Teams

Great Scott!

Garage Headquarters: Philadelphia/Kensington, PA

Driver: Gavin DiRusso

Mechanics: Matt Naugle, Nick Guererri, Jacob Donadee, Derek Fink

Nuts and Bolts:

“Nick Guerrieri, Jacob Donadee, and I grew up together in Ohio, while our teammate Matt Naugle was raised in Harrisburg,” says 24-year-old Gavin DiRusso, who currently makes his home in Philadelphia. “Anyway, now that I’m big enough to use a screwdriver it means I have the ability to create, and then break stuff…most likely my face.” Needless to say, Gavin will be the driver for his group’s Red Bull Soapbox Race contender, which they’re calling “Great Scott!” in homage to Doc from “Back to the Future.”

Gavin states, “Our racer will be made of flux capacitors and DeLorean parts – no doubt our biggest challenge will be reaching 88 miles per hour to trigger the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity that make time travel possible.” But although the entry will evoke classic themes from a classic movie, the teammates are putting their own spin on the proceedings. “Nick and I are mad dope fly rappers in the group ‘Yompton,’” Gavin explains, “and Jake and Matt lay down the funky fly beats.” The team, which also includes buddy Derek Fink, will rock out and rap about time travel before taking off in a vehicle that’s equipped with horizontally rotating “wheels” for the illusion of “hover-age.” Gavin thinks their chances for taking first place are pretty good; but, he notes, “…if we don’t, we can just travel back in time and sabotage the competition.”