Racers, start your ... rolling

Hannah Seesing hopes the third time is ... well, at least as much fun as the first two times.

Seesing, 11, will be competing in the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club's Soap Box Derby for the third straight year today.

"The first year I was in the middle of the pack," said the Central Middle School sixth-grade student. "Last year, not so well."

But the result has been secondary to just being a participant.

The cars will begin rolling down North Sprigg, just north of Bertling in front of Blanchard School, around 9 this morning. Twenty-one entries will race in the stock division for one berth in the 67th annual All-American Soap Box Derby, scheduled to begin July 31 in Akron, Ohio. Seven more racers will compete in the super stock division, in which cars can carry 230 pounds compared to 200 pounds in stock.

The rain date is Sunday if necessary.

Race director Tracey Glenn expects the event to conclude around 4 p.m.

Seesing would like to be in that final group in the double-elimination bracket. She will drive a car, sponsored by Dr. Richard Martin, that finished third in the event last year.

But Seesing can appreciate the bigger picture of taking part in the Soap Box Derby.

"It's just really fun," she said. "It's kind of a family thing; the family gets together to work on the car, and it's a fun weekend to get out and enjoy the weather, hopefully. It's an exciting time."

The Seesing family will be very involved in this year's derby, as veteran Hannah is joined in the competition by her 8-year-old brother, Kirkland. He will drive a car sponsored by Centenary United Methodist. Hannah's father, Mark Seesing, is helping her put together the kit car this year, while her mother, Elizabeth, helped her the last two years.

Part of the family bonding experience is building the derby's kit cars, which must be constructed to certain specifications by the competitor -- who can be ages 7 to 17 -- and an adult. Weights can be added to bring the car up to the limit, which is important with gravity providing the only source of power. The difference between winning and losing comes from the weight distribution within the car and a driver's ability to stay low while steering the quickest line using the pulleys and levers connected to the front axle.

The Rotary Club offered two car-building clinics and also had a practice day on the course last Saturday. The cars had to be weighed Friday night.

The derby itself will feature match races of two heats between two cars. The time difference in the two heats -- each driver gets a run in each of the two lanes -- determines which car advances in the double-elimination bracket.

Each racer will receive a participation trophy and the top four finishers receive honors. The top stock finisher can compete at the international event in Ohio this summer.

Southeast Missouri Hospital is the presenting sponsor for the event, which helps the Rotary Club raise money for its service activities.

Hannah Seesing said she had learned some things from her first two derby competitions. The foremost lesson, though, it may not help her on the track today as much as it will help her and all the other competitors off the track in the future.

"I've learned that you just have to, when you lose, you just have to take it that you lost," she said, "because you lose a lot in life, and it's something you have to deal with."