Toto’s Escape is going somewhere over the rainbow — and down the starting ramp.
The team of friends will take their Tin Man-inspired soapbox car to downtown Los Angeles today to compete in the Red Bull Soapbox Race 2009.
Along with more than 40 other teams, Toto’s Escape will strive to win a VIP NASCAR trip with the Red Bull Racing Team, along with lots of other prizes.
The most important prize, of course, is bragging rights.
Toto’s Escape will be competing against everything from a replica of the “Speed Racer” Mach 5 to a soapbox car made to look like a dormitory bunk bed.
The teams were not given the chance to try out the full route before their run today.
“It’s one shot to glory,” said driver Mike Belair, of Costa Mesa.
The team’s choice to pay homage to the 70th anniversary of a classic film was a no-brainer, they said.
“We’re doing the ‘Wizard of Oz’ for a few reasons,” Belair said.
“We were up one night trying to think of themes, and it was so obvious,” team member Michelle Curtis said.
“It’s been my favorite movie since probably elementary school.”
She wore red ruby slippers down the aisle to her marriage this spring to car fabricator Geoff Curtis.
The pair left their wedding to the strains of “Over the Rainbow.” Their bathroom is an homage to the film.
‘The fastest down the hill’
“We’ve built a bad-ass car,” Belair said. “I’d be really surprised if somebody could beat us in speed.”
The Tin Man was made to be like a real race-car, from the top-of-the-line cantilevered suspension to the disc brakes.
“Nobody’s ever really done suspension on a soapbox car before,” Belair said.
Small expenditures quickly snowballed into a concept that cost more than $1,500.
The frame was based on Formula One race-car designs. The soapbox car has no engine, but the driver can steer and brake.
Belair’s even taken the Tin Man off a 10-inch jump. The car’s skin is all-aluminum, and rivet-type screws make it resemble the Tin Man more closely.
“We just want to win, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure our car is the fastest down the hill as possible,” Belair said. “We’re also trying to do everything possible so people really feel it’s the Tin Man when they see it.”
Another stroke of genius came when Curtis designed a helmet for Belair.
