Eric Richardson [Flickr]

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — While you were sleeping Wednesday night, the folks from Red Bull were out on Grand Avenue taking a few test runs to size up the course for the Red Bull Soapbox Race.

The event, which takes place on September 26, will pit 40 teams against one of Downtown's steepest hills, plus a chicane, a pair of jumps and a ramped curve just for good measure.

Wednesday night's runs were about figuring out the angle for the left-hander that will take cars from Grand Avenue onto 5th street. The race will finish up on the flats by Pershing Square.

Entrants are judged on creativity and performance along with speed, and the spectacle of it should draw a sizable crowd Downtown. Along with ads that have appeared around town, over the next two weeks Red Bull will be promoting the race on 100,000 coasters to be passed out via bars and restaurants.

Jumbotrons set up near the course will accommodate those unable to pack their way against the hay bales. Just under 50,000 people turned out last month in Atlanta for the race's most recent running.