For the last three years, 11-year-old Soddy-Daisy resident Davis Smith has gotten tantalizingly close to a championship. In one race, he was bested by a mere fraction of a second.
This year, though, was his year.
Davis recently took home first place in his division in the Chattanooga Area Soap Box Derby, earning him a trip to Akron, Ohio, to compete in the 80th All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship being held July 22.
“I lost last year again, and I got a bit defeated,” the Berean Academy student said of the local qualifier. “I thought, ‘Why try again?’ But my family encouraged me, and I finally did it this year.”
Davis competed in the stock class, which is restricted to kids under the age of 12, making this the last year he could even hope to win the regional title for that class. Next month, he’ll face racers from around the country as they barrel down a nearly 1,000-foot hill in their self-built gravity-controlled cars.