Despite concerns of rain, the roads dried just in time for the 2024 Soup Box Derby.

A mix of young and old, new and returning racers rolled down the First Street hill in Langley Sunday morning. Around 500 onlookers gathered behind the hay bales to see the homemade cars whiz by.

A total of 11 racecars participated this year, including an outhouse, a ripe banana and a boat. Some cars were repurposed from previous races, while others were brand-new creations. Pirates, Vikings and superheroes challenged each other.

Richard Bacigalupi, president of the Langley Community Club – which organized the event in partnership with the Langley Main Street Association for the second year in a row – reported there were no crashes, only one missing wheel and a single broken axle.

“As the race ended, the sun came out,” he said. “It was like, wow. We started it under clouds and a little gloom and when it ended it was bright sun.”

Tim Callison officially retired his Dr. Seuss vehicle and debuted a new car this year with a “Gilligan’s Island” theme. Callison, his wife Robin Black and their friends Michaleen McGarry and Brian Dunnington hopped aboard a miniature likeness of the S.S. Minnow on wheels, complete with a helm.

“We were the fastest and the most stylish,” Callison said.

A regular participant of the Soup Box Derby, Callison fashioned his car out of an abandoned rowboat he found at the Langley marina earlier this year. A crack in the hull, just like the S.S. Minnow, was the defining feature.

Callison’s cousins, Kim and Cindy Harding, dressed up as the Incredibles and raced in the Incredible Flash against the S.S. Minnow.

With the help of Callison and other regular racers, Gretchen Lawlor was able to fix the wobble in the steering of her banana-mobile, which is a tribute to her late father Peter Lawlor, a legendary Soup Box Derby racer who competed in his last race in 2019 at the age of 97.

“It was sweaty up until the last moment, and even between heats it was a little sweaty,” she said of the car.

Several members of Gretchen’s family flew into the state just for the occasion. Together, with some of her neighbors, the group decked out in yellow won the biggest and best pit crew award.

“We had 15 people and a dog in our banana,” she said.

Her niece Jessica Standish and 8-year-old great-nephew Luca Pascual-Standish drove the car, as well as her 13-year-old neighbor Emile Lloyd. Yet the stars did not align that day for the Langley resident, who is an astrologer, to also race. Instead, Gretchen decided to distract with magnificent costumery, which included a hat with bananas and a picture of her father. At the end of the event, she read a poem Peter had written about the Soup Box Derby.

Mike Clyburn of the Red Rad Racer ended up winning an award named in memory of Peter for embodying his spirit.

There were also plenty of new faces this year. Donna Christensen, a member of the Langley Main Street Association board, said 15-year-old Caleb Arndt built his car the day before the race, and 9-year-old Hudson Switzer is a descendant of original Soup Box Derby racers.

Gretchen was happy to see more youngsters on the course and has heard that some kids are already working on their cars for next year.

“It’s like there’s a new wave coming in of the young families with Soup Boxes, which made me very excited,” she said.

Photo by David Welton Family members and neighbors in Gretchen Lawlor’s banana-themed pit crew won an award for being the biggest and best.

Photo by David Welton Luca Pascual-Standish, 8, represented the Lawlor family in a ripe banana racecar.

Photo by David Welton John Stawarz reprised a former outhouse racecar and named it HURRY.