Unalaska, AK – This year's All-American Soapbox Derby kicked off Monday in Akron, Ohio. Two racers from Unalaska are competing, and one of them has already made headlines there. Nine-year-old Emerson Winters was featured in the Akron Beacon Journal on Tuesday, in a story about the novelty of somebody traveling nearly four-thousand miles from the Aleutians to Ohio to compete in the race.

Winters spent Tuesday changing the axles on her car, which she said is important for a couple of reasons.

"It'll make you go faster, and [if you don't] you might crash, because the wheels might go crazy," she said.

Emerson is competing in the stock division, and fellow Unalaskan Julie Rowland is competing in the superstock class. Local soap box derby guru Matt Lightner is traveling with the racers, and Dan Winters, Emerson's father, said his help has been invaluable.

"Especially with the first-timers here, they're kind of like deer in the headlights," he said. "Matt makes sure they get to everything on time, and helps them out in the pit."

The cars were shipped from Unalaska with help from Horizon Lines and Alaska Air Forwarding. The big race is on Saturday.