86th annual All-American Soap Box Derby attracts racers worldwide

This story has been updated with results. The 88th FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby championship drew national and international racers to Akron Saturday, July 18. The Canadian wildfire smoke that blanketed the Akron area caused all July 17 derby events to be canceled. Alignment and wheel selection activities were done Saturday morning instead, but that didn’t stop racers from giving it their all. Two contestants from Japan, Jinta Nakamura, 8, of the nation’s Kanagawa prefecture, and Yuumi Kon, 10, from its Saitama prefecture, made their first visit to Akron for the derby. Both children said their favorite part of visiting…