For the last time in her 15-year racing career, two-time world champion Erin Donovan traveled six hours from her Pennsylvania hometown to Derby Downs for the 86th annual FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby Saturday.
"My parents met racing, so I was around it even before I could race," said Donovan, who started racing at 5 years old. "It's amazing. My brother finished, a lot of my friends aged out, but I wanted to finish."
She finished in fourth place in Saturday's rally masters race. In 2013 and 2018, Donovan came home a world champion.
This year's race week started when competitors arrived Sunday. After a parade for cheering family and friends in downtown Akron Monday, races began Tuesday. Saturday's finale began at 8:30 a.m.
Why compete? These racers have many reasons
Fifteen-year-old Conner Donahue traveled about five hours from Valparaiso, Indiana, with his family to compete in the world championships. His sisters, Audrey and Valerie, are also racers, though they did not qualify for this year's final race.
"I wanted to carry on this new tradition," said Conner, who raced a red car with pictures of his dogs Popcorn and Dixie on it. "I just wanted to keep on going."
Conner has competed in robotics competitions, so he was very interested in building his car with his family.
The Donahues, like other families and groups in attendance, had their own decorated tent along the race track for the long week of festivities. Their set-up had games, a poster with pictures of Conner and his sisters racing, cowbells with his car number, 166, and a V for Valparaiso and Conner's school. Unlike any of the other attendees, they also had inflatable figures, one being Buc-ee the beaver from the Buc-ee's store chain.
A traffic cone sat on a table with hundreds of signatures from people the family saw during race week.
Donovan said Soap Box Derby racing is the perfect place to meet people from all over and to build friendships.
"My best friends live in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, like I wouldn't be able to meet and be friends with these people if it weren't for the sport," Donovan said. "It's like no time passes. You won't see someone for a year and then you're like, 'Hey.'"
For those interested in Soap Box Derby racing, in addition to the chance to win it all, Donovan noted a few other perks of the sport.
"You make friends you never thought you'd meet, you build a community, and getting closer to your family is definitely another thing," Donovan said. "It teaches you a lot of life lessons."
This year's winners
The over 300 racers at the world championships ranged from 7 to 20 years old, and many came from around the world, including Ukraine, Japan and Canada.
To qualify for the world championships, competitors must win their local race or earn points when competing in the derby's rally program of races.
The racer divisions feature different car designs, with masters being the most advanced. The average race lasts between 28-29 seconds.
Here are this year's All-American Soap Box Derby winners.
Rally stock: Delaney Nichols, 12, Columbus, Ohio
Rally super stock: Aden Stewart, 15, Rixeyville, Virginia
Rally masters: Alyssa Gardiner, 15, Henderson, Nevada
Local stock: Drew Brand, 12, Omaha, Nebraska
Local super stock: Caleb Gilbert, 12, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Local masters: Hudson Danzilo, 14, Liberty, New York
Super Kids: Ethan Auwerda from Wild West Soap Box Derby in Nebraska
Reporter Isabella Schreck can be contacted at ischreck@gannett.com.
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