Soap Box Derby Explained

The Soap Box Derby is a sport for 8-17 year olds who like competition and being hands-on. Many Soap Box Derby families are fans of professional car racing, mostly NASCAR.

Soap Box Derby should not be confused with the Pinewood Derby. The Pinewood Derby is a Scout activity, which the Soap Box Derby is not. Pinewood Derby cars are carved out of wood and are 7 inches long. Soap Box Derby cars are actually driven by the kid, and are from 6-7 feet long.

Soap Box Derby cars are built on an aspen "floorboard." All components are mounted to the floorboard: the body, axles, steering, brakes, and weights.

There are three main divisions of Soap Box Derby cars. Each of these comes as a kit, which the driver and a parent assemble together. Each has a different size, maximum weight, body shape, and a few different parts.

The entry-level division is Stock. The age range for Stock is 8-14, and drivers weigh anywhere between 50 and 110 pounds. The maximum weight, with the driver, car, weights, and wheels, is 200 pounds. Stock cars are 80 inches long.

A Stock car, which was the author's first car, here driven by someone else.

After drivers are done with Stock, they normally advance to the Super Stock division. The Super Stock car is rounder and fatter, allowing it to accommodate kids from 10-17, up to around six feet tall and 150 pounds. In both Stock and Super Stock, the driver folds forward to fit in the car, and wears a bicycle helmet.

A Super Stock driver in his car. He later became a World Champion.

The top division is Masters. This car can accommodate kids roughly the same size as Super Stock, and has the same age restrictions. Masters drivers lay back in the car to improve aerodynamics, and are enclosed by a hinged hatch on top of the car. They wear the traditional plastic Soap Box Derby helmet.

The author's Masters car.

At each Soap Box Derby race, anywhere from a half-dozen to several dozen cars can participate per division. The races work on a tournament system. Two cars race at a time. They go down the hill, (called a "run") then are carried back up by a truck, switch wheels, and go down the hill again, but this time in different lanes. Timers measure the winning margins on each run and a computer adds them together. For example, if one driver won on the first run by .250, (a quarter of a second) then lost on the second run by .200, he would win overall by .050 seconds, and advance to the next round of the tournament. The overall margins are normally below one-tenth of a second.

Soap Box Derby hills are straight, from 500 to 1000 feet long, on closed-off streets or purpose-built hills. Most races are double-elimination tournaments, which means that you are only eliminated after losing two rounds. The winner of the tournament is the winner of the race. One or two tournaments are held per day. If held, the second tournament is typically single-elimination. Normally, trophies are given for the top eight positions, though this varies.

There are two ways to qualify for the annual World Championship race in Akron, Ohio. The traditional way is to win your annual "local" race. There are about 160 local races held each year. The other way is to accumulate points for finishing well in "rally" races throughout the year. There are several "districts," each composed of a few states. A certain number of drivers in each with the most points is qualified for the Championships. This is based on the number of rally races held in the district each year.

On this site, "year" refers to the "racing year." The month of July is reserved for the Championships, so the racing year lasts from August to June.

Soap Box Derby drivers try to drive as straight as possible, while also going to the lowest part of the track, which gives them a little more downhill, and managing to avoid bumps along the way. Every little bit counts in the Soap Box Derby; many races are won or lost by less than 1/100 of a second.

Go to Bubba Racing Home