Drivers from near and far gathered in Franklin County, Massachusetts over the weekend – taking part in a downhill tradition that raises money for a good cause.
A couple hundred locals and racing fans were at Unity Park Sunday as soapbox racing returned.
The annual Montague Soapbox Races were back in Turners Falls – featuring about two dozen drivers heading down Unity Park Hill as spectators cheered them on.
The “Kids Group” kicked things off, with drivers ages 8-12 rolling down on 1st Street. The motorless carts came in all shapes and sizes, including a mock F-35 with 9-year-old Quill Bullock in the cockpit.
With each rider getting a pair of heats, Bullock placed third in 48 seconds. First and second was a little closer, with Joseph Dizuria totaling 45.79 – a hair behind first-place Zeagan Stafford.
“I was horrified at first, but as soon as I started going, I got really comfortable, and I was like, ‘This is kind of fun,’” said 15-year-old Myra Glabach the race’s only member of the “Teen Group” this year.
The teenager from Sebring, Florida, earned the first-place trophy after riding in a special cart designed to raise awareness for CRMO — a rare autoimmune disease.
“It's designed to help spread awareness about a condition that I've now overcome, called ‘CRMO,’ which stands for chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis — it’s a bone condition that's seen in youth, that's one-in-a-million,” she explained.
It was a family affair, too – Myra’s father, Chris, placed second in the adult group.
“Oh, she scared me, but she's a daredevil,” he told WAMC.
With a large crowd of fans and enthusiasts sitting near the finish line cheering them on throughout the day, Chris added the community is welcoming, too.
“Oh, it was great - everybody helping each other out,” he said. “We actually had a blown tire right before we were supposed to head up the hill, and people were coming over, making sure that we were ready to go.”
Those weren’t the only family ties at the winner’s circle. The man with the fastest gravity racer was 20-year-old Jonathan Bodenstein of Northfield, Massachusetts.
Earning first place, he told WAMC the cart he rode in, was the work of his brother, Brian, and his grandfather, Bob St. Germain.
Brian was slated to ride, but being a National Guardsman, he was called up for drills instead. Jonathan stepped in.
“I was able to stand in and do the race for him,” Bodenstein said. “He actually ended up winning last year, so I kept it going, which is always good.”
Organizers say Sunday marked the race’s seventh running. The event dates back to 2010, with a few years’ worth of pauses before coming back recently.
The Montague Soapbox Races chairperson Dan Burke says the race raised a couple thousand dollars for the local parks department.
“It went amazing, everything went smoothly. We had 23 racers and everyone had a great time,” he said. “A couple spectacular spills and I don't think anyone got hurt. So, it was a good, successful day and we raised close to $5,000 for the Montague Parks Department.”
Burke said the money goes toward covering costs for children who cannot afford area summer programs, allowing them to attend.
As he said, the race also featured a few minor spills, including a last-second accident that knocked out at least one cart – a skull-themed vehicle operated by Scott Murphy.
No injuries from what I heard. Scott's trying to fix his car now. Announcers say he actually accidentally struck the other car, as well pic.twitter.com/EwcUr3HYZ7
— James Paleologopoulos (@WAMC_J_Paleo) June 2, 2024
“That’s not good - the white car was trying to make a U-turn - it looks like he bent his front-right axle,” said announcer, as well as organizer and president of the Northeast Soapbox Association, Mik Muller.
“Oh dear, the skull mobile got de-skulled,” fellow announcer Russ Brown added.
Both men added commentary from the announcer’s booth throughout the day.
Russ considers Muller the mastermind behind the start of the races. Mik, meanwhile, say he is more of an advisor these days. He says the soapbox racing community is tightly-knit.
“Some of them, the adults are kind of like racers - they go to Monadnock and they do that stuff, and they want their kids to get involved,” he explained. “So, it's like the summer project, and they build these carts and - a couple of people got second place because they were behind by an eighth of a second - I mean, an eighth of a second! We're talking about stuff that some people just pulled together out of their garage, you know? So, the camaraderie of, you know, ‘how did you do your braking?’ ‘Oh, look at the steering,’ - that's pretty cool - I'd like to do it that way next year,’ and yeah, it's a real feel-good thing.
He said he and other organizers are looking to spread the word about soapbox races and that he’s always happy to help other communities learn how to plan them and raise money for their own parks and recreational departments.
Brown concurred.
“We are willing to go to other towns, within reasonable distance, and help them out, because – we’re like the preachers, you know - we like to spread the wealth.”
“And the word!” Muller added.
“And the word!” Brown said. “Hallelujah!”
For @WAMCNews - it's the Montague Soapbox Derby! We've got folks speeding down First Street and Unity Park hill in Turners Falls. pic.twitter.com/Eiq1HWiZi3
— James Paleologopoulos (@WAMC_J_Paleo) June 2, 2024
