White, Bouchard win local Soap Box race, head to Akron

WINNERS – At left, Scott White hugs his daughter Olivia after she captured the checkerred flag in the Stock division of the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby held Saturday on Derby Hill, while at right, the brother and sister combination of Nate and Sarah Bouchard get ready to rumble, as they would face each other six times on the day before Sarah was declared the victor of the Super Stock division over her brother.
By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    Not only was the weather extremely hot, so was the racing during Saturday’s Northern Maine Soap Box Derby Race on Derby Hill in Community Park.
    Overall, the day ran smoothly because of volunteers and parents who helped along the way.
WINNERS – Olivia White, left, and Sarah Bouchard were the 2010 winners of the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby Race held Saturday in Community Park on Derby Hill. White defeated Emily Dickison for the Stock division title, while Bouchard triumphed over her brother, Nate, for the Super Stock division championship. Both girls will head to Akron, Ohio for the All-American Derby on July 24.
    “As this year’s race director, and on behalf of my family, and all of this year’s racers, I would like to personally thank all volunteers and businesses making this year’s race possible,” said Danny Emerson. “If it was not for the financial contributions and the volunteers who, without being asked, just show up to help, this program would never happen. We had great weather, a great bunch of kids, great fan support and awesome help. The smiles on the kids’ faces are what makes it all worth it.”
     In the double-elimination race, it was veteran drivers going head-to-head in the Stock division, and the first sister-brother rival in the Super Stock.
Father and daughter, Brent and Jess Dickison watch from atop Derby Hil
    Stock racers Olivia White and Emily Dickison had an exciting finish, as White, who didn’t lose a race all day was the WOW (winner of all winners) driver had to be beaten twice. In the first heat, it was Dickison coming in 0.097 seconds better than White, but in the second round, it was White who was 0.134 faster to capture the overall Stock Division title.
    “I’ve been racing three years,” said White. “It was exciting to win. I almost started crying.”
    Last year, White came in seventh place, but this year, when she won the WOW, organizers told her she would be in the top two.
    “So, I got really scared,” she said. “I was jumping off the walls.”
    White didn’t come with a high-tech strategy, her’s was simple.
    “To just have fun,” she said. “And, not crash like I did my first year.”
Morgan Grant gives a wave as she gets ready to get in her car to go down Derby Hill
    In her first year, during her test run, her brake broke and I went through the cones and up on the board, injuring her thumb.
    The thought of racing in Akron, conjured lots of emotions for White.
    “I still can’t believe it,” she said. “I’m kind of scared. There will be a lot of people there, and you have to race against two others.”
    In Akron, the racers come down the hill in three lanes versus Houlton’s two-lane Derby Hill. But, White will get advice from former winners. Looking at Morgan Grant who was standing close by during the interview, she said, “Morgan is going to give me all kinds of tips.”
    “Not me, ask Lucas,” Grant piped in. “Lucas knows it … two years in a row. You will have fun.”
    White loves the local Soap Box Derby Race.
It was a close finish for two derby racers on Saturday
    “It’s fun and I think a lot more kids should do it,” she said. “We’d have more competition and more fun and a lot more kids would have the experience to go down the hill in a car.”
    In Super Stock, Nate (four-year racer) and Sarah Bouchard (six-year racer) had to race each other six times during the day.
    “It was awesome,” said Nate. “It was really tense, but it was fun to race against my sister.”
    For 15-year-old Sarah, she was more reserved about racing her brother, although she said, “It was interesting. I was actually excited.”
    Nate Bouchard had captured the WOW (winner of all winners) putting pressure on his older sister.
    “When I beat Sarah the first time and got a WOW, she seemed really mad at me,” laughed Nate, who shares a healthy sibling rivalry with his sister.
Adam Casillas reacts after finishing his heat, as he looks back at the cones he hit on the way.
    The Bouchards used the same strategy through the day, as Nate explained.
    “I would go to the cones, hug the cones until the second one or two, and then go down the middle,” he said.
    “In the first lane, I’d stick by the cones all the way,” Sarah added.
    In the first match up, Nate took the A Heat with a time difference of 0.098, but Sarah came back in the B Heat, winning by 0.133 and overall forcing another run down the hill to determine the winner.
    Before the deciding heats, the Bouchards were planning at the top of the hill.
    “We were debating whether to give it to each other, since we are both going anyway,” Sarah said. But after the race, when asked if she would default the win to her brother, it was an immediate, “No.”
    Knowing he could go back and race Stock next year, Nate had a change of heart.
Cameron Clark and Jason Collett congratulate each other
    “I was going to give it to her,” he said, “but when they told me that, I said, ‘I want to win this. I want to win this.’”
    In the next round, Sarah won the A Heat by 0.102, but even though Nate took the B Heat with a difference of 0.039, it was Sarah who was the overall winner.
    “I was shocked,” Sarah said of hearing her name read over the loud speaker as the 2010 Super Stock champion.
    Even though she is the winner, Sarah has a prior engagement happening the same time as the All-American Race in Akron, Ohio.
    “I’m really excited,” she said. “But, I haven’t decided yet [on Akron] … maybe.”
Former champion Chelse Sloat brings Derek Barnes down
Derby Hill in the special needs car
    Either way, Nate is going to Akron, either as a supporter of his sister or she defaults the championship to him.
    “It’s pretty fun,” he said. “It was tense.”
    (Special award winners, more photos next week.)
Sisters, Lexi and Kali Emerson, hug after they raced each other