RICHMOND — Brandon Feagan, the first person from Culpeper to win a world championship in Soap Box Derby racing, was honored Tuesday by the Virginia Senate.
“It was just as exciting as when I won the derby,” Brandon said.
After Sen. Edd Houck presented Brandon to the Senate, Lt. Gov. William Bolling — a former soap box racer himself — gave the 16-year-old a framed copy of the Senate resolution.
“You never know,” Bolling said, “you may end up one of these days in NASCAR. ... All you have to do is go fast and turn left.”
Joining Brandon were his parents, Linda Sue and Charlie, as well as Culpeper soap box officials Frankie Gilmore, Tony Troilo and Paul Bates.
Brandon won the 71st All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, July 26 as a 15-year-old.
He competed in four races to win the championship by a fraction of a second.
It took judges about five minutes to review the finish and declare him the winner.
Four years ago, Bates introduced Brandon, who was already riding dirt bikes, to soap box racing. Brandon said his dad did not think he would like it at first because soap box cars do not have motors, but he did and he kept riding.
He made it to Akron in 2007 but was defeated in the second round. In the next two years, he said, he hopes to make it there again. Derby racers have to be under the age of 18.
Brandon made it to the championship last year by rallying, which means he raced in several local races throughout the East Coast to gain enough qualifying points.
He has yet to win the local Culpeper championship, which is the derby’s second largest event.
Brandon works on cars and motorcycles as a hobby and helped Bates make the car he raced in last year. Because the car has been raced in a local, state and world derby, it cannot be raced again.
Brandon said he already has a new car ready for this year.
In the wake of his victory, Brandon has become quite the hometown celebrity, landing a spot in a parade and appearing in a local TV commercial to promote the building of a permanent track in Culpeper.
Brandon attends Eastern View High School and would like to study at Virginia Tech. After his derby racing days, he might even try drag racing.
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