Jul 1, 2008

Can You Drive a Rubber Chicken?

This October 18, the streets of San Francisco will be filled with cable cars, commuters, and very likely, rubber chickens on wheels. The Red Bull Soapbox Race dares mechanical pros and everyday engineers to build outlandish human-powered driving machines fit to tackle -- in a sprint against the clock -- a steep quarter-mile course finishing in front of historic Dolores Park. (Note: That’s a place, not a person.)

Not to be confused with the city’s notorious and illegal Soapbox Society, the Red Bull Soapbox racers are entirely lawful -- though they don't look like anything you'd see on the streets. Racers are expected to range from a giant troll to a toilet, from the Tooth Fairy to a Viking ship and from cheese puffs to a rhinoceros. As we said, the teams won’t be judged on speed alone but on creativity and showmanship as well.

If you’re ready to race your dream machine down Dolores Avenue, there are a few rules of the road to negotiate, even in anything-goes San Francisco. All Soapbox cars must be entirely human-powered, which means no stored power or external energy sources are allowed. Second, all vehicles must be less than six feet wide, less than 20 feet long and no more than seven feet from the ground. And finally, all cars (and we use that term loosely) must weigh no more than 176 pounds (not including the driver, who is allowed to be fat).

First place in the Red Bull Soapbox Race will net you a NASCAR experience including flight and hotel for all four of your team members. Second prize is a day of driving at one of the most challenging and exciting racetracks in the nation. Third place receives a day of high-speed go-kart racing. One team will also win the People's Choice Award, to be chosen by the crowd and SMS voting on race day. Next Driving Today News>>