AUBURN - The newly paved stretch of Genesee Street in front of Hoopes Park was put to the test Saturday afternoon as more than 40 young racers competed in the annual All-American Soap Box Derby.

Soap box racing was once a staple of local summer events, but the race went on a 24-year hiatus before being revived eight years ago with increasing numbers of racers participating every year.

The race is designed to be a family oriented event, with children and parents or grandparents or aunts and uncles working together to prepare their cars for the race.

Tyler Jirinec, 11, of Cayuga, worked closely with his grandfather Darryl to get his ride ready for Tyler's second race appearance.

“It has been a lot of fun,” Darryl said. “You double check the wheels and make sure everything is tight and in good shape. We had a good time.”

And their work paid off, as Tyler had quite a bit of success before being eliminated later in the day.

“It was a lot of fun,” Tyler said. “I like the competitive feeling and going down the hill pretty fast.”

In many ways the race isn't only for children, but run by them, too, whether it is behind the wheel or behind the scenes.

Mia Loiacono, 11, of Auburn, drove in last year's race, but decided to make a jump to the pit crew along side her friend Marissa Netti, 9.

“This is a lot more fun (than driving),” Loiacono said. “When you are driving you are always busy waiting for the next race, but this way you get to help and you can still hang out with your friends and help them get their cars ready and everything.”

Alongside drivers with several years of racing to their credit were a number of newcomers.

Robert Stryker, 14, of Auburn, was making his first race appearance.

“I heard about it from some friends at school,” Stryker said. “They were working on their cars and said that it was a lot of fun, so I thought it might be something I'd like to try. It has been a lot of fun, I just wish the cars went a little faster, that would be a lot of fun.”

Starting at 10 a.m. races, sponsored by Nucor Bar Mill in conjunction with the Auburn YMCA, were run continuously throughout the afternoon until the field was narrowed down to four finalists, two racers in both the stock and super stock divisions.

Following a family tradition established by their older sister, Sophia, Grace and Alex Fallon, of Auburn, have been no strangers to the soap box derby.

“I watched her race,” Grace, 11, said. “It looked like a lot of fun, so I started racing three years ago.”

Grace, who previously earned 18th and eighth place finishes in her previous races, found herself in the final leg of the race going up against Danielle Burgmaster, 12, of Auburn, vying for the super stock title.

With a freshly paved road to ride on, it was smooth sailing for Grace, who earned the chance to go on and compete in the World Championship in Akron, Ohio, in August.

“Other years it (the road) was really bumpy,” Grace said. “This year it was really smooth. It feels really good to win this year, I'm really excited.”

In the stock division, her younger brother, Alex, 9, was making his first race appearance.

Like Grace, Alex said he was inspired by watching his sister compete.

In the finals, Alex beat Lauren major, 9, of Seneca Falls, in three close races.

Major, who went undefeated all day, was beat out by Alex by a fraction of a second, which forced two more races from the challengers bracket, both of which Alex was able to win.

“It was really cool,” Alex said. “I liked going fast, it was a lot of fun and it will be a lot of fun to go to Ohio and to have my sister there with me, too.”