Fast cars, good times

"That was so fun!" she screamed as she ran up Goold Park's hill to hug her grandmother. Hougas drove a pink car complete with eye lashes and lips.

Corn Festival 's annual Crackerbox Derby is sponsored by Scout Troop 469. The derby has five classes that compete for times. Each driver drives down the Goold Park hill twice and whomever has the best combined time in each category wins.

This year, 64 cars participated in the derby. The derby ran a little differently, said Ken Buck with Troop 469. For each category, all the drivers did their first runs, and then after all the drivers went, they went back up the hill for their second runs. In previous years, the drivers would do their first and second runs in a row.

For the last two years, the derby has begun with the Crate Class, which are vehicles built by the troop for the "Littles" of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties to race.

This year, about 15 "Littles" participated.

"They love it. They have a ton of fun," said Sam Nantz, special events coordinator with BBBS.

"Little" Dakota was hoping he'd make it down the hill in 10 seconds, but on his first try he did 15.94 seconds. Last year, he crashed, so this year he wasn't afraid of that happening, since he knew what to expect.

"It was great," he said.

His "Big," Sheree Peters of Morris, said the event is not only fun for the "Littles," but good for them.

"For my Little, it builds confidence. It gets him out in social situations and helps him learn a bit about competition and about winning and losing," she said.

BBBS and the Boy Scout troop work together to have the "Littles" participate. The "Littles" get to drive their own cars, which are sponsored by local businesses, and they get prizes.

"It's a wonderful thing they provide," said Peters.

For the rest of the categories, the drivers and their families make their own cars. There were cars painted in themes such as the Cubs or the Morris Redskins, and cars in different shapes, such as a pineapple.