Kids Race In Soap Box Derby Despite Rain, Have First African-american Winner

It’s come close before. It’s even experienced some delays in the past.But in its 80 years, the All-American Soap Box Derby never has been canceled because of rain.Despite a daylong forecast calling for storms and a brief run-in in the morning, Saturday’s running of the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby at Derby Downs was no exception.This year’s derby did have a first, though, and a positive one at that: For the first time in the race’s history, an African-American is a world champion.Marlon Wells, 18, from Indianapolis, placed first in the rally masters division, beating out Bryanna Plog of Omaha, Nev., and Joshua Ostrander of Rantoul, Ill.Wells was quiet as he got out of his car, feeling both nervous and relieved that he won after three years of racing in the All-American, he said.But as he walked on to the stage to receive his trophy and his family cheered his name loudly, a soft smile slid across his face.Even after winning, Wells said the best part of racing for him was “coming here with friends and family and just having fun.”Rain rain, go away“We won’t have to race Sunday,” derby Vice President Bobby Dinkins predicted (or willed) on Friday.His prediction proved right, though there were some delays — one in the morning, right after the champions marched in a parade through the rain, and another a couple hours later.At one point, races were running about an hour behind schedule, but after cancelling the Mayor’s Cup Race in the afternoon, the hundreds of volunteers involved in the races plugged away to get the them back on track.“The volunteers we have are so good at this, and they started pushing and we wound up ahead of schedule,” said Mark Gerberich, the president and CEO of the International Soap Box Derby.Gerberich said his first year as president was “awesome,” and in the upcoming years, he looks forward to promoting the derby more while making the kids “feel like the champs they are.”Dedicated familyThere were just a few hundred onlookers who stayed the entire day, many of them family members of the day’s 370 racers.Certain regions travel together with dozens in a group, parking themselves in multicolored tents that line the entire hill and balloon over the grass year after year, rain or shine.More than 30 people were there from Region 9, which represents New York, donning matching tye-dyed shirts and cheering on their 13 racers.Dozens of people from Region 7 sat across the way, representing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina.