Gravity Racer - History of Gravity Racer Races

History of Gravity Racer Races

In 1933, Dayton Daily News newspaper photographer Myron Scott of Dayton, Ohio had covered a race of boy-built cars in his home community and was so taken with the idea that he acquired rights to the event; the national-scale Soap Box Derby grew out of this idea. In 1934, Scott had managed to persuade fifty cities across the United States to hold soap box car races and send a champion each to Dayton for a major race, later held in Akron. Scott later went on to work for Chevrolet.

In the UK, Gravity racer derbies have recently become more popular, brought to the masses by large events such as the Red Bull race and that held between 2000 and 2004 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Now, many small hilly communities organize their own races, such as the Catterline Cartie Challenge in Scotland and the Belchford Downhill Challenge in Lincolnshire.