Soap Box Derby

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"Bee Maja" at the 1st "Fasnetskistenrennen" on March 1st, 2003 in Germany

An official Soap Box Derby racer from 1967

Senior Seifenkiste - Deutsches Seifenkisten Derby e.V. - soap box car from Germany

The Soap Box Derby also called coaster car race[1] is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run nationally since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio. Cars competing in this and related events are unpowered, relying completely upon gravity to move.

The first All-American race was held in Dayton on August 19, 1934, after an idea by Myron Scott, a photographer for the Dayton Daily News. The following year, the race was moved to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain. In 1936, Akron civic leaders recognized the need for a permanent track site for the youth racing classic and, through the efforts of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Derby Downs became a reality.

Using standardized wheels with precision ball bearings modern gravity-powered racers start at a ramp on top of a hill, attaining speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Rally races and qualifying races in cities around the world use advanced timing systems that measure the time difference between the competing cars to the thousandth of a second to determine the winner of a heat. Each heat of a race lasts less than 30 seconds. Most races are double elimination races where a racer that loses a heat can work their way through the Challenger's Bracket in an attempt to win the overall race. The annual World Championship race in Akron, however, is a single elimination race which uses overhead photography, triggered by a timing system, to determine the winner of each heat. Approximately 500 racers compete in 2 or 3 car heats to determine a World Champion in each of six divisions.

During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, when Chevrolet was a sponsor and famous TV and movie stars made guest appearances, as many as 70,000 people would gather in August to eat snow cones and cheer hundreds of youthful racer/builders (boys only in early years) ages 11-15 who were the champions of local races around the nation and from several foreign countries.

During the 1970s and 1980s the purity of child-built cars and amateur racing lost its lustre due to overeager adults and civic boosters who hired professionals to build or rebuild cars, or worse, installed electromagnets and other illegal devices to derive an unfair advantage. Chevrolet eventually dropped their sponsorship.

Today there are broader categories that extend the age range to younger racers and permit adults to assist in construction. This is especially helpful for younger children who cannot use power tools, as well as to provide an outlet for adults.

[edit] Scandals

In 1973, 14 year old Jimmy Gronen of Boulder, CO was stripped of his title two days after winning the national race. X-ray examination of his car revealed an electromagnet in the nose. When activated at the starting line, the magnet would pull the car forward by attracting it to the steel paddle used to start the race. The boy's uncle and legal guardian at the time, wealthy engineer Robert Lange, was indicted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
In 2003, 13 year old Wilton Blakely of Huntersville, NC was stripped of his title shortly after winning the national race. Examination of his car revealed the rear axle kingpin was held in place by adhesive, and a steel bearing had been added to the steering assembly.