Opinion > Star Staff
Crazy Carts Crashing Into Curbs
Photo courtesy of Tim Carroll
Among the possible creative entries expected in this weekend's Red Bull Soapbox Derby at The Colony is a remarkably unique hot tub - surely about to go very wrong side up.
By Tim Carroll
Last May I told the story of a go-cart my friend Gary and I built as kids. With no money for an engine (or brakes), we pushed the cart around the neighborhood until we ran it into a tree.
If only there had been Red Bull instead of red pop at the corner store, we could have entered "The Black Widow" into the Red Bull Soapbox Race. Instead I will have to watch from the sidelines as the strangest event on wheels comes to North Texas.
The Red Bull Soapbox Race is an event that combines creativity, engineering and a sense of humor into a rather silly, but immensely entertaining day of racing. Teams of four build their entry and use human power to launch it down a steep hill. The teams compete for speed, creativity and showmanship and earn 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place rankings based on the scores from these three areas.
Red Bull, manufacturer of the popular energy drink, first sponsored its Soapbox Race in Belgium in 2000. Since then races have been held in more than 30 countries. The latest stop on the Red Bull "circuit" - or circus - is The Colony's Austin Ranch this coming weekend. Specifically, the Soapbox Race will be held on Saturday along Windhaven Parkway, just west of the Dallas North Tollway, starting at 1 p.m.
According to Red Bull, "gear-heads, adrenaline junkies and the just plain crazy have been plotting, building and testing their creations for months. Hundreds submitted their ideas and the 44 most unique and creative crafts were chosen to compete. The entries will range from giant skateboards and running shoes to a giant piece of cheese with live mice inside."
The teams of four will push their creations down a "treacherous course featuring jumps, bumps, curves and swerves."
Rules for the race are fairly simple. The soapboxes must be human powered, less than six-feet wide and seven-feet tall, less than 20 feet in length and must weigh no more than 176 pounds. (Not including the driver.)
Winning teams earn a trip to the Austin Formula One Race in November and other prizes appropriate to the occasion.
Red Bull sponsors an even crazier event called Flugtag (German for flight day) where competitors attempt to fly homemade, human-powered flying machines that are launched off a pier into the sea. Apparently the crafts rarely fly but they crash with style. Videos of the Soapbox Race show that many of the downhill racers also crash in style.
This weekend's races are expected to draw a crowd, so fans are encouraged to arrive early. The races start at 1 p.m. but the pits open at 11 a.m. The site has very little parking but Red Bull has identified remote parking lots in the area and is providing free shuttles from those locations. Visit the Red Bull USA website for more information.
So, an afternoon watching crazy, creative people crash their carts into curbs may not be your cup of coffee, but a visit to the Red Bull website might convince you to reconsider. Videos and photos of previous Soapbox Races can be found at www.redbullsoapboxusa.com
Tim Carroll is director of public information for the Allen ISD. Reach him at tim_carroll@allenisd.org
If only there had been Red Bull instead of red pop at the corner store, we could have entered "The Black Widow" into the Red Bull Soapbox Race. Instead I will have to watch from the sidelines as the strangest event on wheels comes to North Texas.
The Red Bull Soapbox Race is an event that combines creativity, engineering and a sense of humor into a rather silly, but immensely entertaining day of racing. Teams of four build their entry and use human power to launch it down a steep hill. The teams compete for speed, creativity and showmanship and earn 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place rankings based on the scores from these three areas.
Red Bull, manufacturer of the popular energy drink, first sponsored its Soapbox Race in Belgium in 2000. Since then races have been held in more than 30 countries. The latest stop on the Red Bull "circuit" - or circus - is The Colony's Austin Ranch this coming weekend. Specifically, the Soapbox Race will be held on Saturday along Windhaven Parkway, just west of the Dallas North Tollway, starting at 1 p.m.
According to Red Bull, "gear-heads, adrenaline junkies and the just plain crazy have been plotting, building and testing their creations for months. Hundreds submitted their ideas and the 44 most unique and creative crafts were chosen to compete. The entries will range from giant skateboards and running shoes to a giant piece of cheese with live mice inside."
The teams of four will push their creations down a "treacherous course featuring jumps, bumps, curves and swerves."
Rules for the race are fairly simple. The soapboxes must be human powered, less than six-feet wide and seven-feet tall, less than 20 feet in length and must weigh no more than 176 pounds. (Not including the driver.)
Winning teams earn a trip to the Austin Formula One Race in November and other prizes appropriate to the occasion.
Red Bull sponsors an even crazier event called Flugtag (German for flight day) where competitors attempt to fly homemade, human-powered flying machines that are launched off a pier into the sea. Apparently the crafts rarely fly but they crash with style. Videos of the Soapbox Race show that many of the downhill racers also crash in style.
This weekend's races are expected to draw a crowd, so fans are encouraged to arrive early. The races start at 1 p.m. but the pits open at 11 a.m. The site has very little parking but Red Bull has identified remote parking lots in the area and is providing free shuttles from those locations. Visit the Red Bull USA website for more information.
So, an afternoon watching crazy, creative people crash their carts into curbs may not be your cup of coffee, but a visit to the Red Bull website might convince you to reconsider. Videos and photos of previous Soapbox Races can be found at www.redbullsoapboxusa.com
Tim Carroll is director of public information for the Allen ISD. Reach him at tim_carroll@allenisd.org
Copyright © 2013 - Star Local News