The Gutierrez family—(front) mom Denise, Alexander, Jessie, (back) dad Tony and Antonio—has made Soap Box Derby a tradition. Denise was a champion racer as a child. Jessie will compete in the world championships this month. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
By Nicole DeMentri
Soap Box Derby is more than just a weekend hobby for the Gutierrez family of Hamilton—it truly is a passion that the entire family shares.
With dad Tony in charge of the driving instructions and mom Denise keeping track of times and bracket places, the Gutierrez children—Antonio, Jessie and Alexander—have plenty of support. It is no wonder then that, at just 13, Jessie Gutierrez will compete in the 77th First Energy All American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio this month.
Jessie advanced there by placing first in the Super Stock Division at the New Jersey Soap Box Derby in New Brunswick June 7. Her younger brother, 9-year-old Alexander, placed third in the Stock Division. Older brother Antonio, 15, cheered on his siblings while sidelined with an injury.
Racing is in the blood of the Gutierrez children. It started with Denise, who learned the sport before she was eligible to race. Denise can remember her older brother coming home from school to ask her father if he could try soap box racing. Without hesitation, Denise’s dad, Don Hoover, started building cars for his kids to compete in.
Denise and her three brothers all began racing as soon as they were eligible at 9. They started racing in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They later moved to Annapolis, Maryland, and would travel the 30 miles to Washington, D.C. to compete. The family went to every race together and supported each other even if they weren’t racing, Denise said.
In 1984, at the age of 11, Denise got to do what Jessie will do this month—compete in Akron. Two of her brothers ended up following her footsteps and went onto Akron as well, in 1986 and 1987 respectively.
After his own kids became too old to race and he started his job in charge of youth activities for the Fleet Reserve Association, Hoover turned to recruiting.
“If he saw kids he thought could race, he’d say, ‘How old are you? I think you’re perfect for Soap Box Derby racing!’” Denise said. “He just tells everyone about it.”
Over the years, Hoover has accumulated numerous cars. Interested kids are invited to his house to learned how to build the cars, how to use them, and then he makes sure that they can race in their closest race city.
In fact, he has had 12 kids that he’s recruited over the past 20 years move onto the international race in Akron.
When his grandkids became the right age to race, they jumped right into the family business and continued winning, moving onto Ohio.
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In the simplest terms, Soap Box Derby is gravity cars. The cars hold one person and start at the top of the hill. With steering and braking systems, competitors aged 7-19 drive their own cars and compete against each other without any gas or electrical help.
There are three different divisions in Derby: Stock, Super Stock and Masters. The divisions are usually based off of weight, with each one setting a different maximum weight for drivers. The weight isn’t of the child, but instead it comes from the weight of the car. Many drivers weight their car to make it heavier.
Each division has a different type of car with differing rules used in the race. This year, Jessie switched from a Stock car to a Super Stock car. The family heard about kids winning when they took all of the weight out of the car, so they decided to try that at the last minute. It worked.
Alexander is in the Stock division and drives a stock car. Stock cars come in red, white, or blue, and participants aren’t allowed to change the color. Meanwhile, Super Stock and Master cars come in white and are allowed to be painted however the driver wants.
Back when the Hoover family began racing, Don and his kids built each division car out of wood, primed and painted it. It took the family nearly four months to finish one car because they had to completely build it from scratch.
“If you didn’t have the knowledge about how to build a Soap Box car, let alone know what Soap Box Derby even was, then there was no way you would be able to build a car when I was a kid,” Denise said.
It’s much easier now. The cars come in kits that include everything needed to build a Soap Box car. From start to finish, one car would probably take four hours to complete—no carpenter’s knowledge needed. Each race organization holds events throughout the year to help people learn how to build their cars, so that every kid can race.
When Jessie moved from Stock to Super Stock this year, she took a trip to Grandpa Don’s garage. He helped her build her car that raced this year and will race again in Akron.
“He’s the guy we call when it’s time to build the kids cars,” said Denise, smiling.
The Gutierrez family brings along Grandpa Don to help them over a couple of weekends to assemble the car and then design it if their division allows.
Once the car is finished, it’s time to race it. Local races start in the closest racing city. If there aren’t enough participants in a certain division, a family can appeal to the next closest racing city with their division to have their child compete.
Usually the races extended throughout a weekend. The first day is spent taking practice runs where the kids get the chance to test out the track and make sure that their steering and brakes work. The New Brunswick race also has a family picnic put on by sponsor Johnson and Johnson where the families get to meet each other and hang out.
The second day is when the actual racing starts. Each competition is a double elimination, which means that the winner needs to beat out their competitor twice in order to continue advancing. There are two lanes for each contestant and during the race they end up switching lanes and wheels. The race goes by quickly and ends up coming down to thousandths of a second to determine the winner. Driving is the key to winning. Jessie won by .005 seconds, all thanks to her driving skills.
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On July 19, Jessie, Alexander, Antonio, Tony, Denise, Hoover and Denise’s mom Diane will head to Akron, Ohio for the international race week. Here the winners from local competitions around the globe will compete in what’s billed as “the greatest amateur racing event in the world.”
During the week, the kids will participate in a parade around town, photoshoots, practice runs and days at the local amusement park. There’s even a red carpet that Denise remembers walking down that Jessie will get to do, as well.
Since there are hundreds of participants, each race is a single-elimination. That means whoever wins advances, and the other person doesn’t get to race anymore.
Regardless of how the race ends up, Jessie is very excited to even be going.
“I’m really excited to test this track because it’ll be so different than what I raced in New Jersey,” Jessie said.
Of course, she is hoping for another win, but is ecstatic already that moved on to Akron.
With family cheering her on, Jessie is sure to have endless amounts of support from her family in Ohio. Her cousin, Dustin, won the superstock division in Washington, D.C. in mid-June, and qualified for Akron, as well. So, the entire family will be there.
“In the end, I just want my kids to have fun with Soap Box Derby,” Denise said. “Once they stop having fun, I don’t want them to do it anymore.”
That doesn’t seem to be an issue for now. Jessie, Alexander and Antonio all say they love Soap Box Derby and won’t stop racing anytime soon.
When asked about his favorite part of racing, Alexander couldn’t pick one thing he loved most. But upon further thought, he shouted “Winning!”
With that kind of attitude, it seems he’s destined to keep alive the passion—and success—of the Gutierrez family.
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