Since 1969, drivers on I-69 near Flint Southwestern have zoomed past a paved hill visible from the expressway that, at one time, was one of only a handful of facilities for soapbox derby racing in the country.
Cronin Derby Downs, named after former Flint Mayor Donald Cronin, was the eventual home for Flint’s popular soapbox derby racing program, which dates back to the 1930s in Flint. Cronin Derby Downs had fallen into disrepair over the years as racing in the city dwindled. However, in 2019 Cronin’s grandson, Kevin Cronin, founded a nonprofit organization called Flint Racing and STEM that relaunched soapbox racing in the city and began an effort to bring the annual race back to its familiar home.
That vision became a reality on May 30, as dozens of young racers, program volunteers, and spectators participated in the grand reopening of Cronin Derby Downs, once again making it the only permanent soap box derby track in Michigan.
“There were a lot of really powerful emotions to see everybody and what a great day it ended up being, how great the race went, and just the amount of feedback for what it means to the community and how it really can activate that part of Flint,” Cronin said. “It’s been a long road working with the city of Flint, and we’ve had a great partnership with them. To see it get across the goal line and have this great treasure now that the city can use is really meaningful. And then from a personal standpoint, just knowing it’s named after my grandfather, just reflecting on the relationship I had with him and wanting to carry on his legacy and do something for the community that can be a really good source of inspiration and positive action, and skill and community development, it really means a lot.”
Since relaunching the program, the annual races had been held on a hill on Chevrolet Avenue, near Kettering University and Chevy Commons. Cronin is grateful for the ability to use that space over the years, but also said there’s nothing quite like being in their home facility again and tying the young people currently in the program to soapbox racing’s impressive history and legacy in the city.
“For our program, that’s one of the most critical components, to make that connection to what this really meant to Flint way back in the day,” Cronin said. “To make that connection is critically important, and then to now provide a venue and an environment for kids to build skills, build confidence, build friendships, is central to all that we do.”
Soapbox derby racing competitions occur all over the country. Kids build gravity-powered vehicles from kits approved by the official sanctioning body. Participants in Flint’s program spend five weeks building their vehicles and then compete in a race for a chance to advance to national competitions. Flint is one of two locations in Michigan and among about 100 cities nationally that host officially sanctioned races.
Boden Manning won this year’s competition and now gets to compete in the All-American Soapbox Derby Championships in Akron, Ohio, in July. Manning was an individual participant in the competition. Cheyenne Russell finished in second place and Ramsey Shuchodolski was third. Both drivers are a part of Flushing High School’s team.
Teams competing on Saturday came locally from Freeman Elementary in Flint, Dailey Elementary and Beecher Middle School in the Beecher district, Brendel and McGrath elementary schools in Grand Blanc, Tomek Elementary in Fenton, Swartz Creek Middle School, Springview Elementary and Flushing High School in Flushing, and a Genesee County Catholic schools team. The event also pulled in a few teams from outside the Flint area: Herrington Elementary School in Pontiac, Stevenson Elementary in Southfield, and United Oaks Elementary in Hazel Park.
The geographic areas those teams represent are also part of Cronin’s vision for what the renovated track offers – opportunities for Flint area kids to engage in Soapbox Racing and STEM programs in a space they can be proud of and also a unique facility capable of attracting people from outside of the area into the city.
“It speaks to the program and it speaks to the city (that people come from outside the area to participate),” Cronin said. “One of the things the city and I have been talking about through the restoration process is that this could really be a great asset to get people to Flint, to provide really unique programming, and to have a venue that is atypical and really separate from other activities or programs or park functions that you may see elsewhere. So we really have a lot of big plans to activate that track from a racing perspective.”
That includes different types of racing and STEM-focused programming. The official Soapbox Derby season and requirements for builds and competitions are specific, but Cronin said the year-round nature of the facility gives the organization flexibility to other types of non-soapbox events and alternative races there too.
“We have a lot of big plans that we believe will be very engaging and a lot of fun for our community, for Southeast Michigan, and really for anybody who is interested and willing to come and take part,” he said.
Cronin said some of those plans include creating programming that doesn’t just revolve around soapbox derby season. Information about upcoming events and programming can be found on the Flint Soapbox website, Facebook, or Instagram pages.
“The standard period of work times are the five Saturdays that precede race day, so a total of six Saturdays in a row throughout the spring,” Cronin said. “That’s really what we’ve been able to do prior to having the track. What we’re starting to do now is we’ll have additional race activities. It probably won’t be until later July or August, for example, something around Back to the Bricks is what we’re aiming for right now at the track. We’re also going to do a STEM camp coming up at our Flint Racer Space, which is now at the Genesee Valley Mall, in a couple weeks. Now we’re really able to fill the map beyond just what our typical season has been, so we’re kind of finalizing those plans. It’s exciting because now we don’t just have a six-week window that takes 12 months to plan for. Now we have a 12-month window that we’ll be able to do a lot as well. So the big races that we held on Saturday will be the biggest community functions that we hold, but then now also we’re gonna have a lot of other racing and STEM-type of activities at the track and at our facility.”
The staple, though, is soapbox, and the grand re-opening offers a new chapter for a competition with a rich history in Flint that includes producing three All-American Soap Box Derby National Champions between 1978 and 1983. Cronin envisions the program equipping future creative leaders, engineers, inventors, and builders in the same way soapbox provided those platforms in Flint in the past.
“The way that I really like to frame it is if you think about what the area, the state, the nation, the world looks like 10, 15, 30 years from now, there’s gonna be a need for significant leaders to make some significant changes and to do some really big things,” Cronin said. “And one, how awesome would it be for that person to be from the city of Flint or from our area? And then two, what a shame and travesty it would be if that person is in our area but didn’t have the opportunity to develop those skills or develop those interests to, down the road, make some really significant contributions to society. There’s so much more of the program that delivers impact, delivers a great experience, and provides a lot of meaning. And that is just something growing up that was really instilled in us of, hey, we are from the city of Flint. A part of that responsibility is doing good for your neighbors, being a good community steward, giving back, doing what you can with whatever skills, capabilities, talents you have.”
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