Start your engines for Soap Box Derby

Michigan Hill, a natural race strip in La Cañada allowing 1,056 feet of gravity-inspired acceleration, will allow young racers to test their mettle this Saturday in the Ninth Annual Greater Los Angeles Soap Box Derby sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada in association with the California Family Soap Box Derby Association.

Soap box cars will soar down the hill at around 35 miles per hour. Race officials had to adjust the starting line to begin one-third of the way down as a safety precaution. If the full length of the hill were to be used, cars could easily reach speeds of up to 50 mph. Every car is equipped with brakes, but just in case, a soft wall of hay awaits at the end of the race strip to catch out of control cars.

“Safety is our primary concern,” assures Mary Gant, Kiwanis Club member and La Cañadan of the Year.

Safety is important to Gant, who will be sitting in a racing seat herself, participating as a guest racer during the adult “Celebrity and Challenge Races” section.

“It is so much fun,” she added. “It’s so exhilarating going down that hill.”

Other guest racers include La Cañada Mayor Stephen A. Del Guercio, Crescenta Valley Sheriff Department’s Captain David Silversparre, and La Cañada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce Chairman Barbara Marshall.

Competitions in the Stock, Super Stock, and Masters Divisions will be held. Aside from the varying levels of craftsmanship (Masters car kits require advanced skills to build), divisions are based on the total weight of the car and driver as well as driver age and height. For instance, the Stock Division is ideal for 8- to 12-year-olds who are about five feet tall and weigh about 100 pounds, since the maximum total weight of the car and driver allowed is 200 pounds. On the other hand, the total maximum combined weight of a Masters car and driver is 255 pounds, so racers range from 10 to 17 years of age and can be as tall as 5 feet 10 inches and weigh up to 175 pounds.

Trophies will be awarded to first to fifth places in the Stock and Super Stock Divisions and first to third places in the Masters Division. The winner of each division will qualify for the national competition, the All-American Soap Box Derby, at Akron, Ohio, and receive financial support for the trip.

Although the exact number of participants is unknown at this time, race officials anticipate a turnout of at least 30 racers and expect the event to last all day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The rules require a presence of at least 12 racers to hold a Stock or Super Stock race and six racers to hold a Masters race. The majority of participants tend to sign in on registration day, which is this Friday between 4:30 and 7 p.m. at the St. Francis High parking structure.

“Anybody that’s interested in participating come on down,” said Clyde Hemphill, this year’s deputy derby director. “We have cars that need drivers.”

The Kiwanis Club will be lending out cars for the day to anyone who would just like to race. However, all participants must register before or at registration on Friday, and bring $45 for registration fee plus a birth certificate proving age of the driver.

This is the largest official AASBD event in the greater Los Angeles area and promises to be a great spectacle if not a great bonding experience amongst families and friends. According to Hemphill, one father tells him that the Soap Box Derby last year brought his family together more than ever before.

“That’s really what it’s all about; bringing parents and children together,” Hemphill said.