Indy soapbox racer Shelton Taylor prepares for the World Championships in Akron

Summer in Indiana is traditionally defined by the roar of internal combustion engines at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, on the city’s west side, at the Wilbur Shaw Memorial Soap Box Derby Hill, a different breed of racing champion is dominating the roadways using nothing more than gravity, cables and pure mental focus. 

Shelton Taylor, an elite 14-year-old local racer, is putting the final touches on his preparation before traveling to Akron, Ohio, in a few weeks to represent “Team Indy” at the prestigious All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships.  

For Taylor, who has quickly ascended the ranks of the sport, the high-stakes race at Derby Downs serves as both a major career milestone and an opportunity to cement Indianapolis’ reputation on a global stage. 

“If I win, then it puts a reputation around Indy,” Taylor told the Indianapolis Recorder. 

A fateful U-turn and rapid ascent 

Taylor’s entry into motorsports was entirely accidental. In 2021, while driving past the Wilbur Shaw Hill with his mother, La Tonya Brown, the pair noticed a crowd of kids practicing and racing down the track. 

“We saw them going down the hill practicing, and she asked me if I wanted to do that,” Taylor said. “I said ‘yeah,’ so we went up to the top of the hill and talked to one of the organizers, who has been in racing for a while. He said he could lend me a car and I could race that weekend. I started racing right there.” 

And the rest, as they say, was history. 

Since that providential turnaround, soapbox racing has become part of Taylor’s DNA. He has logged close to 300 competitive races, navigating the complex dynamics of the sport’s tracking frameworks. Taylor made history by becoming the first African American racer to win the local Super Stock Challenge, solidifying his status as a premier regional talent. In that same year, he also earned distinction as the first African American to place in the top three of the Stock division. 

Structure, discipline and ‘Painting the Line’ 

Competing at the world-class level requires immense physical and mental discipline. Taylor is entering the upcoming World Championships directly on the heels of a rigorous schedule. He recently completed a structured, state-run police camp in Angola, Indiana, featuring intense daily physical training (PT) and marching units. Before that, Taylor attended the Steve Harvey Mentorship Camp alongside the One Life at a Time organization. 

Taylor believes the high-density structure of these programs directly transfers to his cockpit mechanics. “The discipline part, yeah, it bleeds in,” Taylor said. 

That discipline is put to the test the moment the gate drops. Sitting at the top of a 30-foot drop, folded entirely inside an aerodynamic plastic shell with minimal visibility to reduce drag, a racer’s focus must be absolute. 

“On the left lane, you go to the inside and stay there, focusing on trying not to cross the line when the gate releases,” Taylor said, breaking down his tactical execution. “And on the right lane, just driving straight — painting the line, basically.” 

When asked what circles through a driver’s mind in those silent, split-second margins before take-off, Taylor’s priority remains locked on safety and survival: “Just trying not to crash.” 

Representing Team Indy 

Taylor will lead a small but formidable contingent representing the Circle City this year. Out of roughly 10 or 11 total racers making the trip from Indianapolis, a dedicated group of four or five Black and brown minority drivers is set to take the hill, signaling an expanding demographic in a sport traditionally underserved by urban outreach. 

The stakes in Akron extend far beyond simple bragging rights. Per unwritten tournament tradition, if a local driver captures the World Championship, their winning vehicle is permanently hung inside the National Soap Box Derby Museum. 

For Taylor, the upcoming race marks a poignant transition point. The 2026 World Championships will be his final campaign in the Masters division. Moving forward, age guidelines dictate that he must graduate to the legacy class, which utilizes more rigid frames that are faster and significantly harder to see out of. 

As Team Indy loads their trailers for the journey to northeast Ohio, Taylor’s mindset remains a balanced fusion of athletic ambition and consumer enjoyment. 

“Out there, I am thinking a little bit of ‘have fun,’ and then also ‘win,’” Taylor said. 

Taylor also received a $200 sponsorship from the Recorder Media Group, provided by president and CEO Robert Shegog. 

The race may only last for a matter of seconds down the Derby Downs. However, for Taylor, the opportunity to rewrite the history books and inspire the next generation of minority racers is a lifelong pilgrimage. 

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Contact multimedia & senior sports reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on X @3Noral.