Start your engines

After seven years, the starting line at the Nucor Bar Mill Central New York All-American Soap Box Derby will be longer than ever.

Forty-six children between the ages of 8 and 17 will tuck themselves into derby cars for the 900-foot trek down East Genesee Street in front of Hoopes Park.

Steve Komanecky, fitness director of the Auburn YMCA-WEIU and a member of the race committee, expects this year's derby to continue a tradition that emphasizes what the children experience before they drive down the track.