Youth sport with a purpose: 30 kids raced toward potential qualification for the All-American Soap Box Derby at an indoor rally held January 15-16 at Dover

  • Jennifer R. Demuth
  • January 17, 2011
  • 343
Youth sport with a purpose: 30 kids raced toward potential qualification for the All-American Soap Box Derby at an indoor rally held January 15-16 at Dover
Youth sport with a purpose: 30 kids raced toward potential qualification for the All-American Soap Box Derby at an indoor rally held January 15-16 at Dover
Youth sport with a purpose: 30 kids raced toward potential qualification for the All-American Soap Box Derby at an indoor rally held January 15-16 at Dover
Youth sport with a purpose: 30 kids raced toward potential qualification for the All-American Soap Box Derby at an indoor rally held January 15-16 at Dover
                        
About 30 kids participated in the Tuscarawas County Soap Box Derby Association’s indoor rally Saturday-Sunday, January 15-16, to earn qualification points for the greatest amateur racing event in the world. On January 15-16, in the first of three indoor rallies hosted by the Tuscarawas County Soap Box Derby Association, thirty kids raced toward the dream of qualifying for the 74th Annual All-American Soap Box Derby to be held at Akron on Saturday, July 23. The racers, ranging in age from 8 to 17, came from Ohio and neighboring states to earn qualification points for the Akron event that’s considered the greatest amateur racing event in the world. The thirty racers didn’t participate just to earn points. They were there to have fun, meet people, work as a team and win trophies. Alex Denney, age 10 and a fourth grade student at Dover’s East Elementary, has been racing for three years and said his favorite part of racing was the teamwork. “It’s fun with my dad,” he said. “We get to build and stuff.” Alex was inspired to become a soap box derby racer after he saw his older sister, Emily, race. “She said it was really fun, and you get trophies and stuff.” His father David Denney, who laughingly admitted that the only cars in the family garage are soap box derby cars, agreed that teamwork is important since the way a car is built is as important as how the car is handled during a race. “It’s (building a soap box derby car) a good thing because it’s one-on-one time with him. It’s a team effort, and we win together or we lose together.” The pair has been successful as Alex won the local race in the Stock Division during his first year of racing in 2009 and qualified for the All-American event. Alex said there were about 500 racers at the event and he hopes to go there again. During a typical race, Alex (who now races in the Super Stock division) said he feels nervous and worries that he’s going to hit the wall. His dad explained that the objective is to keep the car as straight as possible and attempt to steer without steering. “You need to have a steady and light hand while steering,” David noted. “It takes a while to learn how to do it, but anybody can do it.” Soap box derby racing is popular across the country with just about as many girls participating as boys. Meghan Frantz, age 15 and a student at New Philadelphia High School, won the Super Stock Division in the local race in 2009 and qualified for the All-American Soap Box Derby. “It was so much fun,” she said of the event. “I loved it, and I definitely hope to get back.” Frantz got into derby racing through the influence of her brother, Zachary Frantz (who passed away in 2006). He won the Super Kids Division (a division for special needs children) and went on to the All-American. Meghan now races in his memory in the challenging Masters division. Tuscarawas County Soap Box Derby Association Derby Director, Tim Hiller, invited the public to the indoor rally races to be held at the Flickinger Piping building at 439 S. Tuscarawas Avenue, Dover, on the weekends of February 19-20 and March 19-20. Activities begin at 9 am and continue through the afternoon. Onlookers can watch races, talk to the racers, see the cars up close and try driving a car. “Anybody who thinks they might be interested can come, said Hiller. Soap box derby car building kits cost $400 and can be purchased online at www.aasbd.org . Hiller noted that sponsors are currently needed to purchase kits for disadvantaged local families. About 40 local kids participate in derby races each year, and racers qualify to race at the All-American Soap Box Derby either by earning 180 points during the rally season or by winning first place in their divisions (Stock, Super Stock and Masters) at the local race which will be held on Sunday, June 26. At the rallies, racers earn one point for participation and additional points for finishing first through eighth. On January 15-16, trophies were awarded to the top eight finishers in each of four races. Winners in the Stock division included Trinity Kubeck of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in three races and Damarius Markly of Delaware, Ohio in one race. Super Stock division winners included Katherine Dudones of Akron, Ohio in three races and Zack Krohn of Austintown, Ohio in one race. Masters division winners were Alex Beckerink of Lakewood, New York in three races, and Quinn Myers of Burton, Ohio in one race. The local indoor soap box derby rallies are sponsored by Flickinger Piping and the Ramada Inn. A $200 savings bond will be awarded to the points leader from across all three winter indoor rallies. For more information about the Tuscarawas County Soap Box Derby Association, call 330-401-7290 or e-mail tusccosbd@yahoo.com.


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