Soap Box Derby Week in Akron offers taste of race

July 18, 2011 at 1:21p.m.

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The 74th Soap Box Derby Week in Ohio includes an opportunity for fans to get a taste of the fabled race.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports children will be allowed to try out the downhill track for free aboard wheeled street luge sleds Thursday afternoon. In the evening, both kids and adults can pay a fee to cruise the hill in a real derby car.

The derby’s more than 500 racers were to roll into Akron today with a police escort. The races are scheduled for Saturday.