Schools
Box Car Rally Bonanza
Racers in the Achieva Credit Union Box Car Rally ruled the road for a few fun-filled hours.
A stretch of Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater was clogged with drag racers Saturday, but no one got a speeding ticket and no serious accidents were reported.
Well, unless you count the hay bales that were smashed into by a couple of wayward drivers and the guy who fell on his face after giving his racer a push start.
The second annual Achieva Credit Union Box Car Rally featured 36 teams competing in four classes – Pee Wee, Teen, Adult and Corporate. Racers were from throughout Pinellas County.
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They included kids like Joey Letzring, 8, of St. Petersburg, who competed in a racer dubbed the Downhill Demon.
The cars ran the gamut from expertly constructed racing machines to slapped-together showpieces. The materials used ranged from fiberglass and plastic to wood and metal, and most only took about a week to make. One team created a hybrid machine from parts of four old mountain bikes, while another’s design was so unique, it earned the top prize for originality.
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Prizes were awarded for the top three finishers in each class, and also for Best in Show, Most Original Design and Best Team Name. All the proceeds from the daylong event go to Pinellas County Schools.
Students from Pinellas Technical Education Centers' St. Petersburg campus painted and assembled the district’s box car.
“When it’s finished, our car will look like it’s on fire going down the hill,” said pTEC Auto Body instructor, Steve Passe, prior to Saturday's rally.
The sponsor for the district’s box car was Michael Christian Properties, which provides commercial office space in downtown St. Petersburg.
“We were really looking for an event where we could give back to the community,” Dawn Dixon, SVP of Marketing for Achieva said. “Last year we gave $15,000 – $1,000 each to 15 schools – to Pinellas County schools. The event was very successful…and we’re looking forward to continuing that success.”
Contenders came from far and wide to compete in the family-friendly event. One Team Double Trouble driver, 7-year-old Christiana Eckerd, made the trip from Land 'O Lakes, while her partner, cousin Kaydence Purdy, also 7, only had to travel across town to compete.
Both girls were determined not to go home empty-handed.
“She said, “If I don’t win a trophy, you’re buying me one, dad”,” Christiana’s father, Rob Eckerd, said. “I tried to tell her just to have fun. She said, “No, I want a trophy!”.”
Unfortunately neither girl took home any hardware for their efforts, despite the fact that Eckerd won one of her heats in the Pee Wee class.
But a local company was extremely proud to have won a pair of prestigious trophies. Team Auto Loop, a software company for auto dealers in downtown Clearwater, took home first place prizes in both the corporate and adult categories.
“We won the corporate category last year, and this year we won everything we entered,” one unidentified member of the Auto Loop team said. “Next year we are going to recruit a teen and a pewee driver so we can sweep the whole thing.”
The team from Dixie Hollins High School deservedly took home the trophy for Most Original Design. And what kind of machine earned the students the award? A car made from an old office filing cabinet.
“The kids really put a lot of thought into this, and they worked hard on it,” Dixie machine shop teacher Jim Lewis said. “I’m glad they got something to show for their efforts.”
