Racer preps for Akron

CLOVIS - Jeremiah Vigil and his dad Phillip Vigil were getting ready on Wednesday to make a 23-hour drive, starting Thursday, to Akron, Ohio, in time to get Jeremiah ready to compete for the national championship in the All-American Soap Box Derby.

His soap box gravity racer was already en route to Ohio.

A soap box derby car is assembled by young people and adults, with key parts ordered from the Soap Box Derby organization. Its power comes from gravity as it coasts downhill. The driver's job is to steer the car and apply brakes as needed.

Jeremiah is scheduled to race on Tuesday.

Jeremiah, 13, was as ready on Wednesday as he was on June 26, when he won the Clovis Soap Box Derby race, sponsored by the Clovis Rotary Club.

He, like the other competitors on June 26, was a first-timer, driving a car sponsored by the Clovis Knights of Columbus that was reconditioned for the June 26 race, Phillip Vigil said.

"I was lucky," Jeremiah said about his local victory, and he's counting on more "luck" for a win in Akron.

Phillip said anything could happen at the Akron event.

"They have real hills there," he said. In Akron, he said, speeds are known to reach 30 mph.

The Sycamore Street slope used for the Clovis race is so gentle, a special ramp had to be used for initial acceleration.

Jeremiah said he hopes to win, because scholarships are among the prizes.

He will be an eighth grader at Marshall Middle School, Clovis, when school starts.

While he has not chosen a career, he said, he would like to go to Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

His driving career started after an uncle asked if Jeremiah would consider driving, and Jeremiah said it sounded like fun, so he said, "Yeah, I'll do it."

If not a driver, Jeremiah is at least an athlete. He has participated in all sports, he said, including "football, basketball, track."

His track events have included the mile and half-mile runs, as well as the 100-meter dash and the long jump.