On Saturday, June 11th McClintock Electric employee, Chris Jordan and his daughter Kylee, age 12, participated in the 62nd running of the Wayne Holmes Soap Box Derby. The event took place on Benden drive in Wooster.
Chris and daughter, Kylee, spent 3 months building and fine tuning the car which was sponsored in part, by Jordan’s Custom exhaust and McClintock Electric. A family friend assisted with painting the car. The car Kylee raced (pictured above) has a total of 240lbs race weight including the driver. Depending on the track, these cars can reach speeds of 35-40mph.
Many families who are involved in Soap Box Derby pass down the skill and passion for racing from generation to generation. The Jordan family is part of a long standing tradition of Soap Box Derby drivers dating back to Kylee’s great-grandfather. Carrying on that tradition, this year was Kylee’s first year. In her first year, she finished one heat away from placing in the Superstock division, which requires the driver to lean forward during the race for improved aerodynamics.
Building on the knowledge gained from this first year race, the father/daughter team plan to get more involved in other racing events around Ohio and the surrounding states. Chris and Kylee plan to attend the Akron Derby Downs rally racing event in late August and are considering getting involved in rally racing in Ohio, West Virginia, and Indiana.
For more information on the Wayne Holmes Soap Box Derby please visit www.soapboxderby.org/wayne-holmes.aspx or by visiting their facebook page www.facebook.com/WayneHolmesSoapBoxDerby. Wayne Holmes Soap Box Derby will be holding a fundraising event Thursday July, 14th at Applebees in Wooster.
Special thanks to Chris Jordan and daughter Kylee for their involvement in this article and to McClintock Electric and Jordan’s Custom Exhaust, two longstanding Wooster businesses, for their sponsorship in this race.