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“One year, my brother and I were both pulling our cars to the hill when his stopped. “I would tie my bicycle to the front axle of my derby car and I would bike over on race day,” says derby volunteer Ken Lamb, reminiscing. Both the canopy over the stands and a new starting mechanism were built by McCann, hoping to enhance the races, attract more racers and entice more spectators.Īnd he makes it clear he wants to keep the tradition alive. In 2015, after a break, leaders began reorganizing the program and McCann has overseen it since 2016 with energy and commitment. The town has seen periods since 1965 when no races were held, with many years of racing in between. In West Paris, the hill where racers still race was first established and paved in 1965, making it one of the only dedicated soapbox derby tracks on the entire East Coast. The event soon spread across the nation and can now be witnessed around the world, with races held in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, as well as other Maine venues.
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The event grew in popularity and was not without its notoriety over the years, including a national cheating scandal and a runaway car striking popular radio host Graham McNamee. He was so impressed, he patented the idea and organized races in Akron, Ohio, known for its hilly terrain. In 1933, Scott saw a group of boys racing homemade cars down a steep hill in Dayton. The town of West Paris first established Derby Hill in 1965 and welcomed young aspiring racers, picking up on something newsman Myron Scott started 32 years earlier 1,000 miles away in Dayton, Ohio.
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All cars and drivers meet a 200-pound weight target. Ilsley was the smallest competitor, which made his car the heaviest. Nathan Ilsley, 8, skips up the hill July 9 as Tim Hutchisen pushes Ilsley’s car up the hill for a test run in West Paris. But instead of being upset about his results, he got out of his car to congratulate the other competitors. McCann’s son, Steven, whose car was the fastest on the other two days of racing earlier in the summer, lost both coin tosses in the two races he ran, eliminating him from the competition and ultimately placing him third overall for the season despite his earlier victories and fast car. It was acknowledged that whoever won a toss and picked lane 1 would win. Unable to fix the glitch and without any quick alternatives, McCann decided to hold a coin toss that allowed the racers to pick their lanes in each heat. McCann recounted the final race day last year when an issue arose with the timing equipment it kept clocking the racer in lane 1 as always being a second faster than the racer in lane 2 regardless of how fast the racer in lane 1 went. Those involved with the pastime point to its influence on building character and sportsmanship as one of its benefits.
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McCann had just won the race, and Palmer had come in second.
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Racer Steven McCann, 14, and volunteer Tim Hutchisen talk to driver Cameron Palmer, 11, after the final race of the West Paris Downhill Derby July 9.