Team Pole Position from the Santa Clarita Valley is one of 40 teams registered to participate in the in the Red Bull Soapbox Race in downtown Los Angeles. (Axel Koester / For The Times)
Teams came from throughout Southern California as well as Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Nevada. No vehicle could be motorized (but brake systems were required). (Axel Koester / For The Times)
Team Prom Night, with its limo-shaped racer, consists of co-workers from the Santa Monica skate shop ZJ Boarding House. (Axel Koester / For The Times)
The Human Factor, a team of human factors/applied psychology students from Cal State Northridge, swerves its brain-shaped car through the Red Bull Soapbox Race course. (Axel Koester / For The Times)
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Team Wild Things hails from Oak View. (Axel Koester / For The Times)
Team Prom Night zips downhill in the Red Bull Soapbox Race. (Axel Koester / For The Times)
Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Rob Weaver pushes the soapbox racer from Carson’s Station 36 onto the starting ramp as Firefighter Engineer Paul Popp steers from the front and Firefighter Josh Schutte mans the vehicle from the rear. They’re practicing for Saturday’s Red Bull Soapbox Race in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Capt. Rob Weaver cheers as his team’s ladder-truck racer zooms down Grand Avenue. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Josh McGuckin, left, rides along as Matt Fisher takes the Speed Racer team’s car for a test run down Grand. Opening ceremonies for Saturday’s race start at 12:30 p.m. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Mike Belair puts on his “Heart of the Tin Man” helmet as the driver for the Toto’s Escape team. A field of 40 racers will compete in this national race for amateur drivers. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Fire Capts. Rob Weaver, left, and Dave Mann check out the Red Bull racer. On Saturday, the racers will start on a ramp going south on Grand Avenue at 4th Street, and then they will take a sharp turn onto 5th Street, finishing near Pershing Square Park. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
The Speed Racer team pushes its handmade soapbox racer back up Grand Avenue after a test run down the hill. The first place team will win a trip to a NASCAR race. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
