New Soap Box rally race comes to Camano

Soap Box Derby fans don’t need to wait until next June to get their racing fix.

Randy and Marla Heagle are launching the Arrowhead Summer Classic Soap Box Derby Rally Races on Aug. 18-19 at Arrowhead Ranch, 615 Arrowhead Road on Camano Island.

“It’s something we always wanted to do,” Randy Heagle said. “The local race is super easy for kids and parents to get involved. The rally race is for the kids and families who are really into it.”

The Arrowhead Summer Classic is a sanctioned Rally Race associated with the All American Soap Box Derby. Saturday and Sunday will each be a double elimination progressive wheel swap event with rally points.

The event comes on the heels of the 11th annual Stanwood Camano Soap Box Derby, which moved from Stanwood to Camano Island this year and raced on the newly dedicated derby track at Arrowhead Ranch. About 1,000 watched as 72 racers competed on June 16.

The rally program allows participants to earn points by racing in various races throughout the United States and Canada. The top point earners in each region are invited to compete in the 2019 All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship in Akron, Ohio, against other rally champions.

“There will be kids from California and Oregon,” Heagle said. “Our hope is that this event can draw people from outside the area.”

Heagle said he thinks 30 cars will make the trip, as many families travel the soap box circuit in the summer, going from event to event.

To register, email sbd@stanwoodcamanoresources.org and sign up by Aug. 1 to reserve a car. Entry fees are $30 per car ($60 for both days) and $25 per day for each extra sibling.

The biggest difference between a rally race and the annual race in June is the lack of volunteers to run and manage the race, according to event organizers. It will be up to parents to keep score, load and unload the cars, provide and drive the return vehicles throughout the day, organizers said.

To learn more, visit soapboxderby.org.

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