Soap Box Derby Racers are getting the chance to tune up their cars at the annual build night Sept. 13.
“We’ll get it all ready for you,” said Pastor Evan Dewald with Lake Ridge Community Church.
“We’ll…help you make sure everything’s tight, the steering is aligned properly and the wheels are greased,” he said.
In addition to the tune up, Dewald said they have six families signed up to build cars for this year’s race which is scheduled for Sept. 24.
The goal for build day is to encourage fun and healthy activities for kids to do with their parents.
“So, building the car isn’t just about the car, it’s about creating space for people to spend time with their kids,” he said.
Dewald said that he loves construction projects but not all of them are accessible to his children which is where events like build day come in.
He said that build day makes a for a fun accessible project for families prior to race day.
“The car will leave on build day constructed but not painted,” said Dewald.
New this year are the tune ups for existing cars. Anyone who has their own car can come out and have someone one do a little maintenance so that it is ready for the big race.
While the deadline for registration for the build day has past, people are still encouraged to register and come out for the race at the end of the month.
There will be plenty of loaner cars available for anyone who wants to race but doesn’t have their own car.
Along with doing tune ups on existing cars, the church is also accepting donations of cars from previous years that aren’t being used any more to bolster their loaner fleet on race day.
Dewald thinks there could be as many as 50-60 soap box derby cars taking up space in garages and sheds in the city.
For more information go to www.lakeridgecommunity.com.
