Speed Queen Soap Box Derby Veteran A Roll Model For All Competitors

She’s the racing queen the local soap box derby champion and girl next door who often beats the boys.

Bryann “Annie” Robinson knows she’s fast, but she won’t share her secrets.

“It’s a girl’s trick,” said Robinson, a 14-year-old with purple nail polish and sparkly lipstick. “Girls have been kicking butt in this sport because they’re more flexible.”

Two years ago, the Deer Park resident competed against the world’s best racers in Akron, Ohio. In Spokane, where she was the champion two years ago, she’s a celebrity among soap box derby fans.

On Saturday, she and 48 others vied for the trophy at the fourth annual Spokane Soap Box Derby Race. And once again Robinson was a winner, taking first in the superstock division. Christina Padilla of Spokane won the stock division.

Several hundred fans flocked along Post Street hill in North Spokane to watch kids compete for an all-expense paid trip to the world finals in Akron.

As ‘60s music blared in the background, parents and friends sat on lawn chairs and blankets, cheering and clapping and waiting for the hunks of wood and fiberglass to speed down the 950-foot course.

“It’s the only sport that keeps kids and parents together,” said Marchette Momb, race coordinator and Spokane Soap Box Derby Association member. “You can’t just drop them off like in soccer. You have to stay.”

Kids come from as far as Red Lodge, Mont., to compete. Many belong to families with a long history of soap box derby racing and often build their cars with the help of their parents.

The car kits cost about $400 and take several hours to assemble, participants say. Most are sponsored by relatives, as well as businesses and organizations.

“It’s fun and scary at the same time,” said 10-year-old Gavin Fairbanks, who raced for the first time on Saturday. “It’s not that hard, you just hold on and be brave.”

Derby racing is very competitive.

For the most part, drivers beat each other by a tenth, sometimes even by hundredths, of a second.

For Robinson, who has raced for seven years, it’s the speed that keeps her going.

“Me and derby are like Joe Montana and football,” she said.

She still gets nervous before a race, she said. She doesn’t sleep the night before and usually gets sick in the morning.

But she believes in herself, she said, and in her car, a 100-pound machine that bears her lucky number 13.

It’s plain white on the outside, but inside she keeps photos of her friends, a No. 13 billiards ball and a neon green sticker that says, “I love it when you talk Derby.”

That’s also where she stashes her pink ballet shoes, which she wears while racing.

“I like the wind on my face when I race,” said Robinson, who reaches speeds of well over 30 mph. “I like the feel of the car and I like the control.”

But sometimes, it’s the parents who get more excited than the kids.

“It teaches concentration,” said Steve Hughett of Brewster, Wash., who came to watch his son, Erik, race. “You only have seconds to go down the hill and you can’t mess up.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo