Ticket feature: Clovis Soap Box Derby taking place Saturday

Freedom New Mexico

Thirteen youngsters will gather Saturday for the ninth annual Clovis Soap Box Derby.

The race begins at 10 a.m. on Sycamore Street near Yucca Middle School.

According to Director Larry Erwin, racers are ages 10 to 18, with most competitors being in the 14-15-year-old range.

Youth build their cars from kits with the help of their parents or other adults. The winner will get to go on to the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, in July, he said.

Erwin said, “We don’t have a lot of speed because we don’t have much of a hill.”

Which lends itself to greater competition, Erwin said, with races sometimes won by a one-thousandth of a second.

Since the vehicles rely on gravity for power, the young racers will compete on a man-made hill that will begin at Yucca Junior High and finish at 14th Street.

“It’s a lot of fun for the kids,” he said. “It’s good for the kids and their parents to work on the car and have some time together.”

Erwin said spectators are encouraged to attend. The race is expected to last until noon.