A Garland for a Champion : Studio City Teen Joins Long Parade of Soap Box Derby Winners at Akron

Danny Garland of Studio City returned from a trip to the Midwest a little earlier than he anticipated last week.

Nevertheless, it was a satisfying and rewarding excursion.

Garland, 14, won the Master Division for ages 11-16 in the 54th All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships before a crowd of nearly 17,500 at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio, Aug. 10.

The 5-foot, 95-pound Garland, who will be a Harvard-Westlake High freshman next month, bested a field of 80 competitors from the United States, Germany, Canada and the Philippines in the single-elimination derby, prevailing through three heat races and in the final.

“It was very tough because once you lose, you’re gone,” Garland said. “There were some pretty good people there. I was just happy to get past the first round.”

Garland also had planned to compete in the weeklong National Derby Rallies in Omaha that concluded last Friday, but because of a longstanding tradition, he was relegated to the role of spectator.

Garland’s car will remain in Akron on permanent display at the International Soap Box Derby museum along with past winners that date to 1934.

“I had planned to do both (the NDR and All-American derbies),” said Garland, who stayed for the first two days of competition at the NDR before returning home.

“It’s hard to sit back and watch, but it’s nice knowing that I won in Akron. That’s the cream of the crop. It’s something that I had always wished for but never dreamed it would happen.”

In addition to a $5,000 scholarship, a trip to Disney World in Florida and the Bahamas, and a gold-colored jacket that identifies him as world champion, Garland received a few other perks.

“We went out for dinner at the steakhouse and they knew who he was and picked up the tab,” Frank Hedge, Garland’s stepfather, said. “Then we went to breakfast and lunch the next day and they recognized him and gave him free meals.”

Garland stood out from the beginning in Akron. In the first heat, he posted the day’s fastest time of 28.03 seconds (23.20 m.p.h.) for the 953.75-foot inclined track, just off the track record of 27.97.

In the final, which ended in a photo finish, Garland was timed in 28.09, edging Will Long of Kansas City, Mo., and James Rayle Jr. of Washington, D.C.

“I actually won by only three or four inches,” said Garland. “All the drivers got out of their cars and we stood there and waited until it was determined who had won. I wasn’t sure if it was me, but I felt a hint of luck that I would be the one.”

All-American derby rules do not allow champions to defend their titles, but Garland, who won a regional race in San Diego to qualify, will be flown to Akron next year to be in a parade and serve as the honorary host of the derby’s festivities.

Garland did not expect this kind of recognition when he was introduced to soap box racing after watching his first competition 2 1/2 years ago in Rialto, Calif. “I really liked it,” said Garland, who began frequenting races in Ventura, Rialto and Reno, Nev., and placed 12th in the National Derby Rallies last year. “My stepdad ordered me a kit to build a junior car. I liked it and then I got really involved.”

Unlike the Junior Division (ages 9-16), which features cars constructed from standardized kits, cars in the Master Division are more aerodynamic and tailored to an individual’s height and weight.

Master vehicles, constructed of fiberglass and wood, cannot exceed 236 pounds (including the weight of the driver), 80 inches in length or 28 inches in height. Drivers are enclosed in the vehicle and peer through an opening that is three inches wide and only a quarter-inch high.

With the help of his stepfather and Earl Blair of Elk Grove, Calif., who has designed two other cars that have won at the All-American derby, Garland began work on his Master car last December. The car required nearly three months to build at a cost of about $650.

“The design has been tested in wind tunnels and we expected it to be a good car,” Garland said.

Although he is without a car, Garland wants to continue racing in National Derby Rallies.

However, Garland is unsure when he will find time to build a new one. “I like to do a whole bunch of stuff,” said Garland, who is less than a year away from becoming an Eagle Scout and plans to go out for the wrestling team at Harvard this year. “I like to ski and hunt too,” he said. “We’re just going to play it by ear.”