Highlights from the 5th Annual Kendall Auto Soapbox Derby!

What do you get when you combine 19 soapbox cars, five course features, a water pit, a surprise rainstorm, some incredible costumes, a few crashes, and $10,500 for local nonprofits? One unforgettable 5th Annual Kendall Auto Soapbox Derby!

Families, schools, local businesses, community groups, and Kendall teams came together at River’s Edge Golf Course for our biggest year of soapbox fun yet. Each of our 19 participating teams chose a nonprofit to race on behalf of, representing organizations including Think Wild, Oregon Adaptive Sports, Boys & Girls Club of Central Oregon, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Every Kid Sports, and many more.

Our Kendall team went bigger than ever on this year’s course, creating five different features with ramps, a tabletop, obstacles, and, of course, the ultimate splash zone: the water pit. Add in some classic Central Oregon weather that brought a crazy rainstorm right in the middle of the action, and this year’s racers got just about everything thrown their way.

The creativity was also on another level. We saw soapboxes inspired by Tow Mater, Star Wars, Hunger Tren, a G-Wagon, Back to the Future, and plenty more. One of our favorite surprises came from Team SCOOFA, a group that returns to race with us year after year. This time, they showed up as us! Their soapbox was a physical recreation of the Kendall Auto Soapbox Derby logo, while the team dressed as members of the Kendall crew running the event—complete with oversized cowboy hats, wigs, and even a traffic cone costume. Safe to say, they understood the assignment.

After multiple rounds of racing, OUTATIME from Kendall Toyota of Bend took home first place with their Back to the Future-themed soapbox, earning $5,000 to split with their nonprofit, Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Pacemakers from Porsche Bend raced their way into second place dressed as senior citizens, earning $3,000 to split with Cascade Canine Rescue East & West. In third place, Forge Model F from Forge Academy earned $2,000 to split with their chosen nonprofit.

And we couldn’t end the day without seeing who could fly the farthest. The Tow Mater car from Kendall Ford of Bend took home the Long Jump Competition and an additional $500 to split with Every Kid Sports.

In total, Kendall Cares donated $10,500 between our top three finishers and Long Jump Competition winner, with each team required to donate at least 50% of its winnings to its chosen nonprofit—and the option to donate the full amount.

An event like this wouldn’t be possible without an incredible group of community partners. A huge thank you to River’s Edge Golf Course, our host sponsor, along with course sponsors Jake Petersen Farm & Livestock and Kirby Nagelhout Construction, and media sponsors Audio Visions Plus and Backyard Media. The Audio Visions Plus team continues to take this event to another level with an incredible livestream and timing system that keeps the racing action running all day long.

To every team that built, raced, crashed, splashed, dressed up, and helped us give back: thank you. To every nonprofit represented, sponsor who supported us, and spectator who braved the weather and cheered from the sidelines: thank you for making year five one we won’t forget.

Five years down, and somehow the Soapbox Derby just keeps getting crazier.

We can’t wait to see what rolls onto the course next year!

SOAPBOX DERBY LIVESTREAM