Seizing on a publicity opportunity, Scott decided to plan an even bigger city-wide event with the support of his employer, the Dayton Daily News, which recognized the hope-inspiring and goodwill nature of the story—especially during the Depression.

A date was set for August 19, 1933, to host a parade,[16] the race to occur a day after, and the location chosen as Burkhardt Hill, a straight, westbound slope on Burdhardt Ave[d] east of Downtown Dayton.

[19][5] Scott immediately set about making the race an All-American event the following year, and sought a national sponsor, selling the idea successfully[20] to the Chevrolet Motor Company to co-sponsor with the Dayton Daily News.

Watched by a crowd estimated at 45,000,[22] boys from 34 cities competed in the all day affair, with Robert Turner of Muncie, Indiana, piloting a car riding on bare metal wheels with no bearings, becoming the first All-American Champion.

Charles Baer of Akron won the All-Ohio Championship, and in a separate race category called Blue Flame for boys aged 16 to 18, Eugene Franke of Dayton, piloting a scaled-down version of a professional motorized racer, took the crown.

A long, eastbound grade on Tallmadge Avenue located at the east end of the city,[e] and the site of 1934 Akron local race, was used for that year's national event, and a date was set for August 11, 1935.

Fifty-two champs from across the nation made the trip to Akron, greeted by a throng of 50,000 on race day, with Maurice Bale of Anderson, Indiana, in a sleek, metal-clad racer taking the top prize.

Following its announcement on July 29, 1936, construction began on a 1,600 feet (490 metres) paved track with landscaping, installation of the rented grandstands and bleachers, and the erection of a wooden, two-deck bridge over the finish line, all by WPA workers.

When the director yelled "stop!," meaning "cut!," the driver of the truck heeded, while Gil, unaware, continued headlong into rear bumper, injuring his back and landing him in the hospital for a week.

[70] Visiting uncles from Columbus, Georgia, located 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Thomasville, suggested that he enter a goat cart he had built at their local Soap Box Derby race, something Joe knew nothing about.

[93] As with any sport involving family participation, there were parents wanting to win at all cost, particularly since the stakes were so high, with a kid acting simply as jockey, piloting a car that was built by an adult or hired professional.

In the late sixties enrollment at the Soap Box Derby was at an all-time-high, with craftsmanship and car design exploring innovative new concepts that favored drivers in a full lay-down position instead of the standard sit-up configuration.

[104] Unlike most organized sports, the Soap Box Derby chose not to split competition along gender lines by creating a separate category for each, meaning all contestants would compete on an equal footing.

[107] In no time the girls equaled the boys,[108] and in 1975 the first female World Champion honor fell to Karren Stead, 11, (her car pictured) of Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who not only won but did so in an arm cast[m] she acquired a few days earlier after an injury at Derby Camp.

GM general manager John DeLorean stated on record that he felt the Derby was outdated and too expensive to hold,[110] so the hard decision fell to him, and on September 28, 1972, it was announced that Chevrolet would end its sponsorship.

They also transferred all rights and chattels over to the new sponsor for a single settlement of $1, including the Soap Box Derby name and logo, and capital used in staging the All-American like structures, finish-line bridge, bleachers and equipment.

[127] Open to kids ages ten through twelve, it became an entry-level tier with an entirely new, "patterned"[128] car design sold as a kit, with easy-to-follow instructions, and included everything except the wood and tools to build a complete racer.

Created as a "grand-prix style" program, kids got to travel to other communities outside their own, providing greater opportunity to develop their racing skills in preparation for their local Soap Box Derby.

[160] During those first three years, Mazur set about writing and implementing a strategic plan, shifting Derby's mandate from youth orientation to education programs and greater adult participation, including having them race.

John Knox, 1956 Akron, OH Champion and a second-of-third-generation Derby family member stated in 1983 "It may be dull as dishwater for the spectators," due to the slower pace of determining a winner, but fairer "for the kids.

[218] Peculiar innovations appearing from the late-fifties to the late-sixties were cars fitted with clefts (pictured) or depressions running axially along the fore-deck, called "sight-grooves",[aa] through which drivers could see ahead while slumped low in the cockpit.

The kit instructions offered several body designs from which to choose, but the general configuration was a flat-top car with a teardrop-shaped floor board, to which were affixed squared wooden bulkheads enclosed in a plywood skin.

Wheel-sets were often in short supply in the early years,[38] and many suppliers took advantage of this by advertising after-market "Derby-type" wheels for sale in newspapers at a cheaper price, or to fill the gap when official issue were unavailable.

[252] According to David Fulton, author of Winning Ingredients for Soap Box Derby Racers, the recommend practice on race day is to keep the car parked in the sun and over dark pavement so that the radiant heat will warm the wheels and rubber on them, improving times.

[281] Team Eliminator, composed of crew chief and designer Jack Barr and driver Lynnel McClellan, achieved victory with a time of 27.160 in the 70th (2007) All-American Soap Box Derby Ultimate Speed Challenge.

[283] In the 72nd (2009) AASBD Ultimate Speed Challenge, Derek Fitzgerald's Zero-Error Racing team, with driver Jamie Berndt, took advantage of a freshly paved track, and set a new record time of 26.924 seconds.

[291] Inaugural inductees included Derby founder Myron E. Scott—who at the invitation of Iula attended the ceremony, Bain E. "Shorty" Fulton, Jim Schlemmer, Jimmy Stewart and Wilbur Shaw.

It houses about half of the 140+ vehicles that have crossed the All-American finishing line as winners over the years, displayed on the floor, or hung vertically or upside down[299] from a steel-framed upper deck at the far end from the main entrance.

[307] Equally visible and even more numerous than the racers themselves is the plethora of programs, buttons, flags, jerseys, banners, posters and a countless Derby keepsakes and take-away items found frequently on eBay and various websites catering to collectors.

[311] In 1983 Jeff Iula, Ron Reed and literary guide Tom Klinger stated that they had a book—"THE" Derby book covering the detailed history of the Soap Box Derby—ready for print, and were seeking a publisher.