Lehigh Valley Soap Box Derby returns to Easton for 15th anniversary

By RUDY MILLER
The Express-Times
EASTON | There's nowhere Kent Finkbeiner would rather spend Father's Day than on Northampton Street.

Sunday marks the 15th straight year the Lehigh Valley Soap Box Derby Association will roll racers toward Centre Square. Finkbeiner has been involved in every one of them.

"It's an all-American, local event," said the 53-year-old Palmer Township soap box enthusiast.

He caught the bug in the 1960s as a young racer on that same street. The race moved around the Valley before returning to Easton, where it has stayed these past 15 years.

Car-building kits cost about $500. But they're a bargain considering they can be used year after year. And they're a lot cheaper than racers with motors.

"It's a good way to spend a day with your kids and your family," Finkbeiner said.

His daughter, Brooke, isn't eligible to race in Easton any more, but at age 19 she still plans to race in a national event in Akron, Ohio, a week after the All-American Soap Box Derby in the same city on July 24.

She's been racing for the past 13 years. Racing has taken her to Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana and North Carolina.

"I love spending time with my family," Brooke Finkbeiner said. "I meet people from across the country. I've made really good friends doing it."

Downtown businesses and attractions love the influx of visitors the event brings, according to Megan McBride, the assistant manager of the city's Main Street Initiative. This is the second year the Main Street group plans music, a tricycle race and other kid-oriented activities.

The Express Times