The North Central Ohio Soap Box Derby was held in downtown Mansfield on June 29 with racers from Richland, Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Knox, Marion and Morrow. The winner of Saturday’s race will advance to the All-American Race held in Akron later this summer.
On Saturday, the racers started at the top of Main Street and finished near the Bissman building. The track is 750 feet long and divided into two lanes. At the top, the racers were held by a mechanism manned by Dennis Spangler.
He waited for each racer to get in place and then asked “Ready?” When each racer replied with a “yes,” he let go of the supporter, and they were pulled by gravity down the hill.
This year there were 34 racers between the ages of 7 and 17. Among those racers were Noah Krupp and Ben Zimmerman.
Krupp raced Richland Carrousel Park’s car, and it was his first year racing in a Soap Box Derby. Unfortunately, his time was not fast enough to advance to the All-American Race in Akron this year. Staff from the Carrousel expressed gratitude to the Krupp family for racing their car this year. “Hopefully this will not be the last race we sponsor,” said Sharon Bishop.
Zimmerman raced number 215, sponsored by Ashland/Mansfield Foot and Ankle Specialists. He was part of the Super Stock division and was participating in his fourth race. Zimmerman explains how a soap box car works in this video.
Some participants were veterans to the race. Kevin Fraley, father of racer Samantha Fraley said, “We have been racing since 2005. There was a time that I had three of my kids racing on the same day. That was pretty hectic. But it’s always been fun. One year our daughter won the whole thing.”
The racers were timed down to a thousandth of a second. For each heat, the competitors raced twice and switched lanes each time. They advanced if their time differentiation was greater. The rules mandated that each racer switch out wheels every race to ensure fairness and integrity.
A number of strategies were employed by the racers. Some racers placed weights in the back of the car. This was believed to help the car at the top of the hill to get a head start. Others placed weights in both the front and the back of the car to help the car push through the finish line at the bottom of the hill. Some racers even reduced wind resistance by placing pieces of plastic on the axles.
However, cars fall under weight speculations. If the racer qualified for the Stock division, the cars had to weigh in at a maximum of 200 pounds. Super Stock cars have a maximum weight limit of 240 pounds.
There’s even a downhill strategy.
Ruth Kinsey, treasurer of the North Central Ohio Soap Box Derby Board of Directors said, “What they do is come out here while it’s raining. They look to see how the rain travels down the hill.” The racers try to follow the rain’s route down the hill.
The North Central Ohio Soap Box Derby was first held in Mansfield in 1937. The News Journal fist became sponsors of the race in 1993 and have been sponsors since. The race is nationally recognized with nearly 500 racers participating every year.
The first winner of the race in Mansfield, A.J. Watson ended up being founder of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington.
Results of the race are still being processed. Look for them on the website in the coming days.
