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.
“Racing's a small portion of what they actually do, the lion's share is in building the car, getting it set up and getting sponsors,” he said.
The race itself is sponsored by Nucor Steel, Hammond & Irving and Savannah Bank, but each racer is encouraged to find their own financial support to cover the cost of assembling their cars.
The vehicles are constructed from kits sold by the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. Many derby cars are decorated with advertisements for their sponsors in the same manner that NASCAR racers adorn their vehicles with Home Depot or Pepsi decals.
Some racers call upon family members for a financial boost and others collect donations from local businesses. The price tag on the racers - which can reach as high as $600 - rewards those with the heaviest sponsorship.
“It's good experience for the kids, they get out and they're pleading their case, getting business sense,” Komanecky said.
But not all drivers will come to the finish line with freshly built cars. Participants can reuse racers from previous years so long as they were not first-place finishers. Other children, like Amanda Dixon, will sit in the driver's seat of cars supplied to them. Her vehicle was provided by the Auburn Police Union.
“It's black and has a white stripe down the middle, like a police car, and it's silver with sparkles,” she said.
Although Dixon didn't face the challenge of assembling or funding a car like other children, learning how to drive her derby racer was a source of difficulty at first.
“It was scary when I first took off, but when I started racing it was really fun, the wind was blowing through my hair and I went really fast,” Dixon said.
Most debuting drivers like Dixon will compete in the Stock division. The Stock and Super Stock
divisions split the derby's age bracket of 8 to 17 years so smaller sized children aren't competing against drivers carrying the maximum weight of 160 pounds. Racers with disabilities comprise the Super Kids division, in which many children drive bobsleds converted into derby cars that hold two passengers.
In seven years only a few derby racers have veered off-course on the two-lane track. One car's steering cable snapped and sent a Super Kid vehicle careening into another car. Another young racer crashed into an onlooker when she couldn't reach her car's brake pedal.
A few minor accidents notwithstanding, almost all children cross the derby finish line. Their times are tabulated with a special laser projected across the line that awards scores based on the time that passes between each racer.
The winners of the Stock, Super Stock and Super Kids divisions will travel to Derby Downs in Akron for the 70th All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships on July 21. Sennett racer Nina Kowal finished in second place in the stock division in 2005.
“Their hill was huge,” she said.
This year Kowal will enter the Super Stock division with a brand-new racer, but she's not nervous about the adjustment. Instead Kowal looks forward to enjoying the same dynamic of soap box derby racing that drew her to the driver's seat when she was 8.
“I like to have a good time and I like the fun of it, it's just a fun thing to do,” she said.
Other Auburn racers have placed high at Derby Downs since they started competing at the Ohio track. Komanecky is thrilled that the area has already attained such success on the world soap box derby stage.
“None of us had a clue what we were doing,” he said of the first year.
Although they are appreciated, first place finishes are not the sole reward of derby racing for Komanecky and the 11 other members of the race committee, which includes technology teachers and staff from the E. John Gavras Center. It is the children's journey to the starting line - not the finish line - that they cherish most.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Nucor Bar Mill Central New York
All-American Soap Box Derby
When: 9 a.m. Saturday, May 26
Where: East Genesee Street,
in front of Hoopes Park
For details: Call 253-5304
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.
“Racing's a small portion of what they actually do, the lion's share is in building the car, getting it set up and getting sponsors,” he said.
The race itself is sponsored by Nucor Steel, Hammond & Irving and Savannah Bank, but each racer is encouraged to find their own financial support to cover the cost of assembling their cars.
The vehicles are constructed from kits sold by the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. Many derby cars are decorated with advertisements for their sponsors in the same manner that NASCAR racers adorn their vehicles with Home Depot or Pepsi decals.
Some racers call upon family members for a financial boost and others collect donations from local businesses. The price tag on the racers - which can reach as high as $600 - rewards those with the heaviest sponsorship.
“It's good experience for the kids, they get out and they're pleading their case, getting business sense,” Komanecky said.
But not all drivers will come to the finish line with freshly built cars. Participants can reuse racers from previous years so long as they were not first-place finishers. Other children, like Amanda Dixon, will sit in the driver's seat of cars supplied to them. Her vehicle was provided by the Auburn Police Union.
“It's black and has a white stripe down the middle, like a police car, and it's silver with sparkles,” she said.
Although Dixon didn't face the challenge of assembling or funding a car like other children, learning how to drive her derby racer was a source of difficulty at first.
“It was scary when I first took off, but when I started racing it was really fun, the wind was blowing through my hair and I went really fast,” Dixon said.
Most debuting drivers like Dixon will compete in the Stock division. The Stock and Super Stock
divisions split the derby's age bracket of 8 to 17 years so smaller sized children aren't competing against drivers carrying the maximum weight of 160 pounds. Racers with disabilities comprise the Super Kids division, in which many children drive bobsleds converted into derby cars that hold two passengers.
In seven years only a few derby racers have veered off-course on the two-lane track. One car's steering cable snapped and sent a Super Kid vehicle careening into another car. Another young racer crashed into an onlooker when she couldn't reach her car's brake pedal.
A few minor accidents notwithstanding, almost all children cross the derby finish line. Their times are tabulated with a special laser projected across the line that awards scores based on the time that passes between each racer.
The winners of the Stock, Super Stock and Super Kids divisions will travel to Derby Downs in Akron for the 70th All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships on July 21. Sennett racer Nina Kowal finished in second place in the stock division in 2005.
“Their hill was huge,” she said.
This year Kowal will enter the Super Stock division with a brand-new racer, but she's not nervous about the adjustment. Instead Kowal looks forward to enjoying the same dynamic of soap box derby racing that drew her to the driver's seat when she was 8.
“I like to have a good time and I like the fun of it, it's just a fun thing to do,” she said.
Other Auburn racers have placed high at Derby Downs since they started competing at the Ohio track. Komanecky is thrilled that the area has already attained such success on the world soap box derby stage.
“None of us had a clue what we were doing,” he said of the first year.
Although they are appreciated, first place finishes are not the sole reward of derby racing for Komanecky and the 11 other members of the race committee, which includes technology teachers and staff from the E. John Gavras Center. It is the children's journey to the starting line - not the finish line - that they cherish most.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Nucor Bar Mill Central New York
All-American Soap Box Derby
When: 9 a.m. Saturday, May 26
Where: East Genesee Street,
in front of Hoopes Park
For details: Call 253-5304
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