Children and teen-agers help at the track. After a period of time they build their own box car in the extensive shop area. Volunteers also put in a lot of time setting up the three race tracks. A fourth track is to be added in the coming months. Differing from the more well-known soap box derby cars, which attempt to completely equalize the cars' and riders' weights, box cars used at the Pearl City track can be very unique to the owner, though they must conform to American Box Car Racing International rules.
Box cars are simple contraptions.
Just, basically, a box with wheels, a fancy paint job and some custom tires. Because almost everyone can use the car, it opens up a process of a family building a box car together. The average Joe doesn't even have to worry about building anything. Cowling's got all the box cars anyone could ever need and the public can use them whenever they get the inkling to go fast, well sort of fast. Weekend racers of sanctioned events get upwards of 18 mph.