These days, it seems the majority of people only know soap box racing from what they have seen in movies like "The Little Rascals."
The reality is that there are still thousands of children throughout the United States that participate in the nearly century-old sport.
And, two of those drivers, Monroe's very own Maija Liimatainen and Ellie Erb, are among the very best in the entire country, which was proved, Saturday, July 25 in Akron, Ohio at the annual All-American Soap Box Derby (AASBD). For the past 72 years, the AASBD has been the premier soap box event in the U.S. All drivers, which are ages 8-18 years old according to Audrey Liimatainen, must wear helmets, because the cars they are driving have no motors and can get up to speeds as high as 28 miles and hour when coming down the hill.
Liimatainen, the 11-year-old daughter of Bill and Audrey Liimatainen, and Erb, 11, the daughter of Bob and Wendy Erb, have been friends for years and finished first and second in their respective divisions.
With the win in the All-American Super Stock Division, Maija took home the world championship - and the soap box museum took her car as a souvenir.
"It was pretty cool," Maija said about winning the race. "When I was racing, I couldn't see the people I was racing against. But then I saw people taking pictures of me, and no one else, and I realized that I won.
"When I got out of my car, my sister tackled me," she said.
As a family, the Liimatainen's have been racing for over a decade.
"Maija's basically been racing since she was a baby," her mother Audrey said. "Each of her siblings have placed in Akron, and now she has too."
Audrey Liimatainen said that her family holds over 300 trophies from soap box racing throughout the years, which includes local events in Madison, Green Bay, Racine, Des Moines, Rockford and other cities across the Midwest and in Florida, Ohio and New York. In order to get to Akron, drivers must do one of two things: Become the local champ, or score enough points (180 to be exact) in rally events to be named a rally champ.
There are six divisions at the AASBD, three for local champions and three for rally champions - Masters, Super Stock and Stock.
Maija came back to win the local championship in the Super Stock in Madison in June in double-elimination. After losing in a head-to-head race early in the event, she was moved to the consolation round. Maija won the consolation round and, with one win, went head to head with the overall winner who was undefeated. Maija won both head-to-head races to be named the outright champ.
Ellie gathered enough rally points to qualify for the AASBD.
"I was really excited to go there (Akron)," Ellie said. "I wasn't that nervous though."
Despite racing for just over a year, Ellie went on to face the best in the country with her best friend Maija.
"She's one of my best friends and we have a lot of fun together," Ellie said.
"It's fun with Ellie. She's my friend from home. It's all new to here," Maija said, later admitting that she tries to offer help to her buddy.
"I always ask her how she's going to run and give her some advice," Maija said.
While Maija has been around racing since she was in diapers, Ellie picked up the sport while traveling with the Liimatainen's to races.
"(Ellie) then thought she'd like to try it, so we borrowed a car from the derby director in Chicago, Stan Iglehart, and raced a little bit in the spring of 2008," Ellie's father Bob said. "At that point, she felt like she wanted to continue, so we built her own car for the 2008-09 racing season."
Ellie started practicing driving her car on a dead-end street in Monroe. From there, she went directly to racing.
Throughout it all, the Liimatainen's have been there to help the Erb's, as well as other families who are starting on racing.
"They've helped us tremendously getting started and deserve most of the credit for showing us how to compete and win," Bob Erb said.
Audrey Liimatainen said that her family loves helping other families and kids get into the sport.
"The more the merrier! It's something for the entire family. We travel two to four months out of the year. It's a chance to work with your child and spend time with them. The children learn to interact with different kids and adults as well. It's great," she said.
As young drivers get into racing, they learn about the aerodynamics, safety and keeping the car clean to hold off drag.
"They have to learn to win graciously and lose graciously. When you win, get out and shake your opponent's hands. Sportsmanship is important," Audrey Liimatainen said. "There are 20 racers and only one winner. Don't gloat."
In Maija's division, cars must be shaped a certain way and stay under a certain weight. That doesn't stop her from keeping two of her other best friends - lucky charm stuffed animals Lucky (a dolphin) and Blizzard (a husky) - in the car with her during races.
"I started out with just Lucky, but now I have both," Maija said.
For Ellie, keeping the car in shape for races is also a task. In the Stock Rally Division, cars must remain under 200 pounds. Her and her pit crew, which is comprised of her family with help from other friends; they also work on getting the alignment set up correctly, making sure the wheels are properly lubricated, as well as how much weight is on each axle.
"I'm going to race until I either grow out of my car or I go to Akron too many times," Ellie said. The AASBD has a rule requirement of racing only six times. However, with the addition of an Ultimate Division for older youths, the racing dream can live on a few more times.
The reality is that there are still thousands of children throughout the United States that participate in the nearly century-old sport.
And, two of those drivers, Monroe's very own Maija Liimatainen and Ellie Erb, are among the very best in the entire country, which was proved, Saturday, July 25 in Akron, Ohio at the annual All-American Soap Box Derby (AASBD). For the past 72 years, the AASBD has been the premier soap box event in the U.S. All drivers, which are ages 8-18 years old according to Audrey Liimatainen, must wear helmets, because the cars they are driving have no motors and can get up to speeds as high as 28 miles and hour when coming down the hill.
Liimatainen, the 11-year-old daughter of Bill and Audrey Liimatainen, and Erb, 11, the daughter of Bob and Wendy Erb, have been friends for years and finished first and second in their respective divisions.
With the win in the All-American Super Stock Division, Maija took home the world championship - and the soap box museum took her car as a souvenir.
"It was pretty cool," Maija said about winning the race. "When I was racing, I couldn't see the people I was racing against. But then I saw people taking pictures of me, and no one else, and I realized that I won.
"When I got out of my car, my sister tackled me," she said.
As a family, the Liimatainen's have been racing for over a decade.
"Maija's basically been racing since she was a baby," her mother Audrey said. "Each of her siblings have placed in Akron, and now she has too."
Audrey Liimatainen said that her family holds over 300 trophies from soap box racing throughout the years, which includes local events in Madison, Green Bay, Racine, Des Moines, Rockford and other cities across the Midwest and in Florida, Ohio and New York. In order to get to Akron, drivers must do one of two things: Become the local champ, or score enough points (180 to be exact) in rally events to be named a rally champ.
There are six divisions at the AASBD, three for local champions and three for rally champions - Masters, Super Stock and Stock.
Maija came back to win the local championship in the Super Stock in Madison in June in double-elimination. After losing in a head-to-head race early in the event, she was moved to the consolation round. Maija won the consolation round and, with one win, went head to head with the overall winner who was undefeated. Maija won both head-to-head races to be named the outright champ.
Ellie gathered enough rally points to qualify for the AASBD.
"I was really excited to go there (Akron)," Ellie said. "I wasn't that nervous though."
Despite racing for just over a year, Ellie went on to face the best in the country with her best friend Maija.
"She's one of my best friends and we have a lot of fun together," Ellie said.
"It's fun with Ellie. She's my friend from home. It's all new to here," Maija said, later admitting that she tries to offer help to her buddy.
"I always ask her how she's going to run and give her some advice," Maija said.
While Maija has been around racing since she was in diapers, Ellie picked up the sport while traveling with the Liimatainen's to races.
"(Ellie) then thought she'd like to try it, so we borrowed a car from the derby director in Chicago, Stan Iglehart, and raced a little bit in the spring of 2008," Ellie's father Bob said. "At that point, she felt like she wanted to continue, so we built her own car for the 2008-09 racing season."
Ellie started practicing driving her car on a dead-end street in Monroe. From there, she went directly to racing.
Throughout it all, the Liimatainen's have been there to help the Erb's, as well as other families who are starting on racing.
"They've helped us tremendously getting started and deserve most of the credit for showing us how to compete and win," Bob Erb said.
Audrey Liimatainen said that her family loves helping other families and kids get into the sport.
"The more the merrier! It's something for the entire family. We travel two to four months out of the year. It's a chance to work with your child and spend time with them. The children learn to interact with different kids and adults as well. It's great," she said.
As young drivers get into racing, they learn about the aerodynamics, safety and keeping the car clean to hold off drag.
"They have to learn to win graciously and lose graciously. When you win, get out and shake your opponent's hands. Sportsmanship is important," Audrey Liimatainen said. "There are 20 racers and only one winner. Don't gloat."
In Maija's division, cars must be shaped a certain way and stay under a certain weight. That doesn't stop her from keeping two of her other best friends - lucky charm stuffed animals Lucky (a dolphin) and Blizzard (a husky) - in the car with her during races.
"I started out with just Lucky, but now I have both," Maija said.
For Ellie, keeping the car in shape for races is also a task. In the Stock Rally Division, cars must remain under 200 pounds. Her and her pit crew, which is comprised of her family with help from other friends; they also work on getting the alignment set up correctly, making sure the wheels are properly lubricated, as well as how much weight is on each axle.
"I'm going to race until I either grow out of my car or I go to Akron too many times," Ellie said. The AASBD has a rule requirement of racing only six times. However, with the addition of an Ultimate Division for older youths, the racing dream can live on a few more times.
