AUBURN - Robert Gillespie spent all year waiting for his chance to coast in a soap box race car down the hill on East Genesee Street near Hoopes Park.

“It's just looked so much fun going down the hill,” the 11-year-old from Union Springs said. He got his wish Saturday, zooming at about 30 mph in a Gillespie Chevolet-sponsored race car in the ninth annual Nucor Bar Mill Central New York All-American Soap Box Derby, organized in tangent with the Auburn YMCA-WEIU.

Beyond the thrill of the “competition going down the hill,” Gillespie said what he likes most is that “my family is here to support me.”

And that's what the derby was to many onlookers, a nice event to spend with family.

“It's an opportunity for fathers and sons to spend quality time together,” Kim Hall, of Weedsport, said. He and his son Brandon, 12, who raced in the derby, built their Nucor-sponsored “Super Stock” race car together.

“We kind of taught each other,” Hall said, “we learned a lot about each other.”

Hall said this year is different than most, as he never gets to spend Memorial Day weekend with his son.

“It's worked really good for me,” he said.

Derby Race Director Stephen Komanecky said the point of the derby is “to have fun, plain and simple, fun.”

Races began around 10 a.m. and went through the afternoon until there were four finalists, two racers in both the stock and super stock divisions. Those winners will advance to the championship race at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio in July.

For Komanecky, there is no better time for this to occur than on the holiday weekend.

“It's a festive event, it's an All-American kind of thing, and what better day to have an All-American race than on Memorial Day weekend,” he said. “The Indy 500 is on Memorial Day weekend, why can't this?”

Nube Staehr, of Union Springs, parked herself right at the finish line at 7:45 a.m.

“I want to take a good picture,” she said, with her son, Ricky, 12, and daughter Maria, 10, participating in the race.

While Maria was a newbie to the race, Ricky was no stranger to the derby. What he was looking forward to the most was coasting down East Genesee Street's slope.

The same was true for Marisa Locastro, 9, of Auburn. Saturday was both Marisa's and her brother Mark's first time participating.

“It was awesome,” she exclaimed. “I got to go so fast.”

The top finishers

Super Stock

Champion, Daniel Biljanoski

Second, Tyler Mason

Third, Amanda Dixon

Fourth, Nina Kowal

Stock

Champion, Sidney Axton

Second, Alex Burgmaster

Thurd, Luke Morris

Fourth, Casey Komanecky

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net