Soap Box Derby Competitors Roll Into Town

Hunched low in the cockpits of their race cars, the derby daredevils tested their brakes, adjusted their helmets and eyeballed the track.

“Drivers ready?” derby veteran Ollie Brower asked the children to his left and right. “One, two, three. Go!”

And they took off, racing down Hillmont Avenue in Ventura at about 30 mph. Cheering parents--many wearing soap box T-shirts and hats--clapped and snapped photos.

About 40 youths, ages 8 to 17, competed this weekend in an All American Soap Box Derby Rally in Ventura. They came from as far away as Wisconsin and Maine to race their carefully constructed cars down the bumpy street.

And the winners racked up points that will help qualify them for the national championships to be held in Akron, Ohio, this summer.

The overall winners, those who accrued the most points during the two-day event, were drivers Brooke Wallace, Steven Kanomata and Glen Patterson.

Morgan Gleason, 10, who has twice competed in the national championships, traveled from Wisconsin to race her car in the Ventura rally.

“I like roller coasters a lot,” Morgan said. “And the cars go kind of fast, like roller coasters.”

Thousand Oaks siblings Dustin, Eric and Danica Fenzke each raced on both days of the derby, and each won a first-place trophy. The three Fenzke children have raced throughout California and in Indiana, Nebraska and Michigan, collecting a slew of trophies.

The children are the Fenzke family’s third generation of derby drivers. Their grandfather, Brower, first raced in 1953, and said he loves watching his grandchildren compete. And their mother, Roni Fenzke, started soap box racing in 1972, the first year girls were allowed to show their stuff. She named her hand-built car “Women’s Lib.” “Every time I got in the car I got butterflies,” she said. “Boys didn’t like being beat by girls back then.”

Danica, 8, said they still don’t. In a race in Watsonville last year, she beat her brother Eric, 10. It was Danica’s favorite race--but not her brother’s.

The children and their parents spend days, weeks or even months assembling, painting and decorating the gravity-powered cars. Although some cars were painted shiny red with few frills, Danica covered hers with Winnie-the-Pooh stickers.

Parent-child teams can build three kinds of soap box race cars: stock, super stock or masters. The stock and super stock cars, which cost about $300 each, are assembled from kits that come with the hollow plastic shells, wheels, steering wheels and brakes. A masters car, which costs about $500, can either be built from a kit or from scratch.

In the fiberglass masters car, more experienced drivers are able to lean back for greater speed, but stock and super stock drivers must lean forward during a race.

Drivers also buy extra brake pads and helmets for protection.

Chris Haney, 11, and his father, Tom, from Lancaster, spent about 600 hours building a sleek purple and yellow masters car from scratch. Chris, who has been racing for three years, won Ventura’s local championship last year.

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On Saturday, Chris crashed into a stack of hay at the bottom of the hill when his brakes didn’t work, and he had to wear a sling for his bruised arm. Luckily, Hillmont Avenue overlooks the Ventura County Medical Center.

On Sunday, Chris was back in his purple and yellow car, took off his sling and was ready to race.

“Put your head down and keep your shoulders tucked in,” Tom Haney said as his son sped down the street.

The results were announced over a loudspeaker at the bottom of the hill: Chris crossed the finish line first, beating his competitor by less than a second.

Tom Haney, president of California’s derby association, said soap box racing is a family sport, and a way to keep children out of trouble.

“It’s good to get kids out of the malls and back on the street racing,” Haney said. “And for me, it’s fun getting out and being involved with my boys. Too many parents don’t get involved and spend enough time with their kids.”

Ventura also is set to host a local soap box derby championship in June, and the top three winners will automatically be qualified to race in Akron.