Possibly missing your final chance

Before COVID racing w/ fans.

Now limited number of fans.

A racer waiting to race.

Racing during COVID w/ no fans

Racers race w/ no one watching

When the coronavirus pandemic started sporting events across the country and world were some of the first to get shut down. That is when Soap Box Derby Racer Justin Martinez realized that he may miss his final chance of getting to race in the Soap Box Derby championships.

"When the coronavirus pandemic broke out I knew that the championship race would not happen and being 17 last year I knew that I would only have one more chance in 2021 to race in the championship race," Justin Martinez said in an interview.

Now with Martinez being 18 years old, the July 2021 Soap Box Championship race would be his last chance to race in the championship due to age and with going to college in the fall of 2021.

"It has been a challenge this year to even try to get the chance to race in the 2021 championship because I live in California and basically all racing has stopped here, so I have had to travel out of state to get race points,"said Martinez.

With California having very strict coronavirus regulations, Soap Box Derby racing resuming in the state looks like it might not happen for more than a few months, but traveling out of state for racing to accumulate points also may not be worth it do to the fact that the national All-American Soap Box Derby association has not even announced if a championship race will happen in 2021.

Martinez explained, "I want to race and get points, so I can go to the championships this year if they happen, but at the same time am I and my family wasting our time and money traveling to get points that might not be worth anything."

Not knowing about the future of racing is a big reason Martinez thinks that he probably will miss his last chance to race in the Soap Box Derby Championships.

"As of right now we do not know if a 2021 championship race will happen due to the fact it is a large gathering with people from all over the country. We also do not know if it would be fair because many racers live in states where they cannot race and a lot cannot afford whether it is with time or money to travel to other states to get points. We are hoping as much as the racers that we can have a race we just do not know right now," William Burks a board member for California Family Soap Box Derby Association said in an interview.

Source: All American Soap Box Derby Race Safety Guidelines

Not knowing seems to be the trend with the organization due to it being a national organization and every state having different COVID-19 rules. Even with the Soap Box Derby having a return to race plan like wearing masks, keeping people six feet apart, and limiting interaction between racers has helped them return in states that have allowed racing to return.

Martinez explained, "The races I have been to in other states have been successful and safe with these COVID-19 safety plans in place, and I just hope that they can use this safety plan to allow the championship race to go on."