FIVE YOUTH VOLUNTEERS WILL RECEIVE
SOAP BOX DERBY SERVICE AWARDS
AKRON, Ohio (June 17, 2026) – Five young Soap Box Derby volunteers will receive the organization’s Youth Volunteer Service Award, which recognizes volunteers under the age of 21 who have demonstrated a positive impact on the Soap Box Derby through their leadership on the local, regional and national levels.
“As a former racer myself, I know firsthand the impact that mentors, volunteers, and role models can have on a young person’s life,” said Dennis VanFossen Jr., president and chief executive officer of International Soap Box Derby, Inc. “These five young leaders have embraced that responsibility and are helping ensure the Soap Box Derby remains strong for the next generation. They exemplify the leadership, perseverance, sportsmanship, and service that define what it means to be a champion.”
The Youth Volunteer Service Awards will be presented at the awards ceremony following the 88th FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby world championships in Akron on Saturday, July 18.
The 2026 honorees are:
DASHA DRISCOLL, Omaha, Nebraska
Dasha Driscoll, 15, arrived in Omaha in 2020 after she and her brother Michael were adopted from their home country of Ukraine. She did not speak English and her parents encouraged Dasha to participate in Soap Box Derby racing to help her make friends, learn English and become familiar with her new country. She started racing in 2021 and won the novice Stock Car division in the local Omaha race in 2023, qualifying for her first time in the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron. In 2024, she returned to Akron as Omaha’s local Super Stock champion. She was back at the All-American world championships as a Rally competitor in 2025 and finished second in the Super Stock Rally finals. She finished second in the 2026 Omaha Soap Box Derby’s Masters division and has qualified again as a Rally racer in July’s FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby.
Each of her race cars has featured a tribute to Ukraine to promote participation in the Soap Box Derby as well awareness of issues facing residents during the war in her home country. Her cars have become a symbol of refugee efforts. Working with the One Child, Inc. she helps collection of warm coats, shoes, food fand other necessities for shipment to Ukraine. She also has raised more than $100,000 for those critical relief and supply efforts. Dasha has appeared at car shows and other events and has been the subject of numerous local and national media interviews.
She will be a freshman at Elkhorn High School in the fall.
BENJI EDDS, Owensboro, Kentucky
Benji Edds, 18, began Soap Box Derby racing in 2016 in the Stock Car division at the fall Rally in Owensboro. In 2017, he started competing in the local Owensboro races as well as traveling to Rally events. He first qualified in 2021 for the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby as a Rally champion and beginning the following year, he started racing in the Masters division. He has qualified as a Masters Rally participant every year since 2022. In 2025, he finished seventh in the Rally Masters finals.
At the Owensboro races, Edds sets up the scales and registration tables and helps with weigh-ins. He advises new racers on driving skills and is a driver in the SuperKids events for children with disabilities. Active in Boy Scouts, Benji and his twin brother Davey built a car-return service road next to Owensboro’s permanent track in Ben Hawes State Park as their Eagle Scout project this year. They also have built SuperKids race cars.
Benji Edds is a 2026 graduate of Owensboro High School, where he was a member of the school’s varsity football team which won the Kentucky 5-A state football championship in 2025. He plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky this fall.
JOHNATHON JOHNSON, Culpeper, Virginia
Johnathon Johnson, 18, first learned about the Soap Box Derby in 2019 through the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education program at his middle school. He raced in the Super Stock division in the Piedmont Area Soap Box Derby in Culpeper in 2019 and 2021. In 2022, he began racing in the Masters division and won the Local Masters race in 2023, qualifying for the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby. He was a Rally Masters qualifier for the world championships in 2024 and 2025 and will return in 2026.
Johnson has been a member of the Piedmont Area Soap Box Derby junior committee since 2021. At the local races in Culpeper, he leads race day set-up and tear-down and works on the scales and in the run-out area. He also volunteers for similar duties at the races in Roanoke. At the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby, he provides advice and encouragement to other competitors and is a member of the bridge team.
He graduated from Culpeper High School in 2025, where he was goalie on the school’s varsity lacrosse team. He is studying aviation science at Averett University in Danville, Virginia, and hopes to become a commercial airline pilot.
EDDIE RUTHERFORD, Culpeper, Virginia
Eddie Rutherford, 20, first raced in the Stock division in the Piedmont Area Soap Derby’s fall rally in 2013. He continued racing in the Stock Car division in local and rally competition through 2019. He qualified as a Rally Stock competitor in the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby finals in 2015 and 2016. He moved up to Masters division racing in 2021 and won the local race the following year. He finished fifth in the Masters world championship in 2022.
He has been on the Piedmont Area Soap Box Derby junior committee since 2016 and actively promotes racer participation through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) presentations at local schools, racer construction clinics, trial runs for new racers and at local Soap Box Derby races. He helps set up and tear down race day stations, drives buses and works loading and unloading race cars. He also serves as a driver in SuperKids races. In 2023, Eddie received the Piedmont Area Soap Box Derby’s Carol Anne Brown Sportsmanship Trophy for his leadership, respect and integrity. In 2024, he received the organization’s Carole Anne Brown and Andrew Winland Scholarship for significant contributions that embody the Soap Box Derby’s mission.
Rutherford is a 2024 graduate of Culpeper High School, where he was a member of the soccer, cross country, and track teams. He will be a junior this fall at Radford (Virginia) University and is majoring in nursing.
KELSEY VAN WAART, Gretna, Nebraska
Kelsey Van Waart, 18, started racing in the Omaha Soap Box Derby in 2016 and qualified for the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby seven times by 2024 as a Local or Rally champion. She was Masters division world champion in 2019 and won the Rally Super Stock world title in 2023. Kelsey comes from a three-generation Soap Box Derby family. Her grandfather Roger Van Waart and great-uncle Jerry Van Waart raced in the 1950s and 1960s and her father Pete Van Waart qualified for the All-American Soap Box Derby in 1988 and 1991.
As an ambassador for the Soap Box Derby, Kelsey has conducted many local and national newspaper and television interviews to increase awareness of the racing program. She has mentored numerous racers by providing technical and driving advice, encouragement, sportsmanship and overall support. On race days, she helps with many on-site race operations. Kelsey also was appointed earlier this year to the International Soap Box Derby’s Young Professional Leadership Council.
She is a 2026 graduate of Gretna High School. She was president of the student council, Future Business Leaders of America and the Spanish National Honor Society. She was a member of the basketball, track and cross-country teams. She will enter Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln this fall and plans to major in business administration.