all-american soap box derby, akron, ohio

_ well... why do we have to explain ourselves every time? what's more summery and american than the all-american soap box derby?

_ held in akron, ohio, every year since 1934, the derby is the culmination of months of regional trials and championships.

_ and unlike other world championships, there are actually people from outside the US. there were german teams running around too.

_ but, of course, this was an american affair.

_ heats ran all day, under the stark north ohio sun. there were, perhaps, over a hundred different competitors across many different classes.

_ there were big cars, little cars, and, of course, the classic soap box racers.

_ the cars are streamlined and built for both lightness and also weight. as the racers are powered by only gravity, they have to find the sweet spot between lightness and heaviness.

_ you could kind of tell that a lot of the parents were deeply involved in the building and coaching of their racer kids.

_ in this class, there is only a 1/4 inch of exposure allowed, and the cars go pretty fast.

_ walking around the pits, we saw many examples of pride in workmanship. the cars were all beautiful. while waiting for their heat, all the cars line up on the slope behind the start line, and so everyone stands with their leg just like this, to stop it rolling away. CLICK TO SEE FULL SIZE

_ we followed a bunch of racers through their heats.

_ ...saw them get into position; mentally prepare...

_ ... and then zoom off down the track. go knuckles go.

_ corbin bernsen of major league fame was on site, filming scenes for his soap box derby film 25 hill in between heats. this isn't him, but plays a commentator in the movie. he's in the middle of a scene here, and really looks the part. he's famous too, but his name escapes me. first person to email me with his name gets something (props, perhaps).

_ it must be nerve-wracking to be waiting up at the top of the hill. held in place by only a big barrier that drops at the pull of a lever.

_ sometimes we could see the riders getting visibly nervous.

_ and rightly so. there don't seem to be too much control in the hands of the rider.

_ it's just physics. a calculation of gravity & weight & wind etc.

_ the cars can reach up to 35 miles an hour, which feels even faster when you're that close to the ground, and in a vehicle designed with speed in mind, not safety.

_ the spectators ate their funnel cake and hot dogs, drank their lemonade, and waited for their favorite racers to start.

_ cars in the pens at the top of the hill, waiting for the call to head down for their heat.

_ a canadian entrant.

_ we followed one of their highest-ranked competitors for a while...

_ maranda busby of moss point, mississippi.

_ she just looked the archetypal soap box derby girl of comic books and that, bob haircut and pluck.

_ and her dad had more than a passing resemblance to our favorite mechanic: monty of rescue rangers fame (google it). which made us look back at maranda, and the 'gadget' resemblances started to recurse.

_ she was doing really well that day, winning many of her heats, and the busby's seemed confident as she stepped into her car for the last heat of the second-to-last round.

_ please note the silly bandz, positioning this photoseries squarely in 2010.

_ she took one last look down the track, before her dad closed the hatch.

_ ready to go.

_ then, bang, she was off.

_ maranda sped down the track...

_ and accelerated down the slope.

_ the finish line was so far away that those waiting at the start line have to wait for the official call. from our position, it looked good...

_ but we still waited... a quiet minute...

_ ...then the call came in. victory. she won the heat, and was through to the final.

_ the races culminated in final battles between cars of the same class.

_ and then the final 'overall' race.

_ which maranda sadly did not win. she came second, and for a few seconds, before the official result came in, all the reporters and photographers surrounded her. for that time, these fireworks were for her.

_ but then the call came through, and this girl here, morgan champagne of dover, new hampshire, took the title. as you can tell, she was a little shocked.