Teams

Whack-a-Mole-bile

Garage Headquarters: Poughkeepsie, NY

Driver: Charles DuBois

Mechanics: Dan Shaw, Carrie DuBois-Shaw, Helen DuBois

Nuts and Bolts:

“Only Red Bull Soapbox gives a 63-year-old man the chance to live his dream of rolling down a hill dressed as a rodent,” says Poughkeepsie’s Charlie DuBois. Charlie has realized many dreams on his way to AARP eligibility, from teaching math and coaching sports to competing in hockey, volleyball, tennis, triathlons, and marathons. Perhaps his most satisfying accomplishment, however, has been serving as patriarch for a family as wonderful – and crazy – as he is. His wife Helen, daughter Carrie DuBois-Shaw, and son-in-law Dan Shaw were all on board for a Gilligan’s Island entry at Red Bull Flugtag Cleveland (where Charlie played Ginger), and last year they entered the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Providence. Carrie, a chip off the old block, remembers, “We made Charlie dress as the tooth fairy and wear a tutu.” Good times.

For Philadelphia, Charlie is forgoing drag for anthropomorphism as the team’s racer brings the old “mole whacking” game to life. Although the unstoppable retiree is doing much of the construction himself, the creativity of the whole family comes into play. (Helen is an artist, Carrie is a theater administrator who also makes parade floats and costumes, and Dan, when he’s not handling licensing for a cable channel, is an amateur photographer currently working on a series that features – wait for it – slides of people with dental infections.) Carrie has no qualms about the soapbox competition. “We have mole power on our side,” she proclaims. “It’s time for the moles to whack back.”