What do a bowl of cereal, a dish of ramen, a hamburger, a taco truck and hot dogs have in common? They were all represented in soapbox carts that participated in the Red Bull Soapbox Race that made its way through the streets of downtown Los Angeles Saturday. Los Angeles has long been known as a city of cars. Car culture, low riders, the Petersen Automotive Museum and a vast network of freeways are a testament. Now it has to add this wacky cart race to the list.
The Red Bull Soapbox Race is a race of nonmotorized carts that make their way down a custom course consisting of turns, jumps and obstacles. Teams of up to five members performed a skit before propelling their carts down the course. The drivers had to navigate obstacles in hopes of logging the fastest times. Hundreds of spectators lined the route which began at Grand Avenue and ended at Broadway along 1st Street.
Besides some food groups being represented in the race, other carts had movie themes like “Dune” and “E.T.” A fire truck cart lost a tire but still made it to the end of the course. Another cart, which looked like a small boat with a prophetic name, “Deep Trouble,” had just that when it ran out of momentum and stopped along the course. The crowd roared with laughter and cheered even louder when a cart with an O.J. Simpson White Ford Bronco theme traversed the streets of Los Angeles once again. It finished the course in 37 seconds but couldn’t escape a near-perfect score from the judges. Forty teams from across the country were selected to compete. The teams were judged on their creativity, showmanship and speed.
The Carvana cart races down 1st Street as hundreds of spectators attend the Red Bull Soapbox Race in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday.
1. The Chicks and Ra-Men cart flies down 1st Street while competing in the Red Bull Soapbox Race. 2. Joshua Thomas, a member of the Krusty Krew, walks in the crowd after competing. 3. Cardboard cutouts of photographers are stationed along the route during the Red Bull Soapbox Race in downtown Los Angeles.
Elbert Watts, Jr., wearing a squid hat, joins hundreds of spectators who attended the Red Bull Soapbox Race, a race of nonmotorized carts that make their way down a custom course, in downtown Los Angeles.
The Operation Nut Job cart is pushed to begin its descent down 1st Street.
A member of the “E.T.“-themed cart performs before the teams head down 1st Street.
The Seagrave 13 fire truck cart, from Las Vegas, loses a wheel, but perseveres and continues to compete in the race.