The Soap Box Derby ran continuously from its inception until the onset of World War II. After a four-year hiatus, the All-American Soap Box Derby resumed in Akron in 1946, and has been held at Derby Downs every year since.

How fast does a Soap Box Derby car go?

Soapboxes are delicately balanced; they race at speeds upwards of 30 miles per hour. Each year the cars that win the finals stay in Akron and are put on display in the Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame-76 of them to date.

Has anyone died in a soapbox race?

Oslo - A twenty-two year old German student from Schleswig-Holstein died in a soapbox derby when he missed a left curve on a slope and plunged straight down 15 metres unto rocks near Vestrumsbygda, 120 kilometres from Oslo. He suffered severe head and chest injuries and attempts of resuscitation were futile.