Soap box derby racers shown in Bellefonte Cruise

BELLEFONTE — The 28th Historic Bellefonte Cruise has come and gone. Thousands of spectators admired the many show cars and their powerful engines, but one group of cars that received admiring looks had no engines at all. Soap box derby cars are powered by the force that powers the universe — gravity.

Soap box derby racing dates back to 1933, when Myron Scott, a photographer for the Dayton Daily News in Ohio, put together an impromptu race for 19 boys. There was so much interest, Scott arranged a bigger race, with prize money, and a crowd of 362 kids showed up with homemade cars built of orange crates, sheet tin, wagon and baby-buggy wheels and, of course, soap boxes. In 1935, the race was moved from Dayton to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain. The national title race is still held there each year.

Alan Uhler, a member of the Bald Eagle Gravity Team, a group of racers headquartered in Bald Eagle Valley, said soap box derby races used to be held in Bellefonte. “I raced Soap Box Derby as a kid in the mid-80s,” he said. “We raced on Allegheny Street starting above the elementary school, and coming to a stop by the library.”

Uhler said that interest in the races faded, and they were eventually discontinued, but his group is campaigning to bring them back. He and his group now race with the DuBois chapter of the Soap Box Derby Association. “I got my kids involved in the DuBois chapter, and within four weeks of that, I was running a team of eight kids,” said Uhler.

Two months later, when the director of the association retired, Uhler advanced to the director’s position, which he enjoys. “I’m having as much fun as I had when I was a kid,” he said.

Uhler noted that half of the fleet of racers in the DuBois chapter is from Bald Eagle Valley. “We’re growing the organization, and we hope to be running races both here (Bellefonte) and in DuBois.”

There are three divisions in the derby: stock, super stock and masters.

The stock division is for racers ages 7 to 13. Stock car bodies are molded plastic, and are not allowed to be painted. The super stock division is designed for racers ages 9 to 18, and painting of the body shells is allowed.

The masters division is for 10-to-20-year-olds and is driven by the more experienced drivers. Masters division cars are of the lay-down, or enclosed, design and are made of fiberglass.

At the Bellefonte Cruise show, the derby group allowed kids to take short demo rides in derby cars on Pike Lane. Many smiles were seen among the young drivers.

“The kids learn a lot in Soapbox Derby, and it’s just a lot of fun,” said Uhler.

For more information, contact Uhler at (814) 353-0149 or alan@uhlerandassociates.com.