Teams

Wiener's Circle

Garage Headquarters: Lawrence, KS

Driver: Richard Renner

Mechanics: Ruth Cornwall, Scott Cotter, Bruce Coffman

Nuts and Bolts:

Local competitors at Denver’s Red Bull Soapbox Race had better watch out, because there’s a group of real hot dogs coming from Kansas. The members of Team Weiner’s Circle have tasted victory before – most notably at Kansas City’s “Punk Outlaw Downhill Race,” where they buried their competition with a “Coffin Car.” Of course, the requirements for the Denver Soapbox Race are a bit different. “In Kansas City, anything that could go downhill was allowed,” says team spokesperson Richard Renner. “It just needed to have brakes, three wheels, and a beer holder.” For Red Rocks, the crew is thinking outside the box and inside the bun by using the winning technology of their old coffin racer as the basis for their newer, tastier Soapbox upgrade.

“To be frank,” Richard puns, “we could win. Our chassis is strong and fast, and I’ll have a great team of condiments – I mean, colleagues – pushing me off at the start.” Key to the recipe for success are 39-year-old Bruce Coffman, 42-year-old Ruth Cornwall, and 46-year-old Scott Cotter. Although they work as a sales manager, a medical liaison, and a writer, respectively, they met Richard – a variety artist specializing in slapstick pantomime and circus acts – through a Kansas City mountain biking club. Look for the Weiner’s Circle on October 25; they’ll be performing with relish in the hope that no other team can ketchup.