Pull of Gravity

With support from Chevrolet, the All-American Soap Box Derby became an enduring national pastime.

When Chevrolet Division General Manager Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen lunched with newspaper publisher John S. Knight one day in October 1962, the menu for discussion included gravity-powered cars.

Knight promoted the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, and helped to establish Derby Downs as the pre-eminent course in the United States. Chevrolet first sponsored the Derby in 1936. As Knudsen’s diary reveals, “John wanted to report on soap box derby. Gave us some fine ideas.”

It also records his August 1964 visit to Akron to present the Derby winner’s trophy. The task remained part of the Chevrolet leader’s job until a subsequent divisional chief, John DeLorean, ended sponsorship in 1972 on the grounds that it was old-fashioned.

“Practically from the day I got to Chevrolet I was determined to discontinue the Derby,” DeLorean told the Akron Beacon Journal.

The Derby became a huge event during the mid-century, and hosted as many as 60,000 attendees each August. After originating in Dayton in 1934, the event for which boys made their own cars out of soap crates and other scrap — moved to Akron in 1935. The qualifying formula drew youngsters from around the country for competition in three classes (there are four today).

Completed in 1936 as a Works Progress Administration project, the three-lane Derby Downs track stretched 1,175 feet, but has since been pared to 989 feet. The cars launch on a steep 16-percent ramp, and then the course follows a 6-percent grade for 530 feet

BY RONALD AHRENS

CHECKERED FLAG before finishing on a 2-percent decline. With no propulsion except that provided by gravity, the racers approach 35 mph.

Racers cross the finish line at the 1963 Soap Box Derby at the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. As an early sponsor, Chevrolet’s involvement supported family comraderie and helped attract future recruits. Chevy dealers, meanwhile, held clinics on design and racing techniques.

Detroit contributed to the classic event in 1935 when Horton Leonard won the first Detroit News Soap Box Derby on a course in Rouge Park. Later, local racing took place at Dorais Park, near 8 Mile and Mound roads. The News flew Leonard to the Akron finals in The Early Bird, the paper’s Lockheed Orion, but he didn’t win. In 1940, though, Tommy Fisher placed first in Detroit, advanced to Akron, and took the national title.

A testament to the sport’s enduring popularity was seen in a 1963 display window at the Kresge’s store in downtown Detroit. For the Soap Box Derby theme, the display included the car of past Detroit champion Frank Hradil III and featured packages of six toy Derby cars for 39 cents per pack.

Girls joined the sport in 1971, and years later Lauren Flynn represented Detroit in a series of regional rallies and then at the 2000 national championship, where she was eliminated. Her father, Joe Flynn, had competed for three years during the 1960s in the Detroit Derby along with his brother, Tom.

“We never really won anything, but very much enjoyed working on the cars,” Joe Flynn, of Harrison Township, says. The family always built their cars from scratch, doing the work themselves with parental supervision, as the rule required. “We obeyed it to the letter,” Flynn says.

Besides the excitement of racing, he says, there was “a meaningful close relationship with my dad.” Making additional help available to all competitors, Chevrolet dealers held clinics on car construction and racing strategy at their facilities.

In 2001, after Lauren Flynn’s accomplishment, her 12-year-old brother, Michael, known as Mick, took his turn. “We studied it very intently,” Joe Flynn says. Mick “managed to build a car that had very good aerodynamics and a precise suspension system and alignment.”

Tucking in behind the cowl of his sleek No. 17 at Derby Downs, Mick gazed through a quarter-inch slot that served as the “windshield,” which denied him a view of the track surface. He gauged his position by fixing on the bridge over the finish line. Crossing the stripe first, he claimed the Masters title. With the victory he received a tall trophy, a $5,000 college scholarship, and a ride in the Goodyear blimp.