At the time trials on Wednesday, Soap Box Derby drivers and families gathered at the top of track, working together to finish tweaking their cars for the national championship on Saturday.
As he watches the older divisions, 10 year-old Ryan Tomlinson from California recognizes that the friendly atmosphere will dissolve once the weekend hits.
TOMLINSON: “You make friends and it’s competitive. When you’re on the starting line, you’re competitive.”
Kristi Murphy, an 18 year-old racer from Mentor won five championships over the past decade and has one goal going into Saturday.
MURPHY: “Set the world record.”
You wouldn’t guess that petite, soft spoken Jamie Berndt is the girl who Kristi and so many other racers aim to beat. Berndt, a rising junior at Youngstown State and a Canfield native, is the world record holder in the ultimate-speed division. She’s looking to defend her title this year, but she shrugs off the competition. She and her dad have been prepping to try and beat her own record.
BERNDT: “We’ve been practicing and trying really hard to beat it. I don’t know exact, but it was 27 something, I’m not really exactly sure.”
The 600 drivers range in age from 8 to 21. Families from around the country design their cars with the goal of winning, but Derby spokesman Bob Troyer says that the race’s emphasis on family and sportsmanship is what’s really important.
TROYER: “Those were values that were around in the 1930s, and they’re values that are going to be around in the 2030s.”
Troyer expects more attendees this year as producers of the movie “25 Hill” film scenes during the race.