Take a behind-the-scenes look at 3 Red Bull Soapbox Race teams building their cars in Des Moines

Three local teams are geared up and ready to get behind the wheel at the first Des Moines Red Bull Soapbox Race on Saturday.

Team members, with ties to Tonic Bar, Ohana Steakhouse and Lebeda Mattress Factory, say they just want to have fun and make it to the finish line — even if one mattress rider may appear to be sleeping the whole way.

"It’s like everyday people trying to do something fun and a little bit dangerous," said Team Ohana racer Logan Gushiken.

A soapbox, also called a gravity racer, is a homemade motorless vehicle propelled by gravity designed to race downhill. Soapbox races were traditionally children's activities — until the first Red Bull Soapbox Race in 2000.

More: How you can watch the first Red Bull Soapbox Race with adults racing in homemade cars

Red Bull promotes several extreme sports to publicize its energy drink line and give consumers "wings." Its soapbox race is similar to the traditional kids version, but the Red Bull Soapbox Race challenges "the most fearless, fun-loving and foolhardy teams to prototype and create the wackiest of rides" using homemade carts, according to its website.

Since 2000, more than 100 Red Bull Soapbox Races have been held in countries from every continent except Antarctica. Of those, 17 races have been held in U.S. cities — and Des Moines will join the list as it hosts the first Red Bull Soapbox Race since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The extreme soapbox derby for adults will feature 50 teams competing to win a variety of awards. The opening ceremony will take place around 11:55 a.m. Saturday, with races scheduled to run on East Walnut Street just south of the Iowa Capitol from noon to about 3:45 p.m. and an awards ceremony around 4 p.m.

Team pits open at 10 a.m., giving spectators the opportunity to meet the participants and check out their carts before voting for the people’s choice award.

Here are three of the Des Moines teams who will be racing to the finish line.

Tonic Torpedoes, with a Formula One-style car

When Kyle Pritchard, owner of Tonic Bar on Court Avenue, heard that Red Bull was bringing its soapbox race to Des Moines, he immediately got to work recruiting his friends.

Pritchard's five-person racing team includes his friends Brett ‘Fuzzy’ Zeller, Tyler Erpelding, Kyle Haindfield and John Meiers.

The five friends named their team the Tonic Torpedoes: "Tonic" is from the name of Pritchard's bar, which is sponsoring the team, and "torpedoes" because it "just sounded cool," according to the team's Red Bull description.

"I was gung-ho, and as soon as I could register, I registered," Pritchard said. "I just didn’t realize how big (the event) was. I thank John here so much here for his creativity with the car and the mechanics and all that stuff, because if it wasn’t for John, I would probably have a hot dog or something."

John Meiers was the mastermind behind the build, spending the past month creating a homemade car that followed Red Bull regulations for ground clearance, weight, length and width. The team's soapbox car, which is modeled after the 2021 Red Bull Formula One car, will be driven by Meiers on race day.

"The course varies from location to location … so there could be any number of different things like ramps, jumps or water features I’ve seen on different Youtube videos," Meiers said. "We’re just hoping to make it to the finish."

Participating soapbox teams will be judged on "their creativity and cart design, showmanship of their 30-second skit and race time," according to the Red Bull website. For the Tonic Torpedoes, the skit will be the most challenging part of the event.

"There will be dancing, and I’m not a dancer," Meiers joked. "I can’t wait to be on video."

While a win would be nice, Pritchard said the team is focused on the fun, community-building aspects of the event.

"We just want to support local businesses," Pritchard said. "Just trying to bring everyone together. With everything going on in the world … after two years, with a lot of stuff gone, let’s have some fun. I think we earned it."

Team Ohana, embracing 'the flyin’ Hawaiian spirit'

Des Moines brothers Derek and Logan Gushiken formed their racing dream team with friends Rachel Harada and Ethan Herron.

Team Ohana's soapbox car will feature a Hawaiian theme, with two surfboards made by the brothers on either side of the car.

"We’re Team Ohana, in part for the Hawaiian theme, but also our dad’s restaurant Ohana Steakhouse," Logan Gushiken said. "We’re putting their logo on it, and I’m going to be wearing the hibachi chef outfit, and Derek’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Dad’s from Hawaii, so that’s fun."

On race day, Derek will be behind the wheel, and Logan will be sitting on the back of the car managing the brakes.

"We’re mostly out here just trying to have a lot of fun and get the crowd excited," Derek Gushiken said. "Embrace the flyin’ Hawaiian spirit."

Though this is their first foray into extreme sports, they are 20-something years old "and always looking for the next adventure," the team's Red Bull description said.

"It’s just a change of pace," Harada said. "We’re used to doing the same thing every weekend, so it’s kind of a fun event to do."

For Logan Gushiken, the Red Bull Soapbox Race is special because it brings people of different backgrounds together for an event that's focused on fun.

"We’re not top-tier racers," he said. "It’s fun, it’s expressive and it’s something that’s a little bit unifying. You have people from all over coming and enjoying it."

Lebeda Racing Team, with a 'racing mattress,' of course

When the Lebeda Mattress Factory jingle came on the radio and Alexander Romeo noticed everyone around him singing along, he had a light bulb moment.

"We're just singing it along together, and then at a stoplight, someone heard us singing it and chimed in," Romeo said. "Everyone knows this song. And the same night, our friend who works for Red Bull mentioned to us that this race was going to be happening. We were like, 'How funny would it be?'"

Romeo and his team — Michael Fear, Chad Terrell, Jared Neal and Dante Romeo — got to work designing a soapbox car that looks like a bed. When the team took their idea to Lebeda, the company agreed to sponsor the project.

"We said, 'How great would it be if we have a driver on the bed, and then someone is next to him sleeping the entire race down and nothing can wake him up because this bed is just too comfortable?'" Alexander Romeo said. "So no matter what happens, he's asleep."

Lebeda provided the team with a custom "racing mattress" that can be strapped to the bedframe to ensure the safety of both the driver and the sleeper.

"As soon as the build time opened, we got right to it," Romeo said. "It was a matter of finding a bed that had the design we wanted. It's actually really hard to find a twin bed with the headboard attached and it's all made of metal."

With the build almost done, the team is hoping to test drive its motorless car before the big day.

"We want to get to the finish line," Fear said. "We put a lot of thought into design, and I think we'll have a good time."

The Lebeda Racing Team is looking forward to representing the "greatest mattress in America" at the Red Bull Soapbox Race.

"Having a company like Red Bull showing Des Moines the love that they do by bringing it here and letting us compete is really good," Romeo said.

Grace Altenhofen is a news reporter for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at galtenhofen@registermedia.com or on Twitter @gracealtenhofen.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines' Red Bull Soapbox Race teams share peek at their designs