Soapbox racers crash after mad gravity dash

The beaver bit the dust. The genie in the bottle got stuck. Lady Gaga bottomed out the chart. The city of Bell's pickpockets crashed and (figuratively) burned.�

Most of the San Fernando Valley teams competing in the Red Bull Soapbox Race on Saturday didn't fare so well, but it didn't matter.�

To the thousands gathered around Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles and along the hay bale-lined race course on Bunker Hill, the fun was all in watching the 34 teams' wacky performances and in holding their breaths as racers navigated non-motorized and whimsical vehicles down jumps and a tricky curved ramp.�

One by one, the carts zoomed down the zig-zagging course in an attempt to get the best time. Crashes elicited a collective groan from the boisterous crowd, then laughter as drivers good-naturedly pulled themselves up and finished the race.�

"It's fantastic," said Thomas St. Clair, 26, of Culver City, who cheered as carts zoomed by, or for those who didn't survive the ramp, pushed their hobbled machines the rest of the course. "I like the ones that seems like it's a miracle that they get down."�

The Dream Team, composed of a group of engineering students from Cal State University Northridge, wasn't one of them.�

Three of four wheels on their elaborate genie bottle didn't survive the curve, causing the "I Dream of Jeannie"-inspired contraption to collapse halfway on the ramp. The drivers finished the rest of the course on foot, high-fiving the crowd along the way.�

"It felt so good, and then it just laid over," said driver Brian Benton, 24, who was dressed like Maj. Anthony Nelson in a NASA jumpsuit. "Next year we'll come back with a more solid design and maybe we'll take this thing."�

Winning the Soapbox wasn't the goal of the City of Bell Pickpockets, a team from Van Nuys that raced an L.A. County jail cell, costumed themselves in prison garb and danced to "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two." They wanted to crash, and do so spectacularly.�

"When we wreck, (the crowd) will love it," said team member Dallas James, 41, of Reseda. "It's a fitting end to crooked politics. Crash and burn."�

And crash they did. They drove into straw bales almost right out of the gate and overturned the car, made it through the turn but lost momentum right before the finish line and ended up pushing the cell across.�

Team Justin Beaver, of Topanga Canyon, crashed dramatically too, knocking out a live-feed camera on the driver's helmet, drawing an "Ooooh" from the crowd.�

But one of the most spectacular crashes was accomplished by all-female Burbank team Gone Gaga, which won the Red Bull Flugtag last year flying a marshmallow Peep aircraft. They weren't so lucky this time when a tire on their Lady Gaga-inspired egg pod caught on the berm at high-speed and flipped.�

Another thrilling wreck was by comedian Adam Carolla, who flipped his chili dog vehicle on the ramp and was dragged a short ways with the cart on top of him. He escaped with a bit of bloody road rash on his arm.�

A crowd favorite was Give 'em Hell-ado, a San Diego team that raced an ice cream cart. The driver, wearing a sombrero, finished the race beautifully, and at the finish line, revealed a surprise - a second driver who had been driving the car from inside the cart.�

"I like how the guy game out," said Ryan Vock, 10, of Sherman Oaks, who also favored other crowd pleasers such as Team Angry Bird Droppings, based on the popular iPhone game.�

Angry Bird Droppings, which raced the red bird down the course as feathers flew in its wake, took second place. The Lakers FanWagon took first and the Flying Scotsmen, in a bagpipe, took third.�

Baked Muscles, comprised of a team of half-naked, muscular dudes dressed as Spartans from "300," won the people's choice award.�

"The adrenaline out here, oh my God, it's so fun," said Norma Davila, mother of one of the Spartans who was wearing a team shirt and cheering for the boys, who are cousins.�

"It's all unique, different and fun," she said of the creativity the teams put into their carts. "My boys are going to want to do this every year now."�

Other crazy vehicles included a gnome-powered lawnmower, a hamster wheel, the 1976 AMC Pacer from "Wayne's World," - complete with working headlights and a Red Bull and licorice dispenser - and a sushi bar with a blond, but clothed, blow-up doll.�

"As long as everyone walks away OK," St. Clair said, "It's fun."

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18113359?source=rss

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