Soapbox Derby timeline.

This is the first time I ever participated in soapbox derby. Like most people, I started out with a stock car, which is the slower type of car. While I did get knocked out of the competition pretty early, the thrill and rush of being pushed down a hill in a car I have little control of enticed me. It was the first time I had ever done anything like this, and it certainly wasn't the last.

While it was only the second year of participating in the soapbox derby, I managed to get into the top 10 and advance to fight between 7th and 8th place. While I was going down the hill, the steering in my car gave out and I crashed into the side just as I was about to cross. My car was totaled and I couldn't run again, so I was stuck with 8th place instead of 7th like I would have gotten had my steering been fine. It still makes me just a little bit mad sometimes.

This was the first time I had placed in the top 5 for stock racing, with a final result of 4th place. It wasn't quite first, but I still remember feeling proud of myself for placing so high up.

Just after placing 3rd last year, I managed to snag 2nd place this year. This meant that if the first place winner decided not to go to nationals, I would sub in for them. However, they did decide to go to nationals, and I was left waiting for my chance until next year. The next years are all clear-cut as they happened more recently, and the years on the trophies are all back to one year at a time.

Just after placing in 4th last year, I placed 3rd in the next year. Even though I had only increased by one place, I still felt proud to know that I could make it this far. This is around the time where everyone started joking about increasing by one place per year until I ended up in first. The next couple places are a little sketchy. Soapbox derby happens once a year, and I remember a year between each of these places, however the trophies in my room all say 2014, so.....

After 5 years of soapbox derby stock division, I had finally taken 1st place. This meant that within that summer, I would be going to nationals to compete with people from around the country, and possibly even the continent, as people from neighboring countries often come to the nearest competition in the US. I know they do for the VC competition at least, as there is a Canadian family that is extremely competitive that always comes here.

During this summer, I ended up traveling to Akron, Ohio for nationals. The hill there is SUPER steep. I ended up placing in the top 16 for the sponsored event, but ended up dropping out pretty quickly for the actual race. The rules at nationals are kind-of trash, and you have to rely heavily on luck. I ended up running the slow lane and was knocked out of racing within my first time going down the hill. It was a good experience, though, as now I know what to expect for next time.

First year of Super Stock. Super Stock cars are the fastest category we have in VC. However, all the weights in my car were black. Black metal heats up super quick in the hot summer sun, and the biggest plates were right underneath my butt. I ended up racing down the hill, trying to endure the pain of my slowly cooking butt, but ended up getting knocked out because I couldn't keep myself fully down. I went home right after being knocked out to ice the giant burns that had formed on my glutes.

While this year I had no physical injuries, my pride was severely hurt. Right before the races this year, we had many complications and ended up with a half worked on car with way too many flaws. I ended up not placing again.

This year, we managed to get our act together and started working on a really nice car early. I ended up with a really nice, sleek car, with no black plating and sufficient padding. Without any of the car technicalities keeping me from placing, I ended up jumping through the ranks extremely quickly. I ended up taking second, and am hoping to place first this year, and go back to nationals for another shot.