Friday — May 14, 2004

Get in the box

Soap Box Derby glides into Elkhorn

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

The Wood River Valley is an excellent place for a soap box derby. So excellent that in July 2003, USA Today named the valley among the "top ten places in the U.S. to watch soap box derby racing."

Coco Knudsen heads to the finish line in last year’s Soap Box Derby at Elkhorn. Express photo by Willy Cook

This weekend promises to be a soap box bonanza with two days of races in Elkhorn on Juniper Road. Between 20 and 25 racers are expected during Saturday’s qualifying races and Sunday’s championships.

Last year’s winner of the Super Stock Division, Coco Knudsen, of Ketchum, went to Akron, Ohio for the Championships where she placed tenth, the best finish for a Wood River racer yet.

"The only way Coco can race is to race a different car," Wood River Valley Soap Box Derby organizer Rick Dressell said.

"We have an entry level Stock division and the Super Stock, which we have the most of. There’s also a Master Class." Those cars must be built from scratch. Otherwise, the cars are made from kits. The master class vehicles are the faster, Dressell said. Dressell explained that a group must have at least six racers in each division in order to send a racer to Akron. The Wood River Valley Soap Box Derby has never had any master class entrants.

"They’re expensive and difficult to build."

Dressell never raced but his friend Lloyd Betts of Ketchum did. "We went to school together and he raced back in Pennsylvania one year. We got to talking five years ago and decided to start this," Dressell recalled. "It’s been great, a lot of fun. We only race once a year because of conditions but it grows each year. D.A.R.E.-P.A.L. play a big, big part in it."

They have 10 cars that have been donated over the years, Dressell said. Wood River Middle School D.A.R.E.-P.A.L. Officer Schiermeier selects kids to race those cars.

"A lot of them couldn’t afford to have a car or race otherwise," he added.

To watch the races Dressell said the staging is halfway up Juniper Road. People tend to walk the course while the races are proceeding. The cars go approximately 28 miles an hour.

The winners of Sunday’s race head to Akron for the All-American Soapbox Derby World Championships Saturday, July 31.

Hailey Rotary and the Wood River High School Interact Club are hosting a barbecue and beverages stand.

For more information, call Rick Dressell at 788-6423 and check out the All American Soap Box Derby at www.aasbd.com.

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