Team Toyota

Local kids zipped down Woodbourne Road in their stock cars for the 54th annual Bucks County Soap Box Derby.

Wearing shades and a bike helmet that matched his blue stock car, Glenn Guillen, 9, waited his turn to fly like the wind.

It was his first time in the Bucks County Soap Box Derby, and Saturday morning he watched other racers as he prepared himself mentally for a trial run.

"I think the fun is where you go down and really pick up speed," he said. "The part I'm nervous about is the brakes."

Glenn took a breath and focused on the 1,000-foot stretch of blacktop facing him.

Soap box derby races provide all-day fun in a competitive yet friendly and social atmosphere. The 54th annual Bucks County event attracted about 60 racers who zipped down the hill on Bristol Township's Woodbourne Road in pairs.

The cars can get up to 25 or 30 miles per hour, depending on the category.

"If you've driven an automobile before, it's not that fast, but when you're less than four inches off the ground, it feels really different than driving a car. For many of these kids, they've never gone this fast while controlling the vehicle," said Mark Craig, this year's derby director.

Dozens of bullet-shaped stock cars lined up to take a morning practice run before the actual racing began. The initial run allows each racer to get the feel of the hill and make sure his or her car is at the correct weight and that the wheels are properly aligned.

Racers compete twice until all the rounds for each division are complete.

Each division is based on age, height and experience. The youngest racers, ages 8 to 12, compete in the Stock Division events, followed by older Superstock competitors, who range in age from 10 to 17 years. The final race of the day is in the Masters Division, for children ages 12 to 17.

A car's design changes with each level. While Superstock cars are slightly larger than Stock cars, kids in both types sit and lean forward to ride. Masters cars require racers be nearly horizontal inside the vehicle, with only part of their heads sticking out so they can see.

The winner of each category will enter the All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship in Akron, Ohio, in July, where they will compete against racers from all over the U.S. as well as other countries.

The derby also holds a Super Kids Derby each fall for children with disabilities.

Waiting patiently for her turn, Kylie Fleming, 8, said she's following in her sister's footsteps.

The first-time soap box competitor from Bensalem explained what it's like.

"Your nose has to be in line with this," she said, pointing to the sponge-lined front of the opening where Stock car drivers hunker down in their vehicles, their heads bent low to decrease wind resistance. Racers steer using a hand mechanism and use a foot brake.

"When you start going down the hill, it's slow, and then it gets really fast, and then there's a really loud squeak at the bottom when you stop," Kylie said.

A photograph of her father, Mike Fleming, decorated the front of her car. His military dog tags hung from her neck. He was supposed to be home on Saturday, but had to stay in Iraq for at least another week with the Navy, she said.

Then dad called. Her mother, who hoped to videotape Kylie and her sister Hailey, 10, handed Kylie the phone.

"Love you, bye. Peace out," she said to him before hanging up, smiling.

"Dad said keep your head down and have fun," she said.