On July 25, 1936, contestants competed in the Evening Express-Chevrolet Motor Company soap box derby on Park Avenue in Portland, Maine. Approximately 16,000 spectators attended the race. Earl Hudson of Tolman Street, Westbrook, emerged as champion. He won a trip and entrance into the National Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio later that summer. Many other prizes were given to winners in several categories, including: fastest time, best-looking car, best upholstery job, and the best breaking system. Five heat winners were given 30-minute rides in the Gannett Publishing Company's speedy Stinson monoplane.