Today we attended a rather curious and entertaining event. The quirky Fremont neighborhood in Seattle played host to a Soapbox Race. We took a few of our own pics, but it was difficult due to the rain (which didn't stop an estimated 30,000 people from showing up) and the speed of the cars. The race was sponsored by Red Bull and had a similar atmosphere and theme as the Flugtag events they also sponsor (look it up if you're not familiar). The event's website will hopefully post some more pictures or videos here.
It was about a 7-block long course along Fremont Avenue with one banked 90-degree turn and several chicanes (zig-zags). It's a relatively steep stretch of street - you use your hand brake and curb your wheels when you park there - and the announcers claimed that the racers were able to attain speeds of over 30 mph. The entire course was lined with hay bales for safety; crashing into the hay was the preferred method for stopping at the end of the course.
The race was organized time-trial style with one car racing at a time, but speed was only part of the objective. Each team had to perform a small skit for judges at the starting line (usually to music), and "style" was the primary metric used to rank the racers. There were some pretty spectacular crashes; unfortunately we only saw those on the jumbotron as none happened near where we were standing.
Many of the cars were very creative: there was a ferry boat dragging the Space Needle behind, a large salmon on wheels, a rolling toilet, and a scaled-down version of the Fremont Troll (which anyone who has visited Seattle may remember). It was a unique and fun event.
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