What started in 2011 as a fundraiser for the Owensboro Lions Club has grown into a bigger event than anyone could ever imagine. This year’s annual soap box derby is June 8 at Ben Hawes Park and a large crowd is expected. The local race offers boys and girls from Owensboro and surrounding areas an opportunity to advance to the national finals that take place in Akron, Ohio in mid-July. Upwards of 40 kids between the ages of seven and 18 are set to participate in this year’s event.
Soapbox racing, which consists of youth navigating gravity powered derby cars down a hill in a head to head competition was first introduced to the Owensboro area in the 1930s. The first races were conducted not too far from where the track currently stands. In the late 1950s, the popularity of the sport steadily declined until the Owensboro Lions Club reverberated the event in 2001. Races were initially held on Bluff Avenue near Chautauqua Park until a group of dedicated Lions Club members raised funds to build a permanent track at the current location.
Past president of the Owensboro Lions Club, Josh Meyer has played a pivotal role in the recent resurrection of soapbox racing. He said having a permanent track plays a big part in attracting racers to the area.
“The track at Ben Hawes is where we run both our local races and are now able to run rally races,” Meyer said. “We’ve had kids come from as far as New York and Florida to race at our track.”
While the local race is limited to kids from this area, the rally races are open to all participants and provide additional opportunities for kids to qualify for the national race in Akron.
Meyer and the Lions Club hope to boost participation in their Soap Box Derby, eventually reaching 60 participants in the near future.
“Our plans are to grow this event as much as possible,” Meyer said. Many people aren’t even aware we have this great event or track here in Owensboro.”
Meyer expressed concern that people often confuse the Soap Box Derby with Pinewood Derby when in reality the two are quite different. The Pinewood Derby is a race between miniature cars constructed by kids and their families.
“The kids in the Soap Box Derby actually get in the cars and drive them down the hill,” Meyer said.
While only one kid drives the car, soapbox racing is far from an individual sport. Parents and other family members are heavily relied on to assist with constructing the car, setting the car up in the ramps, coaching, and other related duties as they appear on race day.
“Even after the car is built there is still a lot of fine tuning and trial and error to get the car to be as fast as possible and it takes good communication from both the parents and the drivers to get the car set up just right,” Meyer said.
In addition to bringing families closer together, soapbox racing creates opportunities for families to develop relationships with other families from across the country.
“There is a lot of comradery between the families because we all want to see our kids succeed – so many times we help each other out by sharing what works for a particular car or track,” Meyer said.
Meyer’s son, Drew, a fourth-grade student at Highland Elementary, described his first experience in a soapbox car as exhilarating.
“I was super nervous, but once I did it, I realized it was just fun,” Drew said.
Drew also elaborated on how soapbox racing has allowed him to meet many new friends throughout the years.
“I enjoy getting to meet new people and make new friends,” Drew said. “Now that I’ve been doing it for a while, I like getting to see my Soapbox friends and getting to race.”
With several soapbox cars in storage, the Owensboro Lions Club wants to ensure that other kids are able to share in those exhilarating experiences.
“We have these cars and we want to fill them with kids,” Meyer said. “We have multiple rally races during the year, and many of these cars go unused during those races so if anyone was ever interested in racing in our rally races, we would certainly let them use one of our cars.”
The Lions Club offers open track days the first Saturday of the month for anyone that wants to try soapbox racing. More information on the Soap Box Derby, including details about the upcoming events, and how to get started in the sport can be found at www.owensborolions.com.
