Volunteers keep the Soap Box Derby rolling

Jetson Dewrock had won first place at the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club and Plaza Tire Service annual Soap Box Derby for the past two years. This year, however, Dewrock used his talent to make another boy as happy as he had been.

This year, Dewrock was the driver for Carson Franklin, a 12-year-old special-needs boy who participated in the Super Kids Classic division of the Soap Box Derby.

Dewrock said his key to success is "we take care of it [the soap box car], we don't let the axles or anything get bent, and we take good care of it."

According to the All American Soap Box Derby rulebook, once a participant wins first place in each division of their local qualifier, they are no longer eligible to keep racing. But Dewrock wasn't ready to quit. He said he enjoys racing and hopes to keep racing in the future.

The Super Kids Classic division is for special-needs children who ride in the passenger seat of a two-seat soap box car. That's where Dewrock came in to help Franklin.

"There's only one special- needs kid doing the race today and driving for him today is a kid who's won this race both divisions previously so he can't race again with us, so he's very experienced so we had him drive the Super Kids car today," event co-chairman John Grimm said.

The derby, sponsored by Plaza Tire Service and SoutheastHEALTH, is divided into the Stock Car division, Super Stock division and Super Kids Classic. Thirty-eight children participated in the derby this year, said Rotary Club member Tracey Glenn.

The Stock Car division is for children ages 7 to 13, and the car must weigh a maximum of 200 pounds, which includes the weight of the car and the driver. The Super Stock division is for children ages 9 to 17 with the car weighing a maximum of 240 pounds.

The top four racers of the Stock Car and Super Stock divisions won a T-shirt and a large trophy. First place in each division qualified for a chance to compete in nationals in Akron, Ohio.

This year, Amelia Shemonic of the Stock Car division and twin brother Camdyn Shemonic of the Super Stock division will head to Ohio to the nationals in late July.

Participants raced two at a time on North Sprigg Street in front of Blanchard Elementary School.

"What we do is a double-elimination race," Glenn said. "So what that means is there's two heats per race, and you have to lose two races before you lose and you're out."

There were 16 racers registered in the Stock Car division and 22 in the Super Stock division. However, before a participant can race, he has to find a sponsor and build the car.

"There are kits available on the all American soap box derby website [aasbd.org] and that's what we do: People order kits, sponsors buy cars, they put their names on them and sometimes they have drivers, sometimes they don't. We also help find drivers for some of them," Glenn said.

Glenn said each car is brought up to the same maximum allowable weight so everybody can have a fair race.

The Rotary Club works with the Teen Challenge organization to keep the event running smoothly.

"We probably have 30 Rotary volunteers, and we want to give a big kudos to Teen Challenge. They're at the bottom of the hill when those cars cross the finish line; they pick them up and put them on the trailers to get them back there, and those cars are heavy," Glenn said.

Teen Challenge, a religious drug and alcohol addiction treatment program, has worked with the derby for the past two years.

It was the Rotary Club's mission to exceed its fundraising from last year. Tim Woodard, fundraising coordinator for the event, said last year it raised $17,500, and he was confident it would exceed its goal of $20,000 this year.

Glenn said a portion of the money goes toward the International Rotary Club, but a majority of the funds stays local.

"Basically our Rotary Club gives money to different organizations -- the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Boys and Girls Club and Discovery Playhouse, all those different agencies that come and seek funding, this is where we get our money," Glenn said.

"We do sponsorships for this, and that's how we make some money to give back to the community."

smaue@semissourian.com