Vegreville team aiming for podium finish in Red Bull Soapbox Race in Edmonton

Vegreville team competing in soapbox race The team is aiming for a podium finish in Red Bull's annual soapbox race. CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach reports.

In a matter of days, Jared Kropielnicki and Brody Wakaruk will descend upon Edmonton's Walterdale Hill in a soapbox car.

"We built the frame completely out of aluminum," Kropielnicki said. "The body is all fibreglass, that was quite the challenge."

The team from Vegreville is aiming for a podium finish at the annual Red Bull Soapbox Race 2024.

"We'll have a lot of people from town coming to support us, and we’re looking forward to putting on a little show for everybody," Wakaruk said.

The Pysanka Pilots will be one of 58 teams racing down the hill on Saturday.

In its 23rd year, the race has been on Canadian soil only twice before.

With help from friends Carter and Marco, the Vegreville foursome spent close to 100 hours creating their car.

They began construction back in April, ultimately finishing the project earlier this week.

"A lot of late nights at the shop there, a little bit of bickering every once in a while if we disagree but we all came together and it worked out well," Wakaruk said.

"Watching the years before, all the crashes and everything, it was super funny to watch. Something like this is once in a lifetime, so it’d be pretty cool to be in it," Kropielnicki said.

Explore Edmonton expects 25,000 to 35,000 spectators to line up along the course.

"I think we’ve seen in the past with Red Bull Crashed Ice being here in 2015 and 2018 that those events and things that Red Bull gets behind can bring out the masses, so we’re very excited for Saturday," said Tim Kasper, a sport and culture account manager at Explore Edmonton.

While the fans are in it for the fun, it's a different story for the competitors.

"I'm hoping to set a record here. Fastest time. I ain't touching the brakes on this thing, that’s for sure," Kropielnicki said.