The Soap Box Derby in 1963

The Soap Box Derby in 1963

A couple of years ago, I ran a post covering the design and beauty of vintage soap box derby cars. The result was a lot of memories. See, I started my racing career in a go kart. To me, that little lawn mower powered racer was the most important thing in the world. Despite the effort of my parents, winning with that cart defined me. If I won, I was a winner. If I lost, I was a loser. In my little mind, it was as simple as that.

That dynamic created the most competitive little guy on earth – a characteristic that continues to award and haunt me to do this day.

Competition… Racing… is an itch that can’t be scratched. Your mind doesn’t refuse to lose because you want a trophy, a kiss from the trophy girl, or fame. You refuse to lose because you don’t want the other guy thinking he has one on you. And even if you win one race, there is always another – your ego is only safe until the next race. It’s a viscous cycle. It’s a mental exercise. It’s personal. And, in the end, you can’t win them all. Every competitor, in one way or another, ends a loser.

How bout that?

When you are a kid though, you can’t process that cycle. You live more in the moment than in the process. And winning? It’s an indescribable and endless feeling of joy. And, to me, that’s what makes today’s video so special. Here’s a kid that was trophied as the fastest soap box driver on the planet. He wasn’t presented a cheap plastic trophy at a Pizza Hut party. They through a ball for him. They presented him on a stage. They through a parade for him. It was a big damned deal.

I bet this little guy could land any chick in his grade school:

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