POULSBO — The top of the sloping Dauntless Drive became a hive of activity this weekend as the site once again played host to Kitsap Soap Box Derby Association soap box derby races.
Racing trailers rolled in, families unloaded tents, chairs and cars, and they fired up the hot dog roaster, all part of a big day of racing. After weigh-ins finished, the racing ramps were unloaded and the track was ready to go.
Race time.
After a countdown, the gates dropped, the cars started to roll and gravity did its thing.
The scene was repeated scores of times throughout Saturday and Sunday.
Some drivers, like Willa and Ronan Johnson, were veterans at the sport. The brother-sister tandem have made appearances at the sport's championship event, the All-American Soap Box derby in Akron, Ohio.
For others, like 7-year-old Joanna Counts, the magic of racing was fresh. Sunday marked her first day of racing and with a little encouragement and leaning from mom and dad, she made it down the track successfully.
"I haven't knocked any cones down yet," she said with a grin during a break in her newly minted racing career.
The sport is a family activity with moms, dads, brothers and sisters trading the roles of pit chief, organizational support and fan support. With about 20 cars on site Sunday, the assembly area was as busy as Gasoline Alley at Indy.
"It's different than most sports in that it's not like the parents just sit back on the bleachers and watch it," racing dad Rich Johnson said. "You're actually in there helping get the car set up. You're helping get them in their ramps. You're talking about the (racing) lines. It's definitely a joint effort, like a little racing team basically."
Races took place in two heats in which cars go down the track, switch wheels and lanes, and then make the run again. The cumulative differential from the two heats advances one of the two drivers in the racing bracket.
The Poulsbo course offers a unique set of challenges for drivers. It begins at the top of Dauntless and makes a turn down through the road to where it levels out at the bottom of the hill, unlike other soap box tracks, which typically follow a straight line. Drivers have to avoid bumps, divots and other road imperfections, while also trying to take a good racing line to take advantage of the road's crowning and curving.
While winning heats and advancing to become king or queen of the hill is certainly a part of the day's events, for those present, the day also is about family, catching up with old friends and making new ones.
"It's a good family opportunity," incoming association president Dave Poggi said. "The fathers and the mothers, we are the car handlers and the coaches. The kids drive."
"The families, we've built a lot of good friendships through this," said Paul Counts, another racing dad. "The kids build a lot of friendships through this, and they all have a blast."
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