Soap box derby season is approaching and members of the Bluegrass Youth Racing Foundation shared what they have planned and how they support racers at Tuesday’s Hopkinsville Rotary Club meeting.
Annie Catron from the foundation shared that the Hopkinsville Soap Box Derby Race is coming back for its 19th year. In addition to hosting the race, Catron says the foundation focuses on providing STEM education and building mentor-mentee relationships with racers.
Catron says the education side is important because STEM factors go into constructing a soap box car.
The race is set to take over Ruff Park on May 22 and has four racing divisions, the Stock Division, the Super Stock Division, the Master’s Division and the Super Kids Division include racers with special needs.
The winners from those divisions will go on to compete at the international soap box derby tournament in Akron, Ohio. The foundation will provide those winners with a stipend to support them on their journey.
On the day of the local race, Catron says they are also focused on hosting fun activities for children who may not be participating in the race.
Looking toward the future, Catron says she would like to establish a permanent full-race track in Hopkinsville.
Catron says they have a couple of track locations in mind and one of them is a strip of road owned by the City of Hopkinsville near Edgewood Baptist Church. By having a permanent racetrack, Catron says it would allow the foundation to host more derbies and attract racers from across the region.
Ahead of race day in May, the foundation will host a Pancake Breakfast on March 1 and a kick-off event on March 22.