Posted by Russ on October 15, 2009, 8:15 pm
Board Administrator
THE ALL AMERICAN SOAP BOX DERBY TO DEBUT IN LAKE HAVASU CITY-ARIZONA THIS SATURDAY
BY DAVE GRAYSON
Every summer, since 1934, youngsters and their families make a racing journey to Akron-Ohio. The kids climb in their home made race cars to roll down a frightening looking steep hill. There are no engines in these wooden race cars. They hit their down hill top speeds based solely on the principle of gravity. Under the watchful eyes of thousands of spectators, along with national media coverage, one youngster emerges as the national champion in the Soap Box Derby.
The same level of all American racing fun will be making its official debut in Lake Havasu City-Arizona this Saturday afternoon October 17th. The race is a special part of the city's annual London Bridge Days celebration.
The first annual soap box derby is under the guidance of a local business person who understands what it takes to promote any form of racing. Earlier this year Dennis Rudin officially retired from a long term, and very successful, tenure of promoting stock car racing at the Havasu 95 Speedway, a quarter mile paved oval located in the community's Sara Park complex.
During that final racing season Rudin and his wife Eden opened "Scoops" an old fashioned, 1950's style ice cream parlor, in the North McCulloch Boulevard area of the city's down town retail center where they recently celebrated the store's first anniversary. The Rudins quickly joined the Main Street Merchants Association and became heavily involved in down town community projects.
While racing has always been in his blood, even Dennis Rudin was surprised to find himself organizing and promoting a soap box derby. This is especially true of a derby that came into creation with a short amount of time for promotion. Rudin described that situation as a learning curve that will make the second annual event, and the ones to follow, even better.
Saturday's soap box derby will feature two divisions. The first one is for kids ages 8 to 13 with an emphasis on driver safety. The cars must have approved steering and brake mechanisms. The second division is for ages 14 to adults. This unlimited division is wide open to creative ideas as long as it can be handled safely.
Rudin's first real challenge was to find an outlet that would make building these cars affordable. He was well aware that the soap box derby cars used in the Ohio based national event averaged around $600 each. He also knew that wasn't going to fly with local families who wanted to enter their children in his race. After a diligent search, Rudin found a Canada based company who retailed a kit featuring official derby wheels, steering and brake assemblies. The cost was a low $94. Add some plywood to build the car's body and you could create an acceptable and safe soap box derby racer for around $120. Rudin was very pleased with this discovery and said "it's something that Dads, Grandpas and the kids can build together without having to spend a lot of money but still have plenty of fun."
Just mention the unlimited racing class and Rudin breaks out into a giant smile. "This division allows for a lot of creativity and features whatever is relatively safe for going down hill. Someone can even race a grocery store shopping cart if they can steer it safely down the hill and stop it safely at the bottom of the hill," he said.
In addition to promoting the Lake Havasu City Soap Box Derby, Rudin has been very busy in the role of car builder. He's constructing a soap box derby car, to be driven by his 14 year old grandson, that resembles, you guessed it, an ice cream cone. He also has been busy enticing other down town merchants to consider fielding a unique racer that represents the spirit of their businesses.
Beyond the huge element of all American family fun, there's another vital reason why Lake Havasu City is hosting a soap box derby this Saturday. "All of the proceeds from the derby will be used to improve our down town business area," Rudin pointed out adding "such as arch ways to denote the entrance and exit of our business area. We're also trying to arrange for the return of our famed British style double decker buses. There used to be two of them that travelled from Main street all the way to the London Bridge and back. We hope restoring those buses will bring some of the nostalgia back."
Saturday morning begins with the traditional London Bridge Days Parade. Rudin pointed out that this parade is always a big success and that will translate into a big crowd when the Main Street Merchant Association's First Annual Soap Box Derby takes to the street, at approximately 12 noon following the parade.
When watching the derby keep a sharp eye on that four wheeled Scoops ice cream cone car. It was designed by someone who truly understands racing.
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