Cory Harbach, from Delhi Iowa, is a busy guy. He likes to do a whole lot of stuff and packs in every hour of his day with a variety of things.

How long have you been at Runde’s?
I’ve been in this location for seven years now. I started as a technician, then I was the service manager, now I’m in sales.

Do you have any experiences that stick out in your mind from all the years you worked?

Yes, actually… when I was the service manager I had a person come in saying that her car could fly and that it was broken because it couldn’t fly anymore. She said when she pushed a button on the dash, wings would come out and the car would fly. She said that it even said it in the owners manual. So we tried our best to understand where she was coming from and after investigating the owners manual with her, we found the section on “hydroplaning” so we told her what hydroplaning was and she was good to go.

What do you do around the area?
Shoot pool. I go to Strokers Pub in Manchester usually.  I also do Demo Derby’s.

Demolition Derby’s? You participate in them?
Oh yeah.

How long have you been crashing, smashing and demolishing cars?
I’ve been doing Demo’s for about seven or eight years.

How long does it take to make your car ready for the derby?
It takes a long time to get a car ready as in … lots… and lots of hours.

(Cory gets on his computer and shows me the car to the right)
Woah, that’s a really nice car! You WRECK that!?
That one is a ‘77 Hornet, everyone says it’s a nice car ha. I took that one to the drag strip to pick up my buddy and had this one on a trailer to go demo it and a lady working there, she’s from the south, said “yall comin’ in for some fuel” I had to tell her “No hunny I’m not going in for some fuel, I’m gonna wreck this one.

Nice Runde’s sticker, way to represent.
Oh yeah, I gotta bring some love to Runde’s.

How many Cars have you gone through?
(starts counting…) Eight of em.

Do you have your own body shop?
My dad and I have a shop at his house. My dad and I have been gearheads since I was born. I had my first Honda 50 when I was five and could change the oil in it when I was six.

Ever get any injuries?
Nah, not really. You build in your own safety. There’s bars and other things that you can put in for safety but you don’t have to. If you do, though, it adds strength to the car.

Demolitions go until there is only one car standing, right?
Yep. You keep going until all the other cars can no longer move.

Going to any more this year?
No, I think I’m actually done for the year. It was a pretty horrible year this year. No trophy’s no money.

How many kids do you have?
Two, one’s 11 and the other is 4… oh excuse me, the other is 5 now – they grow quick.

Do they like to go out and watch you Demo?
Oh yeah. They also like to ride dirt bikes, motorcycles, four-wheelers… and all that fun stuff.

They also like sports – the fact that they link sports means that I get to coach those sports.

Are you like your father with your kids – always tinkering with cars and mechanics?
Yep. My daughter can ride a motorcycle and she’s only five. I love to take them out to play.

What do  you and your family do when you’re all together?
We all like to get out and ride our four-wheelers and all those other toys.

Do you do any tricks on your bikes or four-wheelers?
No no, I’m too old to try that stuff anymore. Stuff that I used to do as a kid just flat out hurts now.

You said that you play pool, you play just casually, or…?
I play in league. Usually end up going to state tournaments.

Got a pool table you practice on?
Yep, sitting there in the living room. I’ve been playing pool since I was five, so I had to get one.

Got a favorite movie?
The Usual Suspects.

I love that movie too — I like the part where the guy in the hospital goes: Kaiser Soze … Kaiser Soze … Kaiser Soze .. That’s a cool name Kaiser Sosa — be a good name for my first born if future wifeagrees to it.  I also like the part where the suspects have to read the line on the cop’s cue card when they’re in the original line-up, but I can’t really quote any of that here.   Awesome movie.

What is one invention you can’t live without?
That’s a tough one… I suppose technology… I can live without my cellphone, I can tell you that much. On second thought, I’d have to go with Gasoline. Most of my life revolves around the power it gives.

Why should people come to Runde’s instead of a different dealership?
We are laid back and our customers are our number one concern. That’s the main reason why I agreed to sell cars for Runde’s, because I know that they give the customer the best deal. And it feels good to be honest and fair, especially since most of the people that come here are my friends from Manchester. Some nights I’ll go play pool and talk to my buddies and have them come by the next day to check out a car they are interested in.

If you were to win the lottery what would you do with the money?
I’d buy a house and a bunch of toys.

Not sure how you manage to do all the stuff you do Cory, but thank you for giving me some time for this interview.-