Teams

Wonderland Adventurers

Garage Headquarters: Bellflower, CA

Driver: Mark Santa Ines

Mechanics: Venice Europa, Ed Santa Ines, Robert Santa Ines, Ellen Santa Ines

Nuts and Bolts:

If Alice stepped through the looking glass and found herself at the Red Bull Soapbox Race, she might decide that it’s very much like Wonderland. As the Cheshire Cat says, “We’re all mad here.” Among the craziest entries on September 26 will be the Wonderland Adventurers: four members of the Santa Ines family (and one incredibly understanding girlfriend), who will launch a long, articulated, multi-car vehicle down the challenging course.

“Our initial inspiration was to have a car that would snake down the course, much like a hinged plastic snake toy,” explains Mark, the team’s driver. “Then we came up with the idea of using the caterpillar from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to give it some Southern California flavor, with our proximity to Disneyland in addition to the hype surrounding Tim Burton’s 2010 release.” This may, to quote the Mock Turtle, sound like “uncommon nonsense,” but Mark makes a hobby of working on cars, and he has also competed in radio control competitions since childhood. He’s good with his hands, and he knows how to navigate a course. His construction efforts are progressing beautifully, thanks in part to the able assistance of his cousins Ed and Robert, his sister Ellen, and Venice Europa (the intrepid girlfriend). On race day, all they’ll have to do is remember what The King says in Lewis Carroll’s book, “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”