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Weekend winners come from long line of soap box racers
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 09:38 p.m. EDT, May 31, 2009
Alyssa Becenti remembers going to Derby Downs as a 4-year-old to watch the races from the sidelines.
''My grandpa used to take me to watch the All-American [Soap Box Derby],'' said Alyssa, now 14 and an eighth-grader at Copley-Fairlawn Middle School.
But on Sunday, instead of watching from the stands, Alyssa owned the hill as the Akron Area Soap Box Derby Suburban Super Stock Division Champion.
The event featured racers living outside Akron and served by the Akron Area Soap Box Derby.
Alyssa started racing only three years ago.
''I was too scared to try it,'' she said.
That changed when her grandfather, Lowell Croskey, let Alyssa and her younger brother, Michael, go in a derby car down the driveway.
''Once Grandpa put them in the car down the driveway, that was it,'' said their mother, Jill Becenti, who raced in the derby in the early 1980s.
Her two brothers also raced. One of them, Jeff Croskey, was a local winner in 1985 in what was then called the senior division.
Lowell Croskey, who raced from 1952 to 1955, said he wanted his grandchildren to make the decision themselves to enter the derby.
''I'd bring them out before they'd start to race. The derby is wonderful,'' Croskey said. ''Three years ago, we did a little coast down the drive. It's been three hard years of work.''
It's not unusual to find generations of families who have raced at derby events.
For Sarah Whitaker of Norton, who became the Suburban Stock Champion on Sunday, being a local winner runs in the family.
With her win on Sunday, the 10-year-old Miller South fourth-grader became the 15th person in the extended Underwood family to win the local. Sarah is now qualified for the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron on July 25.
Sarah's grandfather, John Underwood, won in 1946. A long line of cousins, second cousins and uncles has also won the local race, said her mother, Becky Whitaker, who didn't get the chance to race when she was younger.
''I'm letting Sarah race for me,'' she said.
Sarah said it was amazing to be a local winner like the others in her family.
Becky Whitaker said that the kids in the family start racing when they're 8 years old.
''It's an all-around education. It teaches them to get along with people, how to take defeat and is about friendship-building,'' Whitaker said. ''It's a family-oriented event. How many events can you spend your whole day with your family? And they all get along here.''
Sarah's brother, Michael Whitaker, competed in the Masters Division on Saturday and took third.
Norma Lute, Akron Area Soap Box Derby publicity chairwoman, said the Underwood family has the most local wins of any family in the competition
Thirty-six racers competed on Sunday and 37 competed at the Metro derby on Saturday.
Perhaps coming the farthest to watch Sunday's race were members of Jonathon and Kyle Knapp's family. Their grandparents and Uncle John flew in from California.
John Knapp raced in the derby in the late '60s and sponsored Kyle's car in the Super Stock division. Knapp is president of the Foodbank of Southern California and said he'd love to see a local derby so underprivileged kids could experience the race.
It was the first time John Knapp has been back to Derby Downs since 1972, when Kyle and Jonathon's father, Bob, placed second.
''It's very updated. It's very nice,'' John Knapp said of Derby Downs.
Knapp surprised Jonathon Saturday morning by showing up at a baseball game. The boys, who were racing this year for the first time, didn't know their uncle was coming into town to watch them race.
The boys wanted to compete after hearing the stories about their father and uncle racing and their cousins, who raced in California.
''It's a family tradition. They saw the old movies of me and my brother racing,'' said Bob Knapp of Green.
Kyle, 11, a Green sixth-grader, placed seventh in the Super Stock division. Jonathon did not place in the Stock Division.
But they'll be back next year.
''Definitely,'' Kyle said.
DERBY WINNERS
Champions in the Akron Area Soap Box Derby suburban competions on Sunday were:
SUBURBAN STOCK
1. Sarah Whitaker.
2. Christopher Masin.
3. Paige Carmichael.
SUBURBAN SUPER STOCK
1. Alyssa Becenti.
2. Brandon Rang.
3. Megan Speelman.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
Alyssa Becenti remembers going to Derby Downs as a 4-year-old to watch the races from the sidelines.
''My grandpa used to take me to watch the All-American [Soap Box Derby],'' said Alyssa, now 14 and an eighth-grader at Copley-Fairlawn Middle School.
But on Sunday, instead of watching from the stands, Alyssa owned the hill as the Akron Area Soap Box Derby Suburban Super Stock Division Champion.
The event featured racers living outside Akron and served by the Akron Area Soap Box Derby.
Alyssa started racing only three years ago.
''I was too scared to try it,'' she said.
That changed when her grandfather, Lowell Croskey, let Alyssa and her younger brother, Michael, go in a derby car down the driveway.
''Once Grandpa put them in the car down the driveway, that was it,'' said their mother, Jill Becenti, who raced in the derby in the early 1980s.
Her two brothers also raced. One of them, Jeff Croskey, was a local winner in 1985 in what was then called the senior division.
Lowell Croskey, who raced from 1952 to 1955, said he wanted his grandchildren to make the decision themselves to enter the derby.
''I'd bring them out before they'd start to race. The derby is wonderful,'' Croskey said. ''Three years ago, we did a little coast down the drive. It's been three hard years of work.''
It's not unusual to find generations of families who have raced at derby events.
For Sarah Whitaker of Norton, who became the Suburban Stock Champion on Sunday, being a local winner runs in the family.
With her win on Sunday, the 10-year-old Miller South fourth-grader became the 15th person in the extended Underwood family to win the local. Sarah is now qualified for the All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron on July 25.
Sarah's grandfather, John Underwood, won in 1946. A long line of cousins, second cousins and uncles has also won the local race, said her mother, Becky Whitaker, who didn't get the chance to race when she was younger.
''I'm letting Sarah race for me,'' she said.
Sarah said it was amazing to be a local winner like the others in her family.
Becky Whitaker said that the kids in the family start racing when they're 8 years old.
''It's an all-around education. It teaches them to get along with people, how to take defeat and is about friendship-building,'' Whitaker said. ''It's a family-oriented event. How many events can you spend your whole day with your family? And they all get along here.''
Sarah's brother, Michael Whitaker, competed in the Masters Division on Saturday and took third.
Norma Lute, Akron Area Soap Box Derby publicity chairwoman, said the Underwood family has the most local wins of any family in the competition
Thirty-six racers competed on Sunday and 37 competed at the Metro derby on Saturday.
Perhaps coming the farthest to watch Sunday's race were members of Jonathon and Kyle Knapp's family. Their grandparents and Uncle John flew in from California.
John Knapp raced in the derby in the late '60s and sponsored Kyle's car in the Super Stock division. Knapp is president of the Foodbank of Southern California and said he'd love to see a local derby so underprivileged kids could experience the race.
It was the first time John Knapp has been back to Derby Downs since 1972, when Kyle and Jonathon's father, Bob, placed second.
''It's very updated. It's very nice,'' John Knapp said of Derby Downs.
Knapp surprised Jonathon Saturday morning by showing up at a baseball game. The boys, who were racing this year for the first time, didn't know their uncle was coming into town to watch them race.
The boys wanted to compete after hearing the stories about their father and uncle racing and their cousins, who raced in California.
''It's a family tradition. They saw the old movies of me and my brother racing,'' said Bob Knapp of Green.
Kyle, 11, a Green sixth-grader, placed seventh in the Super Stock division. Jonathon did not place in the Stock Division.
But they'll be back next year.
''Definitely,'' Kyle said.
DERBY WINNERS
Champions in the Akron Area Soap Box Derby suburban competions on Sunday were:
SUBURBAN STOCK
1. Sarah Whitaker.
2. Christopher Masin.
3. Paige Carmichael.
SUBURBAN SUPER STOCK
1. Alyssa Becenti.
2. Brandon Rang.
3. Megan Speelman.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
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