Detroit's Soap Box Derby days

Horton Leonard wins the first Detroit News Soap Box Derby in July 1935. As the winner he advanced to the national race in Akron, Ohio, and was flown there in style in “The Early Bird,” The Detroit News’ airplane.

Competitors set off in 1937. The Detroit News and Chevrolet were early sponsors of the sport. The derby was originally open to boys ages 6-16, but was later changed to ages 11-15. Entrants could not spend more than $10 on materials and could not have assistance from machine shops, garages or adults.

These contestants in 1937 get a start on a ramp. The soap box cars were fueled entirely by gravity. Car and driver had to weigh in at 250 pounds or less.

The Detroit race was run on a special track set up in Rouge Park. Above, spectators watch the 1937 finals.

Hugh Johnson flags a dead heat at the 1939 races.

Racers head down the ramp in the 1940 finals.

Are those Michigan potholes facing these 1940 racers in Rouge Park?

Tommy Fisher was the 1940 Detroit Soap Box Derby champion and 1940 National Soap Box Derby champion.

Contestants race during heats for the 1941 finals.

1941 Soap Box champion Billy White strikes a determined pose.

Billy White, 1941 Detroit News Soap Box champ, was the bigshot on his Royal Oak block the Sunday after the race. His pals crowded around to see the car that proved the fastest in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties that year.

W.E. Fish of Chevrolet presents John P. Studnicky Jr. with the trophy in 1947. Runner-up was Walter W. Hammond, right.

Johnny Studnicky helps son John P. Studnicky Jr., the 1947 Soap Box Champ. Building the racers required thought, labor and purpose. The youths were encouraged to build racers that were better than the rest, not unlike what the Motor City itself did on a much larger scale.

The scene at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio, during the world championships in 1949. During the peak of the sport's popularity in the 1950s and '60s, as many as 70,000 people would gather in August to watch the event.

Referee Fred Derks Donald waves the checkered flag in 1950.

Albert Ruscel, right, collects his 1951 championship trophy.

Albert Ruscell, the 1951 Soap Box champion, is all smiles in his car.

Detroit Tigers Charlie Maxwell and Al Kaline greet Soap Box Derby champions Larry and Bobby Horvath in 1960.

Frank Barry, left, William Klepsch and Joe Wagel, all 17 and of Detroit, examine the car that won Roger K. Woodside the best design prize at the 1960 Soap Box Derby. Klepsch was runner-up in the 1960 Soap Box Derby.

The repair and lube pit at the 1961 Soap Box Derby.

Engineer George Annibal talks about the importance of breaking in wheels to contestants at Ven Haven Chevrolet in 1961.

Marvin Smotherman waves a flag at the 1962 Soap Box Derby.

A Soap Box Derby window display at Kresge's on Woodward and State in Detroit, 1963.

Racers Edward Margovich, Douglas Dickenson and Jim Monkiewicz make a tight finish in a 1963 heat.

Brothers Mark, Paul and David Wooster of Royal Oak with "Red" Bonham, their Soap Box Derby area director in 1965.

Robert Wrobel gets his car inspected for the 1965 Soap Box Derby.

Brothers Mark, Paul and David Wooster of Royal Oak with "Red" Bonham, their Soap Box Derby area director in 1965.

Starter Shelton Johnson in 1963 watches Terry Carter, 12, gets some words of advice from Bobby Hanlon, the 1962 winner.

The Detroit and Suburban Motor City Soap Box Derby champs, brothers Thomas J. Shorkey, 11, and Patrick J. Shorkey Jr., 13, display their trophies with proud parents Patrick and Winifred Shorkey in 1964. The boys were part of a family of eight kids, and were headed to Akron, Ohio, to compete for a share in $30,000 in college scholarships to be awarded to the winners in the All-American Soap Box Derby.

Robert Wrobel gets his car inspected for the 1965 Soap Box Derby.

Contestants line up to have their cars inspected at the 1966 Soap Box Derby.

Kathy Bielicki adjusts the helmet of her son, derby contestant Richard Bielicki, 13, in 1967.

Brothers Harold Wrobel, 9, Tom Wrobel, 12, and Bob Wrobel, 16, camped out to be first in line for inspection in 1967.

Inspector David Gilles checks out the vehicle of Ron D. Bartolomeo, 13, in 1969.

Hayes Jones, director of the New York City department of parks and recreation and was a 1964 Olympic Gold medal winner in the high hurdles, as well as a graduate of Pontiac Central High School and Eastern Michigan University, chats with Branch Lew, the 11-year-old winner of the 1968 All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio.

David Couser, 11, gives the OK sign on his first trip down a rain-soaked hill with his father, Thomas Couser, in 1969.

Gerald Browder, 14, with his car in 1970.

Soap Box Derby contestants wave for the camera in 1971.

Mike Guerriero weighs his car in 1971.

The oil can race at the 1971 Soap Box Derby featured adults from the media world, like then-Detroit News columnist Pete Waldmeir, center.

Ron Cassiz's car resembles a striped shark in 1971.

Cindy Winters works on her car in 1971, the first year girls competed in the Soap Box Derby.

Deneas Terebus works on her car in 1971.

Racers Jay Terbees, Dave German and Ray Marquis head downhill in 1981.

Brothers Dan Niewoit, 23, and David Niewoit, 16, test their car on Derby Hill near Outer Drive and Mound in 1981.

Jim Wheaton of Plymouth waits as his father, Bob, makes last-minute adjustments to his car during the Soap Box Derby at Ford Field in Dearborn in 1986.