall pickup trucks with 66-inch tires raced off dirt ramps into the air, before coming down to obliterate cars, trucks and whatever else was beneath them.

Saturday night was monster trucks night, and between the roar of the crowd and the roar of the truck engines, everyone at the fair knew it.

The fun began at noon when spectators were allowed to hop inside a real monster truck and ride around the track at the Cass County Fairgrounds Grandstand.

“At first, they don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” said Austin Edig, the driver of “Shredder,” the truck spectators got to ride in.

“When they get off, they have the biggest smiles on their faces,” he said.

Six people could fit in the back of his truck at $5 per person. Edig said that he had riders as young as 2 1/2 years old, and as old as 74 years old.

“I think (the 74-year-old) had the most fun,” he said.

Edig gave rides until 7 p.m., which is when the real show began. The grandstand was filled with spectators, and the drivers were ready. They made their way onto the track to a thunderous roar from the crowd, each introduced individually.

The first order of business of the night was a wheelie contest. One by one, trucks took the course, flying high off the dirt ramps, each competing to be the crowd favorite. The higher and louder the truck, the happier and louder the crowd.

The crowd was hooked from the first truck, but no truck came close to matching the power of “Predator,” driven by Allen Pezo. As soon he took the track, the crowd was captivated.

Predator was fast, Predator was big and Predator flew high.

Predator flew so high, in fact, that after landing flat on the ground from the highest jump the crowd had seen so far, the right front side of the body of the truck snapped and a hydraulic hose broke. Despite the damage, Predator won the award, measured by crowd applause, for best wheelie.

Pezo drove off the course back to his trailer, and with the help of several officials, started hurriedly fixing the issues with his truck.

Adding to the pressure and the time constraints was the fact that Predator was not the only truck that Pezo was driving Saturday night. After working on fixing the issues with the body and the hose, Pezo had to sprint back onto the track and into “Prowler,” where he would compete for a few minutes, hop out of Prowler and sprint back to Predator to continue fixing it.

In the meantime, the other five trucks began the drag racing portion of the event. Two trucks would pull up to a designated starting point, then with a countdown from the announcer, they would drive as fast as they could straight across the track. Because Predator was still being fixed, Reptoid, driven by Mark Pederson, ran unopposed in the first round.

After the drag racing was the main event: the monster truck freestyle portion. Each truck had several minutes to drive the track individually, getting as much air as possible and causing as much damage to the small cars below them as possible.

First up for freestyle was Prowler. The crowd went wild for its performance, and the truck was driven back to the starting line, leaning slightly to its right with an apparent suspension issue.

Incinerator also performed well but suffered damage, having to exit the track with a rear steering issue.

Following Incinerator was American Outlaw, which landed hard and caught fire briefly, driver Dalton Van Skyock escaping unharmed. American Outlaw had to be towed off of the track.

“The engine blew,” Van Skyock said. He said that two rods shot out in different directions, causing an estimated $15,000 worth of damage.

Ballistic and Reptoid followed, the latter getting an exceptional reception from the crowd, and neither suffering any major damage during the freestyle run.

Then, all of the sudden, the roar of an engine erupted from behind the trailers in the pit. Out came Allen Pezo in Predator, sporting a new hydraulic hose and a body repair.

The crowd came out of their seats.

As Predator took the track, it was clear from the beginning who would win the freestyle round. Predator flew high into the air, and the crowd only got louder. After the freestyle round ended, Predator was crowned the winner.

“These trucks are ten feet tall and bulletproof,” said announcer Phil Reynolds, “But they are very, very sensitive.” He said that damage to the trucks is not uncommon due to the nature of the sport. Reynolds said that riders meticulously check their trucks before the events, but that issues are unpredictable.

Despite the issues that the trucks endured, the noise and enthusiasm of the crowd confirmed their support of the send-off that the Monster Truck event gave the 164th Cass County Fair.