The 2nd annual Nevada City Adult Soap Box Derby races into town today, just in time for Father’s Day weekend. More than 40 teams of three or more people, racing everything from sleek aerodynamic speed cars to amazing works of art on wheels, will take to the 1/2 mile course down Nimrod Street near Pioneer Park in Nevada City.
This family fun event not only brings together local businesses and the community but also raises monies for new projects and amenities in the park for everyone to enjoy.
Last year race organizers expected a modest turn out of 500 people but where blown away to find 4500 people came out to enjoy and support the inaugural event. More than $5000 was raised for the park from sponsorships, concessions, and entry fees.
Registrations for this year’s race sold out in a day and there is now a waiting list. Local businesses that will be participating include Nevada City Adult Soap Box Derby host sponsor AJA Video Systems, Telestream, Ensemble Design, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, BYOB, among others.
Make it a weekend! Saturday, June 16, is the day before the 52nd Annual Nevada City Classic bike race. This race is the second oldest of it’s kind in the nation. (Previous winners include Greg Lemond, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and other top name riders.)
Check out this great video from last years event:
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Some of the cars, mounted on trucks and tow trucks, are rolling down the street in our neighborhood! It’s more active than normal for a Saturday morning.
There’s a helicopter landing at Pioneer Park as I type this…
I’m inside with “O.”
New headline: Derby marked by crash-injuries.
We may have seen the last Soap Box Derby!
There is going to have to be some major, major changes to the course and engineering. IMO, you can’t have a 500 lbs car with bicycle tires. One bale of hay isn’t going to do anything to a 500 lbs car going 30+ mph except make more mess to clean up. (This wreck occurred where there was no barrier).
2 injured, one airflighted to Sutter Hospital in Roseville…Major insurance consequences!
Officially…….there were more injuries; treated and released at the scene. There was also a second crash from the same incident that also had injuries; again treated and released. Also, property damage to a van.
A close call for those injured for sure. But probably not the end of the race. It’s all about the brakes.
The organizers spent a great amount of time on the pre-2012 test course to make sure the entries were compliant with the brake rules (active braking systems that can bring the vehicle to a full stop, on a hill, within X number of feet, and also negotiate a downhill slalom at low speed w/o upsetting the cones).
It was a tough crash, and we don’t know yet know all of those who were injured are doing. But word of mouth reports suggest that everyone will be OK. I sure hope that is the case. Stay tuned…
Well, I was there and I disagree. How about activating braking, bringing the vehicle to a full stop and negotiating a downhill slalom at a high rate of speed??
I don’t think it’s about braking (although braking is good) it’s about wheels. Even last year, the cars that crashed had subpar wheels. Bicycle tires and Razor scooter wheels may be aerodynamically fine, but they cannot control a 500 lb vehicle.
Safety has to be first. Maybe there should be different divisions. The fun parade type vehicles, perhaps limited to a certain speed. And then, the tubes that want to break speed records. I would suggest they follow car racing rules where everyone has to be belted, helmeted and the cars go through tough inspections. I know this is fun and everyone has perfect intentions, but the builders and drivers are amateurs. What if a wheel comes off mid-race?The course is not a straight line. There needs to be better barriers.
I think the assumption has to be that there are going to be wrecks. What you want is the wreck where no spectators are hurt and the driver walks away waving to the cheering fans.
We need to deconstruct this particular crash. Did you see it happen, or were you there after the fact?
We had the same issue when I went to Cal Poly SLO where the frat’s all had a “bath tub” race down the hill from the OH unit to the middle of the campus. Some (non engineering) guys put bike brakes on a 400 pound cast iron tube and there was a major wreck as the tub could not stop it before going off the course.
The rule makers need to review this as if they don’t, no one will insure this race, and that will be the end of it, especially with a $40K heliocopter ride. Now lets see what happens with the attorneys and how they are sharpening their teeth on this one…..
This could become a major event for our community with better supervision.
Just for reference, the helicopter came in for a 9:30 am scheduled landing, as part of the show opening ceremonies. Today was Fathers Day, so no pictures yet from the 10 gigs I shot on Saturday….soon. This year the path for the carts was narrower, to accommodate more spectators, and I think that will be found to be a factor.
Old-timers will remember the annual raft races down Deer Creek, ending at the Plaza. It was very popular and a heck of a lot of fun, but eliminated as a Nevada City Chamber of Commerce event in 1982. I was on the chamber board that pulled the plug on the raft races, and it was a difficult (but necessary) decision.
It was a wonderful event –– thanks in large part to a very cooperative NID board member who somehow managed to provide the chamber with a substantial release of water from Scott’s Flat on that day each year. (Wink, wink).
There were plenty of cuts and bruises by the end of the day, but no serious injuries that I recall. And that was remarkable, considering that many raft crews consumed large amounts of cold beer as part of their pre-race regimen.
We decided to cancel the raft races when the extra insurance became too costly for a financially strapped chamber, and a drought made the needed release of water down Deer Creek impractical.
Hope the soap box derby folks figure out a way to keep their event rolling. Sounds like fun — and we can all use more of that in our lives.
I have to agree with CB, If the race organizers are going to allow this to be a highly competive event rather than just a fun one, they are going to have to require some even stricter regulations for the cars and the course. To me, a 500lb car in a competitive division is way too heavy for the course. And, after last years crash(which I can’t believe the guy didn’t get hurt,)(see video) that they didn’t re-evaluate the course for this year. It is a great event and I would hate to see that it would come to an end let alone anyone get seriously hurt.
Any word on the guy who was helicoptered out?
Thank you all for your concerns about the well-being of those involved in the crash during this year’s derby. The race team member/volunteer that was injured and taken by helicopter was released at 4pm race day from Sutter. He will be OK. Organizers of this year’s event spent a great deal of time making changes that were geared to improve safety and other key factors at the derby. Certainly, next year, there will be additional changes, and we are making a list of considerations- including weight limits, steering, braking and wheel requirements, and course design.
Thank you to all of you on this message board that find the derby to be an asset to our community. The Nevada City/Grass Valley area is a wonderful place to call home. Our intent is to make it a fun and safe day for the entire community. We will continue to work towards those goals, and welcome your support for the race and Pioneer Park.