Free Republic

Like countless rock ’n’ roll bands, the first Apple computer and budding entrepreneur Neal Bailey’s carbon fiber XTR sports car, some of the best things are built in garages. More than 30 four-wheeled examples of that homegrown American ingenuity, ranging from sleek fiberglass torpedoes to more elemental wooden models, rolled out Thursday to compete in the 62nd Conshohocken AMBUCS Soap Box Derby. --SNIP-- While soap box derbies may seem like something from a bygone innocent age — like Aunt Bea’s prize-winning boysenberry pie and Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights — they’re “a good family day,” Jeff Christman said

<p>AKRON, Ohio - Real life beat Hollywood to the finish line at the 73rd Annual All-American Soap Box Derby on Saturday.</p> <p>With actor-director Corbin Bernsen filming the movie "Hill 25," based on the Soap Box Derby, 14-year-old Sean Brown rolled to victory in the Rally Super Stock Division in a way that no script writer ever imagined. He won in the car that had been driven by his late sister Carol Anne. She was 18 when she committed suicide last year on Easter Sunday.</p>

AKRON, Ohio—The All-American Soapbox Derby has fallen on hard times. In November, the organizer of the race, in which kids ride cars they build down a hill, was sued by its hometown bank, FirstMerit Corp. The bank was demanding repayment of two loans totaling $623,000. The derby couldn't pay. That led to a bailout: The city of Akron guaranteed the debt of the nonprofit derby group. And the bank restructured the loan on favorable terms. The uproar caught the eye of Corbin Bernsen, the actor best known for his portrayal of sleazy lawyer Arnie Becker in the 1980s TV series...

spending millions of dollars to get a job that pays less than half a million a year

For the first time in 30 years, a world champion at the All-American Soap Box Derby has been stripped of his title. Wilton Blakely, 13, of Huntersville, N.C., winner of the rally stock championship, lost his title late Saturday evening after derby officials discovered violations in how his car was built and configured.Wilton Blakely Runner-up Koby Garnhart, 11, of Winnebago, Ill., has been declared the new winner in that division. Derby spokesman Bob Troyer said there are no other plans to pursue any further disciplinary actions against Wilton. ``I think the disqualification in itself is the disciplinary action,'' said Troyer....