Soap Box Racing

So you wanna race cars like Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart, but there's a couple of problems. You don't have a car and you don't have a license. Well, why not try soap box racing? You get to build your own car and you can go fast enough to get that racing rush.

Soap Box Racing - History

Soap box racing began in 1933 in Dayton, Ohio. It got started when a bunch of kids raced against each other down a hill in cars made from pieces of crap and junk from around the house. These first race cars were made out of orange crates, sheet metal, wheels off a baby stroller and even soap boxes. Year after year the races kept getting bigger and the soap box cars kept getting better. Soon a soap box championship was being held every year with kids and their cars coming to Ohio from all over America. A few years later, the event became international with kids coming from all over the world including Canada, Mexico and South Africa. Races are now held around the world throughout the year with the All-American Soap Box Derby taking place in Akron, Ohio on July 22, 2006.

Soap Box Racing - Building Kits

The great thing about soap box racing is that you need to be both a good racer and a good builder. One of the rules of soap box racing is that each kid must build his own car. That means you can't just sit inside and watch cartoons while Daddy does all the work in the garage. You have to build it and you have to race it. It's a little easier now because you can buy soap box race car kits which have everything you need. But lots of kids still build their cars completely from scratch.

Soap Box Racing - How To Win

The key to winning a soap box derby is a good car and good racing form. The car has to be aerodynamic and the driver has to be able to curl their body towards their toes as much as possible so they're almost part of the car itself.

So do you think you would make a great soap box car racer? Soap box derbies are generally open to kids between the ages of six and 16 and there's probably one going on near you. If you want more info on building and racing soap box cars, check out the All-American Soap Box Derby site or head to www.soapboxderby.org.

If you've raced soap box cars before, tell Kidzworld how you built your car and how you did in the race.

I think soap box cars are really cool. Me and my friend made one but we need bigger wheels.
Kidz Submit By:
Nickname: promo7

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