Canfield father has racing in his veins

The cars are fancier today, but the race is still dependent on the driver.

By LAUREN POLINSKY

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

CANFIELD — The first time he got behind the wheel was in 1970.

He had waited five years from the time he first set eyes on the race to the time when he was old enough to drive his own car. In his first year of racing, at age 11, Terry Terrigno of Canfield took home four trophies in the All-American Soap Box Derby in Youngstown: third place overall, rookie of the year, best paint job and fastest heat.

“Cars took seven months to build back then. Now I can build one in six hours,” Terrigno said.

Terrigno raced the next two years, but crashes during his second run down the hill both years prevented him from winning any more trophies. The Youngstown Derby went on a 27-year hiatus after that, forcing Terrigno into early retirement. However, the minute it returned in 2000, he jumped right back into racing, this time as a coach, father and mechanic.

“When the derby left Youngstown, I lost a little bit of the flair for it, but when my daughter became of age, I got it back and I wanted to get her involved,” Terrigno said.

Return to racing

During the hiatus, regulations surrounding the derby had changed. The minimum age requirement had dropped down to 8 and girls were allowed to race. The lie-down car had been made popular and all cars were now made from kits ranging in price from $500 to $575. Specific to the 2000 Youngstown race, double elimination, wheel swap and lane swap were introduced. Sixty-four kids entered the race that year, including Terrigno’s daughter, Alexandria.

“I didn’t know what [the derby] was at first, but then I saw pictures of my dad’s cars and it looked like fun,” she said.

Just like her father, Alexandria took to racing quickly. In 2000, she won third place and every year since then she has always placed in the top five in both local races, typically held once a year, and rally races, held multiple times a year where racers earn points for a chance to go to the national competition. In Youngstown, she has won first in the stock division and super stock division, which means that this year, at age 16, if she wins the masters division she will have to quit. Derby rules allow a racer to only win once in each division.

She is currently third in the world in the masters division and, at 5 feet 8 inches, fitting her entire body into a 6-foot-long car is like a magic trick that even her father cannot believe.

“It’s really something,” he said.

Lending a hand

Terry still plans on staying involved in the derby after his daughter is done racing, and he has taken new racers under his wing. This year he is helping 11 racers, four of which are newcomers. He said he has spent hours tweaking the cars, giving driving tips, and trying to just get kids hooked on the sport.

“Kids go down these hills one time and they are hooked,” he said.

Twelve-year-old Daisy Corso of Boardman is one of Terry’s drivers. Last year was her first year, and she took second place. This year, her older brother got the bug and will race his first race, also with Terry’s help. Their father, Dom, said he was grateful to Terry for all the “memories my daughter and I have from racing together.”

“It is amazing how much Terry knows about the derby and that he always takes the time to help someone fix their car, give a racing tip, or share a funny story,” Dom said.

Terry speaks with pride about each one of his racers but worries about the drop in participants in recent years. This year, 36 cars are scheduled to race.

“We are losing numbers every year, and I would hate to lose our race here in Youngstown.”