50 CARS EXPECTED TO RACE SATURDAY

Driving at speeds of 20 miles an hour was never more exciting than it will be Saturday as about 50 soapbox derby cars travel down Sprigg Street, event organizers said.

The racing, which starts at 10 a.m. in front of Blanchard School, returned to Cape Girardeau last fall after an absence of more than 50 years, said Chap Arnold, who is organizing the event for the Rotary Club.

The winner of Saturday's race will be the first in half a century to represent the area in Akron, Ohio, during national finals in August.

It took some time to convince Rotary Club members to take on the project, said Dieter Jedan, who pushed the idea.

"Convincing a hundred or so Rotarians is difficult," he said.

Family affair

The race for drivers between ages 9 and 16 serves a dual purpose -- fund raising and family building, Jedan said. Sponsorships to eight companies have been sold, with the overall corporate sponsorship going to St. Francis Medical Center.

Concessions will be available once racing starts, and organizers suggest using Lexington Avenue to come to the event, because Sprigg Street will be closed at Bertling Street.

No child can put together the $450 kit cars alone, Jedan said, so each project becomes a family affair.

The sport is also a great equalizer for children with not as much physical strength or stamina as others.

"Here it is just gravity, and everybody is equal," Jedan said.

Along with families, various organizations have purchased derby cars to carry their logos and be driven by the children of members or employees, Arnold said.

A car sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Police Department will run in the race, police chief Rick Hetzel said. The driver was chosen through recommendations from officers in the community policing program.

"This is just a continuation of our interest in mentoring youth," Hetzel said. "It's an opportunity to bring adults and youth together."

No modifications will be made to cars racing on Saturday. Rules for the stock class, which offers an introduction to soapbox derby, keep cars uniform.

They come in either red, white or blue and are weighted so car and driver do not exceed 200 pounds.

The cars are nothing like what Jedan drove as a boy growing up in Germany.

"I would drive an orange crate or a wooden soapbox, and I held a rope to steer it," Jedan said. "What these kids have now is nothing like this."

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Soapbox Derby

WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday

WHERE: Blanchard Elementary School

WHO: Children 9 to 16