By Justin Goodrum
This Saturday, a parade of wild and imaginative vehicles will careen through a course outside the home of the Denver Broncos.
June 13 is the return of the Red Bull Soapbox Race, which was last held in Denver 18 years ago. The competition takes the niche sport of gravity or soapbox racing and adds even more imagination and chaos.
A total of 46 teams are set to bring their soapbox creations to the Empower Field parking lot for the free-to-attend event. Previous races have seen vehicles modeled after everything from Transformers to Lego, a spaceship, a Volkswagen van and, of course, the Queen of England.
Spectators will witness teams attempting to survive a 30-foot drop into the course before navigating a set of obstacles to hopefully cross the finish line. Here’s what you need to know.
Powered by gravity, fueled by creativity
Building a Red Bull Soapbox racer isn't as simple as mounting wheels onto a crazy idea.
According to the official rules, every soapbox must be human-powered, no more than 6 feet wide and 12 feet long, and weigh no more than 176 pounds without the driver, among other rules.
There's no engine, no motor, and no shortcuts — just gravity, courage, and some luck.
While speed can impress the judges, winning takes more than crossing the finish line the fastest. Teams are scored on three key categories: design, pre-race performance, and showmanship, turning the event into equal parts race, engineering challenge and theatrical spectacle.
This year’s field of teams ranges from a group of D2 hockey players from the University of Colorado Boulder to a team of mechanical engineers from the University of Denver Time Attack Racing Club.
And then there's Mannequin Mayhem, a group of friends based in Denver.
Dario Esquibel was inspired by an ad for the event on Instagram.
“I feel like it's pretty rare that we actually get a Red Bull event here in Colorado,” he said. “I was like, ‘We gotta make a team, we gotta try and make it happen.’”
Esquibel linked up with Kennedy White, Siddharth Pandya, Ryan Wyngarden and Nate Golding; four of the five are high school friends
The group recently donned jumpsuits matching the theme of their cart — Crash Cart Carl — and told Denverite about the journey to the starting line.
“The first few days of planning, we just watched the crash compilations from all of the previous Red Bull soapboxes,” Wyngarden said. “And we’d pause it right when the crash happened and try to see where it failed. And then we based our cart on avoiding that.”
At first, the plan was simple: have fun and maybe wipe out in style. But once construction began, the team's competitive streak kicked in.
“When we first kinda came up with the idea, we didn't really think we would ever have any shot of, like, actually making it to the finish line — and so we just wanted to kinda crash spectacularly — I felt like just bring vibes,” Esquibel said. “But I think as we start working on this more, we're trying to be more and more competitive.”
Still, Mannequin Mayhem’s main priority is keeping it realistic.
“There are experts around the world who are competing in this, and we're all really just figuring it out along the way,” Wyngarden said
Esquibel added: “Exactly. I was looking up some other teams and like they're from professional auto shops and whatnot. So if we compete against them even remotely, like I think we'll all be super happy.”
Who will decide the winner?
The panel of judges is a mix of Denver sports personalities, athletes and online influencers.
• Quinn Meinerz: Denver Broncos offensive lineman
• Juanpa Zurita: Mexican actor and internet personality
• Bobby Brown: Red Bull freeskier, Olympian, and Colorado native
• Samantha MacIntyre: long-distance runner and online influencer
• Amy Chmelecki: Red Bull Air Force aerialist and world record holder
How to attend:
Red Bull Soapbox Race Denver is free to attend. Parking permits will be available to purchase ($25/space – credit card only) on site on the day of the event, on a first-come, first-served basis in Lots A, B, C, D, and E. Lots open at 10 a.m.
Race day schedule
11 a.m.: Gates open
12 p.m.: Opening ceremony
12:15 p.m.: Racing begins
3:30 p.m.: Awards
