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Soapbox Derby - My daughter is going to Nationals

bczoom

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Well, both my kids raced in the Soapbox Derby again yesterday.

They both did fantastic! My son came in 2nd place in the Stock class (of 18 cars) and my daughter came in 1st place in the Super Stock class (of 14 cars). :clap:

That 1st place finish earns her a spot in the Nationals in Akron in July.

If that didn't make me proud enough, I had the race Directors as well as several other adults come up to me afterward and tell me how much they appreciated my kids enthusiasm while racing as well as all-around sportsmanship. They would say that the smile on my sons face at the end of each race (whether he won that particular phase or not) is what it's all about.

Just makes my heart swell with pride. :biggrin:
 

OhioTC18

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They've had some good up-bringing if you ask me.

Congrats to all of you
 

muleman

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Good show!:clap:I take it you have not told anyone about their head injuries from bouncing off the tree at the end of the zipline.:whistling::yum:Congrats to both of them for staying with it. Hard to keep kids enthused these days beyond an hour or two.
 

Cowboy

Wait for it.
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They've had some good up-bringing if you ask me.

Congrats to all of you
Ditto , Congrats . Its great to see some folks taking an interest in their childrens activitys . Great future memorys for all . :clap:


On the down side my next step after my Dad got me involved was drag racing . Not quite the outcome he was hoping for . :w00t2:
 

Doc

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Congrats Brian!!!! :clap: :clap:
With two of them racing I'm sure you got your exercise draging the carts back up the hill.
The national should be quite an experience. I've been to the track but not while the nationals were happening. Please take some pics you can share if you have time between pulling the cart back up the hill. :thumb:
 

fogtender

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Gee, they still do that?!? I raced that when I was a kid, and that was in the last Century!

Congrats to both of your kids and you!

Ummm, you didn't build a battery or anything into your kids ride did you???

Just asking! ;)
 

bczoom

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Thanks everyone!

Doc - The track we raced on was around 1/4 mile long. They have pickups and trailers that are used to get the kids and cars back to the top. 4 trailers go on a trailer and 4 riders + car handlers (me...) ride in the truck. I still got one heck of a workout being the handler for 2 different cars since combined, they raced down the hill about 30 times. We also help other parents since it takes 2 people to carry a car.

Foggy - No batteries or anything in the cars. Each car is inspected, weighed and impounded a couple days before the race. The day of the race, each are weighed in again. For the weigh-ins, they're weighed with car and driver and can't go over a certain weight (total and per axle). The drivers get into their "race position" during the weigh-in process and then there's stickers placed on the car and drivers helmet to make sure they get in the same position during racing. That makes it where the drivers can't slide their body towards the back while getting ready to race which would give them an advantage.

Bill - Nobody has ever hit the tree at the end of the zipline. :whistling:

Pictures to follow.
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
Is this the girl that plays the flute also?? Job Well Done on both of them Brian. They are good kids.
 

fogtender

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Foggy - No batteries or anything in the cars. Each car is inspected, weighed and impounded a couple days before the race. The day of the race, each are weighed in again. For the weigh-ins, they're weighed with car and driver and can't go over a certain weight (total and per axle). The drivers get into their "race position" during the weigh-in process and then there's stickers placed on the car and drivers helmet to make sure they get in the same position during racing. That makes it where the drivers can't slide their body towards the back while getting ready to race which would give them an advantage.

About thirty years ago a kid won nationally when his "uncle" (think the kid was an living with his uncle), helped him build the car and built a battery into the bottom of the car, there was a electro magnet in the nose of the car and a secret switch the kid would turn on and off. The gates the cars would nose up to were metal, and when they dropped, this car would get whipped it of the gate with a big leap for a start. At the Nationals, they did the same thing, lock up the cars, but there they timed the cars and as this car's times kept getting slower it was puzzling. But when he won, it was by inches instead of feet. So they xray'd the car and found the battery and wiring hidden where you couldn't see it. The axle hubs on the front and back were where they charged the battery from.

That pretty much killed the race for a few years, but glad it is back in full swing!

You do know I was kidding right about the batteries, right? :flowers:

That is great for the kids to do and I am glad it is still alive and going well!

Again, Congratulations! And we are waiting for the photos!
 
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fogtender

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Well I found the story of the cheater (it was forty years ago now), it was well after I raced, I got older somehow..... It was funny though, you could tell the kids that truely built their own racer as the rules said you had to do, and the difference between the kids whose father was an engineer! The kids that built there own car could tell you ever spec the car had to meet, the kids with rocketship looking cars couldn't tell you a thing about how they built it. I guess they make kits now to help stop that type of cheating which is very good!


http://www.ohio.com/news/soap_box_derby/96665599.html
 

bczoom

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Bump. We're at the nationals!
Monday was a check-in, parade, baseball game...
Tuesday was get the finishing details done on your car. The cars were dropped off a couple weeks ago and got a thorough inspection. Each driver got a list of things to correct. Erica's car was PERFECT and needed nothing. She got VIP status. All we had to do is re-attach her shell. Another benefit is that she got an extra run down the track for practice.
Today was final weigh-in, get new wheels and another run down the track. More activities this evening.
Misc events for the next 2 days then the big race on Saturday.

Please wish her luck.

Pics when we get home.
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Good luck and enjoy the time there. You don't get fun chances like that too often in life. Glad her car was all legal and up to spec. for the race. That allows your family to enjoy the festivities and not have to worry about last minute changes.:clap:
 

Big Dog

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Go fast and win! How can ya'll not with a name like Zoomer?

Good Luck!
 

bczoom

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Thanks everyone.

Found a site with live race results. Not active now but will be on Saturday.
http://aarace.com/aaraceweek/index.cfm/74th-all-american-soap-box-derby-race-results/

Getting a bit more nervous. Although my daughter did very well in her practice rounds, she has lane 3 for her first heat. Last night were the adult races and lane 1 won about 80% of the heats.

A day of rest today. I actually drove home this morning as we're relatively close at about 80 miles. Needed to get some things done at the homestead that were bothering me. Mainly, this heat and my quasi-raised vegetable garden. I have tons of veggies getting close to harvest and I didn't want to loose them to the drought and high temps. Will be going out after the garden is in shade to give everything a thorough watering.

Mrs. Zoom and kids are spending today at indoor pools, movie theaters etc. Later after it cools, they're going for mini-golf and other light outdoor play activities.
 

bczoom

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We're baaaccckkk.

Pictures to come.

My daughter was up against about 120 drivers. She won her first heat and coupled with all the other heats in her division, 80+ drivers were eliminated.

With 37 drivers left, she lost the next heat. It's single elimination so she was done. I'll take that as a good day as she finished somewhere between 19th and 37th of at least 120 competitors. The person she lost to did go on and trophy so they obviously had a very fast setup.
 

Cowboy

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We're baaaccckkk.

Pictures to come.

My daughter was up against about 120 drivers. She won her first heat and coupled with all the other heats in her division, 80+ drivers were eliminated.

With 37 drivers left, she lost the next heat. It's single elimination so she was done. I'll take that as a good day as she finished somewhere between 19th and 37th of at least 120 competitors. The person she lost to did go on and trophy so they obviously had a very fast setup.
Looking forward to the pics , sorry she didn't place better but she's a winner for even participating and giving it a shot. Kudos to you for making that happen . :wink:
 

bczoom

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Some overdue pics.

First is the local competition
IIRC, it was 14 Super Stock and 18 Stock.

Second pic shows my 2 kids.
Daughter is looking at camera behind white car 405. Hers is the gold car barely seen. Son is just under green car in background with blue car.

Will have to get more pics from the local from Mrs. Zoom's camera. I was running around handling cars while she was shooting pics.
 

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bczoom

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At the Nationals:
The Champs (drivers) are brought in one at a time with Police escort.

They're then escorted to a stage where they sign a large poster then throw out trinkets to the crowd.My daughter is in the gray shirt.

My kids at a semi-pro baseball game once they found their seats. We had good seats... Front row along 1st base line. Before the game, they paraded all the Champs around the entire field.

Yea! We had the car perfect so she gets VIP. While others are working on their car, we kick back.

A picture of some of the other cars. This isn't all of them.... There's another (although smaller) building full. She's competing against 1/2 of the cars in the building.

The track itself...

She's getting ready for her practice run.
 

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bczoom

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Race day!

First is a pic of the drivers parading on the track. Those 450 white dots at the bottom are the racers.

Good Year Blimp is on-site.

A couple track pics.

The rest are videos I'll have to put somewhere or get from Mrs. Zoom's camera.

Oh, the last is what I wish we had available to us that week. Temps hovered in the 90's but a lot hotter then that when standing on the blacktop...
 

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bczoom

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Thanks All.

Being the car handler, I was in the pits and couldn't see it so I hope Mrs. Zoom got pics but the Olympic Luge team was there and ran their road equipment down the track for demos. I heard they really fly. Their speed at the end of the track was almost double what the SBD cars are doing.
 
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