Second-year medical student David Ruiz sits in a lecture about epidemiology, daydreaming about his soapbox.
Studying for next week’s final exams, Ruiz’s mind wanders to his soapbox.
Adjusting the suspension late into the night, his big race just days away, Ruiz’s thoughts, along with his hands, are on his soapbox.
“I’ve been (daydreaming about the soapbox) all the time, especially this week with the race coming up,” Ruiz said. “I’ve been thinking of how I can get more showmanship points and everything.”
Ruiz, 28, is leading a team of four friends and family in Saturday’s Red Bull Soapbox Race in downtown Los Angeles. As team captain, Ruiz has been balancing the construction of his team’s 176-pound soapbox with his course load at the David Geffen School of Medicine, maintaining an optimistic outlook for his team’s prospects this weekend.
“The closer we get to it, the more time we have to put into it,” he said.
Working tirelessly on their soapbox, Ruiz and his teammates labor late into the night on weekends. With so much of his time dedicated to the craft, Ruiz lost about 10 pounds in the past month.
Ruiz, the only current UCLA student on his squad, is leading “Team Bruins.”
“We want to win,” Ruiz said. “Really just dominate and put on a really good show during the race and not hurt ourselves on this vicious course.”
Having been around UCLA since enrolling as an undergraduate in 1999, Ruiz’s goals are no different from most Bruins. Among the 46 other teams signed up for the Red Bull Soapbox Race is a squad representing USC.
“Above all, just beating USC,” said Ruiz of his goals.
Catching wind of the Soapbox Race through online videos and commercials, Ruiz decided to sign up for the race, enlisting help from his friends and family.
“It sounded like a really fun event, something to do outside of school, keep myself sane,” Ruiz said. “I talked to a couple of my friends and family, and everyone was really excited about it.”
“Team Bruins” consists of its captain, David, as well as Javier Ruiz, 26, Alex Plasencia, 25, Carlos Velazquez, 23, and Sylvia Ruiz, 22,
Early in the summer, Red Bull accepted the Team Bruins soapbox from a pool of nearly 200 applicants. David and his teammates have been tinkering and tweaking the Team Bruins soapbox since beginning construction in late-July.
The vehicle seats a driver, David, and is built on an ATV design with ATV brake calipers.
“How the actual craft shifts weight, it’s not just like a go-cart frame,” Ruiz said. “It’s kind of like driving a float.”
With the nuts and bolts in place, Team Bruins has been getting a feel for racing its soapbox with a series of practice runs near the members’ hometown of Norwalk.
For Ruiz, balancing studies and soapbox construction is a welcome challenge.
“It’s been a lot of fun but it’s been pretty stressful at times,” he said. “I have to really make sure my team is on point and heading in the right direction.”
Given the diverse array of specialties among his team, Team Bruins has had a steady experience preparing for Saturday’s race.
“We’re working really well with each other,” Ruiz said. “Everyone is pulling their own weight, and I am making sure everything gets done.
“It’s quite amazing how our team just happened to be that way.”
With his demanding schedule, Ruiz has been managing the production of their craft from his home in Santa Monica but has been visiting his family in Norwalk on weekends to assist with the construction.
David’s brother Javier, an electrical engineer, has been especially helpful in the construction of the soapbox, drawing on his experience in designing and welding.
Their sister Sylvia has been taking care of the aesthetic element of their soapbox.
David said the winner of the race depends on three categories: a time trial, the showmanship of the pre-race skit and the creativity of the design. Sylvia handles the costume design and choreography of the team’s skit.
Alex, David’s cousin, has specialized in handling the team’s publicity, promoting the team and helping them get a $1,500 sponsorship from Xbox.
“Carlos has a musical and entertainment/audiovisual background, so he has been taking care of our music,” he said. “He is also really good with machines and cars and tools and stuff like that, so he designed our braking system and a lot of the safety issues and the suspension.”
Though determined to win the race, Ruiz said the grand prize of a NASCAR experience including airfare and lodging for the whole team is not his main interest.
“The majority of it is bragging rights,” he said.
“Team Bruins” will have a large contingent of supporters on Saturday as Ruiz said many of friends and family are expecting to attend.
The tournament is expecting about 80,000 fans and streets will be closed in downtown Los Angeles. The race starts on Grand Avenue and makes a 90-degree turn onto Fifth Street, finishing next to Pershing Square Park.
Race rules require all vehicles to be entirely human-powered. They start on a ramp and use momentum to race on the nearly-all downhill course.