News Article

2023 Hall of Fame Inductee John Peter (JP) Fedele has passed away

John Peter (JP) Fedele, former race director of the Madison, Wisconsin Soap Box Derby and active volunteer for the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby since 1982, died in Madison on October 19 at 72 years old.

Fedele was inducted into the 2023 Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame.

He became race director in Madison in 1981, and served as director or assistant director until 2016. During many of those years, he also volunteered with the Racine race and, he coordinated sending the Madison local champs and their winning cars to compete in Australia. He served as a member of the All-American Soap Box Derby’s A-Team from 1986 through 2023, assisting in many technical activities such as inspecting and weighing race cars, testing cars’ brake systems and working in the run-out area and returning cars to Topside.

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FirstEnergy Extends Title Sponsorship for Soap Box Derby

AKRON, Ohio, July 19, 2024 -- FirstEnergy Corp. extends its title sponsorship with The International Soap Box Derby (ISBD) for three years, running through 2027. The sponsorship continues a strong relationship between the two Akron-based institutions that began in...

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Soap Box Derby Senior Day is September 26

Calling All Sox Box Derby Lovers and Adventure Seekers 55+ Get ready to relive your glory days (or experience them for the very first time!) at Senior Day on Thursday, September 26, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the International Soap Box Derby (ISBD) in Akron, Ohio. This...

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Soap Box Derby Hall of Famer “Tex” Finsterwald passes at 81

Herman “Tex” Finsterwald II of Grand Blanc, Michigan, a 2006 inductee into the International Soap Box Derby (ISBD) Hall of Fame, died on Friday, July 12. He was 81. Tex’s long-time love of Soap Box Derby began when he raced as a child in Flint, Michigan in the 1950s....

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