Woodstock teen takes soap box racing to national level

The journey to becoming a soap box derby racing champion all started with a small local race in McHenry when Woodstock resident Logan Smith was 9 years old in 2017. After winning that first race, Logan has continued to triumph consistently at contests around the country.

Logan, a 16-year-old Woodstock North High School student, most recently placed third in the rally masters race at the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships in July in Akron, Ohio. And with his accumulated wins for the season, he finished as a top 10 racer in the country last year.

Soap box racers use small motorless vehicles that speed down an inclined track. Competitors use science, technology, engineering and math skills to create the cars, which usually are made out of wood and can go up to 30 mph.

“It’s a gravity drag race essentially,” Logan said.

Racers lean back and shoot down the track in about 20 seconds, solely relying on gravity for speed, Logan’s father Devin Smith said. Despite the risks, Logan has never crashed.

“It’s all science. It’s all STEM,” Devin Smith said. “It’s all about gravity. There’s no engine in these cars.”

Logan and his dad travel around the country for races and are always on the hunt for new tracks to take on. Logan also is no stranger to racing on the international stage in Ohio, which can bring in competitors from Canada and Japan. Ever since he started, Logan has qualified to compete in the world championship races, and has gone every year except during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McHenry held a local race for many years up until 2019, Devin Smith said. Logan happened into soap box racing because his mom worked at a local bank in McHenry that had a car and needed a racer. Devin Smith hopes to form a nonprofit or partner with an existing one to get the McHenry races going again.

For now, they race in Naperville, where the Greater Chicago Soap Box Derby Association is based. They race on a street track in the warmer months and set up tracks in empty buildings in the winter.

The association provides cars and training for new racers who join. Devin Smith, who is the assistant race director for the association, encourages anyone to reach out to join the Chicago Soap Box Derby Association through its website, greaterchicago.soapboxderby.org.

“I love putting tools in kids’ hands because I feel like we need to have more people doing things with their hands and just explaining them the science behind it,” Devin Smith said.

The father-son duo works together on assembling the soap box cars, making Devin Smith’s car mechanic skills useful. They have multiple cars and plenty of parts that they are constantly changing in their basement.

“My basement is just littered with soap box derby cars,” Devin Smith said.

The Smiths don’t plan to slow down with the competitions anytime soon. They’re scheduled to participate in one this weekend in Indianapolis, and then they’re off to Iowa and West Virginia. The Greater Chicago Soapbox Derby Association will be hosting local races Sept. 7 and 8 and Oct. 5 and 6 in Naperville.

They aim to try as many races as possible, but getting sponsors to fund their trips is always a challenge, they said.

It’s not all about winning, however. Logan said he feels the most joy being with friends he’s made at the competitions and the feeling of riding down the hill.

“You may not have the roar of the engine behind you, but some tracks, you still get moving,” Logan said.