ANDERSON — For Brooks Townsend, it has all been downhill, in a manner of speaking.
Townsend is best known in Anderson for his success and involvement in the Soap Box Derby. In fact, he recently was inducted into that sport’s Hall of Fame.
And the hill that is used in Anderson for the Soap Box Derby bears the family name.
But now Townsend has a new downhill pursuit with an even greater global reach.
He is designing a bobsled that just might be used in the next Winter Olympics. Some of the same talents that helped him design championship Soap Box Derby cars are being put to use in this current pursuit.
“I graduated from GM Tech,” Townsend said. “I was a senior engineer at Guide Lamp. I have been involved with Soap Box Derby for 55 years.”
Although much of the design strategy for making fast cars doesn’t directly translate to bobsleds, some of it indeed helps.
“It helped me with my thought process in designing the sleds,” he said. “Most of my ideas didn’t work. I want to the sled to make nearly as many trips down the course as I have with the Derby cars.”
His design partner in this project is friend Ollie Brower, who lives in Utah.
“We’re all retired,” Townsend said. “We have submitted hundreds of e-mails back and forth. We build the molds here and ship them to Germany.”
“The impact that Brooks has made on the design is very large,” Brower said. “The design team had many obstacles to overcome and Brooks was an integral part of determining these factors. Brooks did design some parts of the sled by himsefl which we feel are very important to its speed.”
The team is also taking on big money in pursuit of having the fastest U.S. sled.
“Steve Holcomb is driving for (former NASCAR driver) Todd Bodine,” Townsend said. “We’re holding our own. At least I can say I did my best. If we can beat the Bodine team that would be very gratifying.”
Todd Hays is the team’s driver, and it should never be underestimated the impact he can have on the result.
“The driver impacts the speed of the sled significantly,” Brower said. “The drive and the push are the two most critical aspects of winning.”
The sled has to weigh at least 375 lbs. empty, and the total weight with the athletes can’t be more than 860 lbs. That means each member of the 2-man team can weight no more than 242 lbs. counting helmet and gear.
The next step for the team came Monday when the first part of the National Team Trials began in Lake Placid, N.Y. The trials run through Oct. 15. Part 2 comes four days later in Park City, Utah.
The schedule remains hectic and nearly non-stop leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympic opening ceremonies on Feb. 12, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The two-man competition there will be held Feb. 20-21.
Anderson’s downhill king could yet play a role in that competition.
Local Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
A whole new kind of hill
Soap Box Derby legend Brooks Townsend designing bobsleds
- Local Sports
-
-
Five for fighting
Like other coaches, Alexandria wrestling coach Jack Grimaldi sometimes has to worry about how to motivate his charges as they head into their matches. That shouldn’t be an issue for him with his five Tigers heading into Saturday’s individual semistate at New Castle.
-
Red-hot Lapel limiting miscues
Like any basketball coach, Jimmie Howell knows how important it is for a team to be playing its best basketball as the state tournament draws near.
But what’s going on in Lapel might be redefining that theory.
With a 60-42 win on the road over Class 3A No. 6 Guerin Catholic on Saturday, the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to eight games. Over the 32-minute course of the game against the Golden Eagles, Lapel committed a microscopic four turnovers. -
PH moves on
On the roster of every successful team is a player or two who will do the unpleasant work. The ones who actually find satisfaction in this pursuit are worth their weight in wins to any coach. Pendleton Heights sophomore Kiawna Cottrell was just that player Tuesday as the Arabians advanced to the second round of sectional play with a 55-45 victory over Greenfield-Central.
-
Indians slay Spartans
The last time these two girls basketball teams met on Jan. 17, Anderson defeated Connersville 83-74 in overtime. Lady Tribe coach Chad Cook knew the Spartans would come out with a chip on their shoulder ready for revenge in Tuesday’s opening round of the Class 4A sectional.
-
Eagles eke by Raiders
Back in November, the Frankton girls basketball team handled Shenandoah by 29 points. Tuesday’s sectional opener at Shenandoah wasn’t as easy, but the end result was the same as Frankton moved on with a 44-43 win over the host Shenandoah Raiders.
-
Wapahani ends Lapel’s season
With both teams scrapping for loose balls and rebounds often, the second game of the first-round girls basketball sectional Tuesday night at Shenandoah seemed destined to become a backyard brawl. And as is so often the case, the more experienced team came out on top. A sloppy but hard-fought contest turned into little more than a war of attrition late as finally Lapel ran out of gas, falling to Wapahani 49-33.
-
Madison-Grant survives, advances
Madison-Grant girls basketball coach Kyle Douglas reminded his team before Tuesday’s Class 2A sectional opener that the state tournament marks the beginning of a new season. With 4.6 seconds remaining against Alexandria, Argylls senior Taylor McNutt held the first game of that new season in her hands at the free-throw line. She calmly made her first attempt, and wild scramble for the loose ball erupted when her second try glanced off the rim. The clock expired before either team could gain possession, and Madison-Grant (14-8) escaped with a 58-57 victory and a ticket to Round 2.
-
Daleville bucks Liberty Christian, heads into Class A semifinals
Not much changed in Sectional 55 on Tuesday at Wes-Del as Daleville pressured the Lions into submission on the way to a 51-24 win and the chance to face the host Wes-Del Warriors.
-
Tribe win over Spartans 50 - 46
Photos from the opening round of the Class 4A Sectional at Greenfield-Central on Tuesday.
-
Arabians advance after 55-45 win over Cougars
Photos from the Greenfield-Central sectional as the Pendleton Heights Arabians faced the Cougars.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
