Waynesboro winners prepare for All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron

Hannah Mullen is ready to take on both her competition and gravity.

The 16-year-old Waynesboro girl will be taking part in Saturday's All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. More than 400 contestants between the ages of 7 and 20 are expected to race at Akron's Derby Downs in the 82nd All-American World Championships. Drivers will come not only from the United States, but Canada and Japan as well.

Mullen is one of two competitors who earned a spot in Akron by winning at Waynesboro's Blue Ridge Soap Box Derby in June. And while it's the first time racing in that international event for the Wilson Memorial sophomore, it won't be her first time attending. 

Six years ago her older sister, Kaya, raced in the world championships. Having been part of the event before has helped make Hannah and her family more comfortable this week.

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"Yeah, it definitely does help calm nerves," Hannah Mullen said Wednesday afternoon during one of the few off days this week in Akron. 

Mullen will be racing in the super stock division, a class of cars designed for older drivers. Meanwhile. 9-year-old Alex Puckett is racing in the stock division on Saturday. Like Mullen, the Guy K. Stump Elementary School student won his division in Waynesboro last month.

"It was exciting," Puckett said of hearing his name called as the winner after crossing the finish line in Waynesboro. 

Puckett and his family are familiar with Akron also. Last year his older sister, Skylar, got the opportunity to race in the world championships. She finished eighth overall. 

"Our vacations have to do with either ball tournaments or Soap Box Derby," said the Pucketts' dad, Ben.

Cars are built from a kit purchased from the All-American Soap Box Derby. The cars don't have engines so they're gravity-powered, with cars gaining speed as they head downhill. In the Waynesboro event, drivers competed on Main Street.

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In Akron, the track at Derby Downs is just over 989 feet long and 30 feet wide. And, unlike in Waynesboro where two racers head down the hill together, Akron pits three racers against one another each time down the track.

Mullen's sister told her that was one of the biggest differences at this event compared to the local race. 

"Sometimes that's a little scary," Mullen said. 

The drivers got a chance to test their cars on the track Tuesday. 

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"It was really different from the track we went down in Waynesboro," Mullen said. "It was much faster, smoother. It seemed really longer."

The Pucketts arrived in Ohio Saturday. Alex's car had already been shipped to the track, so on Sunday the families had to reattach the body of the car to the chassis following an inspection by race officials.

There was a parade of champions and an opening ceremony on Monday, and the practice races on Tuesday. There are other events planned for the drivers and their families the rest of the week, including an Akron Rubberducks minor league baseball game on Friday. 

Alex Puckett finished his practice race "somewhere between fourth and ninth" out of 82 cars, his dad said. That helps give the driver confidence, but as Ben Puckett pointed out, his daughter Skylar went out in the first round of practice last year and ended up eighth in the world in the Saturday race.

"So you never know," he said. 

The races on Saturday can be viewed live online at http://aasbd.soapboxderby.org/. 

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