Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre was at capacity this weekend with 25,000 people gathered to watch 45 teams compete in the Colorado debut of the Red Bull Soapbox Race.
According to Red Bull, over 25,000 more people were waiting to enter the park after it reached capacity. Police said traffic was tied up for hours near the park.
Teams from all over the western United States attended the race, including a team from DU.
Junior Justin Boshoven, member of the Caddy Shackers crew, helped build a golf-laden cart to participate in the race.
“We put about 20 hours of work into it,” said Boshoven prior to the derby. The name came from the team’s favorite movie and the common affinity for golf the members share.
The DU team as well as engineers of all kinds had six months to put together a gravity-fueled and creative vehicle that would propel them through courses lined with bales of hay and hairpin turns.
Carts could be no wider than six feet and no longer than 20 feet. They had to weigh less than 176 pounds without drivers and could have no stored or external energy sources.
Cory Roberts and Andy Boshoven were responsible for brakes and steering, respectively.
The two other members of the team, Ryan Boshoven and Jared Sims, both went to Douglas County High School with the rest of the team. The only team to field a set of triplets, the Castle Rock team was looking forward to race as they showed off their vehicle before the race began at the pits, which gave both reporters and audience members an opportunity to take pictures and socialize with the teams.
From bulls snorting baby powder through their nostrils to Nordic seamen and Batman impersonators, the race was full of diverse and colorful vehicles trying to make an impression on the judges.
A panel of five judges, ranging from former Broncos player Billy Thompson to KBPI host Missy, gave scores based on the creativity of a short skit given by the whole team, crash value and time.
The road was set up to test the brakes and steering of the carts, especially 350 meters down the steep cement, where the ‘chicanes’ had vehicles swerve between semi-circles of hay, virtually guaranteeing the crowd a crash if the steering was anything but perfect.
As Caddy Shackers approached the start, the theme music started playing and the team performed the skit.
However, soon after the cart was pushed off the ramp, Roberts and Andy lost control and crashed into the hay wall.
The two-crash rule then played into effect, which states that if the driver can exit the vehicle by himself and the cart is still maneuverable, both can continue.
Seconds after the slow crash into the wall, the team put both members back on the cart and as soon as gravity began to pull again, the team lost their decorative golf ball and crashed again shortly thereafter.
Their cart was pulled off by helpers, and they were not able to continue.
The winning team, Save Ferris, had reproduced Ferris Bueller’s red Ferrari and overtook the crowd with the People’s Choice Award.
Team Save Ferris won a paid flight and stay at a NASCAR event, while second place went to The Bonneville Record Holders and third place to Team More Cowbell.
Red Bull is known not only for its highly successful energy drink but also for sponsoring extreme events like Flugtag, their famous flight contest, and the Red Bull World Drifting Championships.
