HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The first Saturday in May means Derby Day in Kentucky, and what better way to enjoy it than a Soap Box Derby?
The 18th annual Soap Box Derby took place at Hopkinsville’s Ruff Park with 34 contestants racing in pairs down a hill in their gravity-powered cars, vying for a trophy and the chance to go to the International Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. The event was held over a two-day period to allow for practice runs on the Leitchfield Road track on Friday, and the actual races were held Saturday.
The double-elimination races have three classes of competition for racers between the ages of 7 and 20. They included stock, super-stock and master stock cars, reserved for the most experienced drivers. There was also a Super-Kids stock car race, allowing for two-driver stock car elimination races for special needs participants and their sponsors to compete.
Spencer Warren, co-founder of the Bluegrass Youth Racing Foundation, said each car was built by the driver and their adult sponsor, allowing the drivers to have a personal connection to their cars. The class of car varies in size, shape and weight but the design has not changed much in the 80 years of soap box racing. The car is a box, more streamlined than the literal box of yore and, as Warren said, “a steering wheel and a Flintstone brake that goes down on the ground.” Then the cars are decorated to the driver’s and sponsor’s style.
The event, started by the Kiwanis Club, had a steady growth, and Hopkinsville can boast that 2018 International Soap Box Derby winner, Ashton Gains, started her racing here. After Covid-19 shut it down temporarily, racers have come back to enjoy the competition.
First time driver 8-year-old Jayden Wheeler said the best part the races was “just having fun.”
Nine-year-old Madelyn Warren, a three-year veteran and first place winner of the super stock division, insists, “The best part is going down the hill.” She only grinned when asked if she liked beating out her competition.
Friends, family and supporters lined the track to wave signs and flags to cheer on the drivers, and the Hopkinsville Police Department grilled hamburgers and hot dogs free for the event. At the top of the hill, pit crews and drivers made sure the wheels on each car were smooth and the cars were wiped clean.
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The Bluegrass Youth Racing Foundation, the nonprofit organization that took over the event this year, now has a permanent location at 1319 Sanderson Drive in Hopkinsville, allowing the participants to focus on their cars and driving skills. It is open for any child that would like to race and their website, hopkinsville.soapboxderby.org, provides all the information on how to join in on the excitement.
Winners included Willow Graves, Karter Richarson and Tyriek Merritt in the Stock division; Madalyn Warren, Nate Crosby and Charles Cayce in the Super Stock division; Audrey Rains, Adelyn Cook and Will Rader in the Master division; and Aldon Odom, Jeremiah Hopes, Elijah Hale and Liam Byrun in the Super Kids division.