When five-year-old Mason Finucane drives his soap box derby car down the Icomm Drive hill on Labor Day, it will be a dream come true.
The youngster attended the last soap box derby – prior to the pandemic – with his father. who was the event MC.
“He really wanted to go down the hill and I said we’d build him a car down the road when he was older,” said Drew Finucane.
That day has come.
Mason asked his grandfather, John Wootton, to build him a soap box car. And, over the summer, he spent two week-long visits at his grandparents’ farm, about 80 kilometers west of London.
Finucane said his father-in-law, a retired mechanic, read the rules and got to work right away with sketches, drawings and measurements.
“I looked at various plans online and came up with a simple one, and discussed it with Mason,” Wootton said. “This is his first attempt, so I didn’t want to get too extreme.”
Recycled parts were gathered from around the farm and from neighbors as much as possible.
“When I designed it, I kept in the back of my mind that, down the road, as he grows, we can put bigger tires on the same frame, and the seat can move back four inches to accommodate any growth.”
The grandfather said Mason is good with his hands and is sharp.
“As we assembled and built things, we tried to explain to him why it was on there and what the purpose of it is,” said Wootton. “He seemed to catch most of it pretty easily.”
“We worked really hard on it,” said Mason. “I put some screws in for my first time.”
Sandra Wootton helped her grandson paint the car black, red and silver. She said she and her husband enjoyed spending time with their grandson and sharing the experience of the build.
Mason said he chose the colors to match his father’s 1962 Ford Galaxie.
A couple of practice runs at the farm revealed modifications were needed to a dragging brake system. Wootton also towed the racer with his riding mower so Mason could get a feel for the steering.
Finucane, a local union president at the W. Ross Macdonald School, has been involved with the Brantford and District Labor Council for several years and has helped at many of the derby races.
“It’s a special one for me this year because I get to see my son participate.”
Registration for the 66th annual soap box derby is at 8 am on Monday at Icomm Drive and Colborne Street. Races start at 9 am
Trophies will be presented by the Piston Pushers, Speed Syndicate and Ontario Gassers car clubs, who will have members’ cars on display.
The Speed Syndicate club has constructed a new starting ramp for this year’s races.
“This has been the talk of the house for the greater part of the year leading up to this,” said Finucane.
“It’s going to be really fun,” Mason said. “I hope I’m going to win.”
For more information, visit brantforddistrictlabourcouncil.ca