Saturday, August 09, 2008
Local children may dream of being the next best NASCAR driver, and soon they may be able to take their first steps toward their goal with the Pennyrile Soap Box Derby Association, even before attaining a driver’s license.
The club, formed in December, hosted a presentation Friday morning at the Madisonville Chamber of Commerce to kick off its campaign to host an All-American Soap Box Derby race on June 6 in town.
“If things go well we’re going to be looking at a fall race in 2009 and a spring race in 2010,” association president Bill Farrell said.
There are two different types of races in soap box derby racing — local races with winners moving on to the world championships and rallies, in which racers accumulate points throughout a season in order to advance.
A rally race could draw participants from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee, thus pumping a lot of money into the community, Farrell said.
“They’re going to have to rent hotel rooms,” he continued. “They’re going to have to buy food. They’re going to go to the mall, they’re going to go to Wal-Mart. They’re going to spend money in our community and that’s what we want.”
Next June’s race will be a local race, and subsequent races would qualify as rally races, vice-president Brien Terry said.
Winners will advance to the 72nd annual World Championships, which are held in Akron, Ohio.
To send drivers to Akron the club will have to raise at least $800 for each child who advances to help offset the travel expenses.
Farrell said he hopes to raise money through local sponsorships.
Once in Akron, the real fun begins for the racers.
“When they get to Akron they’re treated like kings and queens for a week,” assistant regional director Doug Froedge said. “They’re escorted down one of the main streets with sirens and police escorts. Once you become a local champion, they really go all out.”
Each man representing the club reiterated the sport is not dominated by boys like one may think. In fact, girls have an advantage because they are more flexible and with their smaller size the team has a better idea how to distribute weight throughout the car.
Terry said the concept is reinforced when attending the championships with its vast amount of children from both genders.
“There’s a restaurant in Ohio that they have a room set aside — it’s called the Derby Room,” he said. “When you go in there it’s got pictures of all the kids from Akron that have won at the worlds. It’s got more pictures of girls on the walls than boys.”
Farrell described the typical car as, “a gravity-fed, hand-built car that will average about 30 miles an hour.”
For the association’s first race in Madisonville next June, they will race two classes, stock and super stock.
Stock division racers are ages 8-13 and are usually smaller than 5-foot-3’’ and 125 pounds while super stock is designed for children 10-17 and up to 150 pounds and six feet tall.
The association hopes to add the masters division, which incorporates a lay-down design, by the following year.
During a race, drivers will have two runs down the course. After the first run each driver will swap wheels and lanes to ensure fairness. The winner is determined by the difference in finish times over both races.
Pennyrile hopes to have 15 participants in each division for its inaugural race and continue to grow in subsequent years.
Currently, Madisonville’s first race is scheduled to take place at Industrial Drive, but the organizers said they would like to hold the event downtown on Main Street if possible.
While the race itself is a one-person sport for the driver, the process is a team-event.
“The biggest thing about soap box derby racing is it’s family-oriented,” Froedge said. “I’ve spent hundreds of miles with my nephews and sister out on the road, soap box derby racing.”
Farrell agreed and said the association’s goal is to promote family bonding.
“Akron likes for these cars to be 85 percent child built,” he said. “They want interaction, family and child.”
Cars can be purchased through All-American Soap Box Derby Association or locally through Pennyrile for same price. Car kits cost $300 and include a helmet, however wheels cost an additional $90.
Each car typically takes four to six hours to assemble and the club will begin hosting workshops in January to answer questions and assist those building cars.
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