The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Warren County boy races to Soap Box Derby victory

Alex Seither, 12, of Deerfield Twp., won the title of Rally Superstock Champion in the All-American Soap Box Derby, which featured 598 other contestants from around the world.

Staff photos by Linda Weisenborn Alex Seither, 12, of Deerfield Twp., won the title of Rally Superstock Champion in the All-American Soap Box Derby, which featured 598 other contestants from around the world.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Alex Seither, 12, shows the interior of his race car, minus the weights, that carried him to the finish line winning the title of Rally Superstock Champion in the All-American Soap Box Derby, held on Saturday, July 15.

Staff photo by Linda Weisenborn Alex Seither, 12, shows the interior of his race car, minus the weights, that carried him to the finish line winning the title of Rally Superstock Champion in the All-American Soap Box Derby, held on Saturday, July 15.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Alex Seither, 12, won the big one, with help from his dad Roger, after two years of competing in soap box derby races. The Deerfield Twp. boy won the title of Rally Superstock Champion in the All-American Soap Box Derby, which featured 598 other contestants from around the world.

Staff photos by Linda Weisenborn Alex Seither, 12, won the big one, with help from his dad Roger, after two years of competing in soap box derby races. The Deerfield Twp. boy won the title of Rally Superstock Champion in the All-American Soap Box Derby, which featured 598 other contestants from around the world.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Bogus e-mail sparks panic in Springboro
9:15 p.m.
Son of Beast won’t open this season
8:05 p.m.
Bald eagles nest spotted in Warren County
6:58 p.m.
Missing man found in state park
6:51 p.m.
Roadway back open following two vehicle crash
1:11 p.m.
> More headlines

By Eric Schwartzberg, Staff Writer Updated 2:25 PM Friday, July 31, 2009

Alex Seither’s photo finish victory in the 72nd annual All-American Soap Box Derby was the culmination of hours of hard work by his family.

“They announced ‘Alex Seither in Lane One’ and I just started screaming and yelling and high-fiving everybody,” said Roger Seither, Alex’s father. “It was just awesome.”

The 12-year-old Deerfield Twp. boy earned the world championship in the super stock division of the competition, held Saturday, July 25, in Akron, earning a $2,000 college scholarship, a derby jacket, trophy and a gold ring.

The derby attracted a near-record 599 finalists nationwide and worldwide to compete for a total of $29,000 in college scholarships. However, Alex said prizes take a back seat to the camaraderie of competition and the adrenaline rush of hurtling 1,000 feet downhill just four inches off the ground at speeds of up to 35 mph.

“You get to go to all these different places and meet all these nice people and learn about racing along the way,” Alex said. “It’s very, very exciting.”

The driving force behind Alex’s involvement is his father, who saw soap box derby practice runs in Cleveland two years ago and asked his son if he wanted to build his own vehicle.

Alex, his father and grandfather Ed, spent a weekend building the car from a $600 kit. Every weekend, the trio put more time into tweaking the 110-pound vehicle, checking its spindles, waxing it, changing weights, adjusting bolt settings, all in an attempt to achieve maximum speed.

Alex’s 15-year-old sister, Beth, who is a dancer, taught him stretching exercises that would allow him bend down further in the car and improve aerodynamics.

The family effort paid off. Alex was the 2008 Cincinnati Super Stock Local Champion. He entered the All-American Soap Box Derby last year, but was eliminated in the first round. Wanting to go back, Alex tallied more than 180 racing points in 33 rallies across the Midwest to earn the title of 2009 Super Stock Rally Champion.

Roger Seither said working alongside his father and his son in the garage has made the whole experience worth it.

The Seithers are retiring Alex’s first car and working on a new vehicle to be raced in the masters division. Instead of bending forward, Alex will race while flat on his back, head tilted up.

“We’re hoping to go further and faster,” Alex said.

Share this article