Soap box derbies, in essence, are pretty straightforward. Small, engine-less cars made of plastic, wood, metal and wire are helmed by equally small drivers as gravity takes them downhill.
And like most other forms of racing, the first across the finish line wins. But to say that’s all there is to it would be selling the nearly 100-year-old activity short.
“It’s the most complicated simple sport there is,” said Buzz Pankoff, director for the seventh annual Sertoma Mile High Soap Box Derby, which took place Saturday and Sunday at its new home at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.
Thirty-one drivers ages 7 to 17 competed in two categories over the weekend, spraying lighter fluid on their cars’ axles, covering them when not in use to improve aerodynamics and tucking as low as possible while racing. It was all in an effort to gain the advantage in a sport whose winners and losers are differentiated by mere inches.
Ethan Hansen, 8, took the overall win in the stock class, and Lindsey Evans, 13, won in the super stock class. Both will go to the national derby in Akron, Ohio, on July 27.
But the Mile High derby doesn’t just attract die-hard soap-boxers.
For Matthew Boggs, 15, interest in the sport came after watching “The Little Rascals,” which featured a race of custom-made soap box cars. It inspired him to build his own unique ride — he said he wanted a car shaped like a rocket with a cool hood ornament — but the rules wouldn’t allow it.
Competitors in the Mile High derby adhere to regulations set by the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, which requires that all racers construct their cars, and that all cars be identical.
Regardless, Boggs raced for his fourth year in a row.
The Mile High derby holds only one race weekend per year. But with the derby’s new location — it was previously held in Littleton — Pankoff said the organization is hoping to hold five race weekends a year.
“It’s a safe location and a location that could be a permanent home,” said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson.
And more races means more practice for Colorado racers, including Robinson. He’s raced in the derby as an honorary participant since he started working with it, and this year he lost. “I’ll have to come back and see if I can recover my record as a race car driver,” he said.
Nic Turiciano : 303-954-1223, nturciano@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Nic_Turishawno