KIRKSVILLE – As an event to connect the community with their church, the Rehoboth Baptist Church here holds an annual Hot Wheels race. This year was the largest attendance of the 20 years they have been doing this. There were 177 entries which included the children, some teenagers and a few adults. They had different race categories and there were trophies awarded.
In addition to the races the church had carnival type games and an inflatable bounce house in their gymnasium. There was free food, drinks and candy provided for all.
Alicia Mullinix is the connections coordinator for the church. She said it was an all-age event but mostly children entered their cars. She said they used to race pinewood derby cars at an association event which was usually hosted at their church.
But with the barriers of getting cars sawed, sanded and painted, it seemed easier to just have kids bring a Hot Wheels car and race those. Many parents do not have the tools necessary to cut the cars or perhaps didn’t have the creative expertise to turn a block of wood into a little pinewood derby race car. Anyone can buy a Hot Wheels car and there are some provided for kids if they don’t bring one with them. This opens the race to so many more kids.
The children enter their cars and the race is run in a track set up in the church worship center. A video camera link puts the race up on the large screen so the view of the race is pretty clear to all in the crowd.
For the preschool children there was “fun track” set up for non-competitive racing on a Hot Wheels track with curves and loops. There was also a Lego track set up with an older pinewood derby track which allowed kids to make creative cars out of Lego blocks and then mount them on a pinewood derby block car and race in that category. They could test them out and modify their designs before entering the car in the Lego race.
Mullinix said the church has been doing this for 20 years and it has been passed down through the generations. Her grandfather, Charles Lewellen, built the original track, which is still being used as the alternative track. But the church invested in a new track this year. It has an electronic finish line detector which allows the race judges to easily determine the winner of each of the race heats.
The church finds it is an attractive event to invite people in to the church building. They station volunteers all throughout the building to talk to people and help them feel comfortable. They see it as a “soft” way of introducing their church to the Kirksville community. Many of the kids competing this year were not regular attenders at the church.
Mullinix said there were at least two families who have visited the church who came because of the Hot Wheels races.
She is willing to help any church understand how to put the race on. A pinewood derby track is easily converted into a track for Hot Wheels cars with just a little modification. Contact her at: Rehoboth Baptist Church. Phone: 660-665-7577 or e-mail: rbchurchconnect@gmail.com.