Soap Box Derby Racing…

The wind in your hair! The sun beating down on your face! The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat! This time we were at the Frankford Riverfest. We had walked past a stack of hay bales to the finish line.

The Frankford Riverfest Soap Box Derby was about to begin. You could see the excitement on the faces of the Moms and Dads as they waited for their sons or daughters to come charging down the hill! All the hours of hard work building and designing the definitive Soap Box were coming down to this! This is a scene that is typical of most of the Soap Box Derbies we have visited. The determination in the eyes of the racers, no matter how young or old is always there! I can remember one race that we visited where two racers were coming down the hill side by side. Suddenly the wheels of the racer on the left started to wobble! Others in the crowd saw it too! You could see the determination of the young girl as she fought to regain control! Try as she might, the Soap Box finally took over and veered off course and ran into the hay bales at the side of the road! There was panic in the eyes and voices of the on looking crowd. No one knew if the driver was okay. Two paramedic, who had been stationed part way down the hill, rushed to the accident site! After refusing the paramedics help, the girl stood up, shook the hay off her clothes, pulled the Soap Box back onto the road, climbed in and continued down the course to the finish line! The crowd cheered and applauded the girl’s efforts and where grateful that the racer had survived the crash!

Such is the world of Soap Box Derby racing where little heroes are made!