2009 Coulterville Soap Box Derby Winner Jacob Baca


Andrew Stover edges out Branden Morey in this Heat


(L-R)  2nd Place Winner Andrew Stover, 1st Place Winner Jacob Baca &
 Third Place Winner Branden Morey

First, second and third place winners Jacob Baca, Andrew Stover and Branden Morey, all veterans of the inaugural 2008 Derby, set the pace at this year’s October 17^th event!  An incredible array of 15 racing vehicles competed on the Broadway track on a sunny Fall Saturday morning in Coulterville.  While a few looked like they had rolled right out of a comic strip, others resembled sophisticated racing vehicles and rough ‘n tough off-road racers.  All had the basics, 4 wheels (varying widely in size), something to steer with and those all important brakes! 

First place winner, Jacob Baca, age 11, hails from Greeley Hill. He moved up from second place in the ’08 competition.  This year, Jacob proudly walked away with the $100 first place cash prize donated by the Coulterville Community Club, as well as getting his name engraved on the second line of the perpetual trophy which is on display in Coulterville during the year.  Second place winner Andrew Stover, age 13, from Coulterville was the third place winner in the ‘08 event. The 2^nd place cash prize of $75 was donated by the 'Tom Jenkins VFW Men's Auxiliary'. Branden Morey, age 9, of Coulterville who took third place had been aced out in the initial heat in the ’08 event.  He not only won a $50 cash prize donated by the VFW Ladies Auxiliary.  Branden’s dad, Chris Morey, proudly pointed out that both Branden and his brother had done much of the welding on their racers this year.  “It was a great opportunity to teach both of my kids an important skill”, he noted.  Andrew Stover also said he had done much of the work on his racer. 

The two youngest racers, Jaxon Ludwig, age 3 1/2 and Madilynn Ludwig, age 5, from Coulterville, needed a tad of assistance, but both will be back next year to try again with a year of experience under their belt.  A few of the younger spectators also indicated they plan on building their own racer this year and plan on competing in next year’s event.

Old fashioned fun was had by both participants and spectators alike with hot dogs and soda pop, that were available adjacent to the track this year, thanks to the 'Tom Jenkins VFW' making their food cart available for the event.  While there were a few tumbles, the safety equipment the racers wore kept bodies intact.   Bernie Laursen, aka “Mr. Derby”, and is wife Chris, or “Mrs. Derby”, thanked the many folks who had assisted.  Bernie indicated he will write a follow-up article thanking everyone who helped make the event so successful, including a special thanks to Ted Dwyer who MC’d both this year’s and last year’s event.  Dwyer’s cool country sounds as well as some great sound effects added a real “professional” touch to the event. A great day was had by ALL!

Article by Dale Silverman