FLINT, MI-- Kevin Cronin is bringing soap box derby racing back to Flint after a nearly 25-year absence.

Michigan’s first soap box derby race in nearly a decade, according to Cronin, will take place at Chevy Commons, on north Chevrolet Avenue, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 8.

The soap box derby races are in Cronin’s family history. His grandfather, Donald R. Cronin, was mayor when Flint built the Derby Downs Race Track behind Southwestern High School in 1969.

“He was one of the driving forces behind that,” Cronin said. “Before that, people would race on Cadillac Street which is a couple of blocks from where they’ll be racing next week.”

Ready. Set. Race.

Soapbox racing is a tradition where teams of three and four people build a car and race it for a chance at competing at the All-American Soap Box Derby Race in Akron, Ohio.

The community-based event originated in Dayton, Ohio in 1934 and has attracted guests like former President Richard Nixon. Flint’s first soap box derby race was held on Cadillac Street in 1936.

Two of Cronin’s uncles built and raced soap box derby cars, but his father didn’t.

“We used to go to the hills a lot and I would use their cars to go up and down the track,” Cronin said.

Cronin laments he was never able to build a car and race it with his friends. One of his objectives with bringing the event back is bringing generations together.

“He (Cronin’s grandfather) was a big advocate of it because he knew there was a big sense of community that could be built around it,” Cronin said. “Not just with the race, but with building the cars.”

Building community

Cronin adopted the Donald R. Cronin Derby Downs hill and track about a year ago from Keep Genesee County Beautiful.

The adoption was to pay tribute to his grandfather by rebuilding the track as well as reintroducing soap box racing to Flint and the state.

“I kept seeing a glimmer in everyone’s eyes when they’d ask what I’m going to do with the track,” Cronin said. “Seeing that enthusiasm across the city really motivated me to do it quicker.”

It will take a year or two to rebuild the track, Cronin said, until then the derby will take place at Chevy Commons. With the reintroduction of the derby races, Cronin said he hopes students can branch their social circles out.

"It would introduce them (kids) to friends and kids they otherwise wouldn’t come across,” Cronin said. “It’s a really collaborative and engaging event that builds hands-on learning skills across the STEM curriculum.”

Students from Freeman Elementary, Beecher Middle School, St. Pius X, Springview Elementary and the Boys and Girls Club spent the first weeks of May building cars at Factory Two. The race includes 12 cars sponsored by companies like Goyette Mechanical, Local 598, Volkswagon and Audi.

All-American Soap Box Derby Champs

Flint produced three world soap box derby champions between 1978 and 1983, Cronin said.

“Believe it or not, that’s a really big deal,” Cronin said. “Despite its absence, Flint still has a strong reputation across the soap box derby community.”

There’s hype building around Flint’s soap box derby comeback, Cronin said. The winner of the soapbox derby race on June 8 will head to the All-American Soap Box Derby Race in July.

“We’re racing in one division,” Cronin said. “Those participants will come from local schools and local community organizations.”

While winning a title would make the comeback of soap box derby racing all that much sweeter, Cronin said he’s most excited about bringing Flint’s community together.

“It brings together everyone in a different way,” Cronin said. “There is so much interaction in building the car and racing it. It’s unifying across all demographics.”

Cronin hopes Flint’s soap box derby become a semi-annual or monthly event for the community in the future.