60th Annual Bucks County Soap Box Derby Takes To Woodbourne Road

About three dozen racers gathered on Woodburne Road in Levittown on Saturday for the 60th annual Bucks County Soap Box Derby.

The racers – who were in three divisions: stock, super stock, and super kids – took to the hill near Five Points on a warm Saturday to race and have a great time. Along the course on a closed Woodbourne Road, spectators cheered on the young racers.

Bucks County Soap Box Derby Director Kim McCauley is in her fifth year in charge of the event, although she has been involved since 1999. Being involved long-term with the soap box races is a common thread with families who have younger children racing. According to McCauley, about half of the racers are new this year.

Seanna Spickler, 9, raced for the first time on Saturday, but her family has been involved for years. According to Joanne Spickler, Seanna’s grandmother, both of Seanna’s parents raced when they were kids.

“So far, she loves it,” Spickler said. “She’s a little scared, but she’ll get used to it.”

Larry Hallman has also been involved since 1999 when his kids, Christopher and Samantha, raced. Now, he has three grand kids, Kayla and Ernie Costner and Brenden Hallman, racing. The weekend marked Brenden’s first time racing, but he took the win on the first race.

“It’s very family oriented. It’s not like baseball where you drop the kids off. It’s a family thing,” Larry Hallman said.

The winners at Saturday’s event will move on to compete in the

Saturday’s winners will compete in the All-American Soap Box Derby in Ohio this summer.

A list of winners:

Stock:
1st – Emily Stacherski
2nd – Morgan Miele
3rd – Jaelyn Jiles
4th – Ian Rodden
5th – Seanna Spickler
6th – Tyler McCauley
7th – Brenden Hallman
8th – Dillion Bowman