Teams

The Crapple Jax

Garage Headquarters: Westlake, OH

Driver: Mary Afanador

Mechanics: Mary Afanador, Courtney Sennish, Creighton Gibbons, Sam Sung

Nuts and Bolts:

Generations of children have looked high and low to spot the Lowly Worm, the skinny character who hides away in the background of Richard Scarry books. Amid the Red Bull Soapbox 2008 field, however, there’s no team more noticeable than the squad inspired by the popular invertebrate. To support their Red Bull Soapbox application, the Crapple Jax team set up a MySpace page, created a Facebook group and posted their hardware-shopping field trips to YouTube. The high media visibility not only helped them secure their place on Mount Adams, but they’ve even sold some Crapple Jax merchandise through their sites. Unfortunately, when October 4 rolls around, spectators might wish the group of Westlake High School seniors had left just a bit more to the imagination.

Modeling their racer after the Lowly Worm’s apple car, the Crapple Jax decided to add one slight modification. A right-side view of the racer reveals the driver happily seated on a toilet (thus the team name). While most folks devote time spent indisposed to meditation or light reading, driver Mary Afanador will negotiate her way around haystacks and dart through challenging turns without leaving her seat on the throne. The seating design creates some design challenges, but Creighton expects the team’s “youthful spirit” to carry the day.