Hilton’s Karlye Murphy made history on Saturday, July 23, with her fourth victory in the All-American Soap Box Derby held in Akron, Ohio. The 17-year-old won in the rally super stock division, making her the first person to ever win four All-American titles.
Karlye’s history-making win capped a great week of derby racing as she won the AUI Rally Super Stock Challenge on Wednesday and the All-Star Super Stock Challenge on Thursday, making her the first person to capture all three titles in one week.
Jeff Iula, a Soap Box Derby historian and the former general manager of the All-American Soap Box Derby, told the Akron Beacon Journal that Karlye Murphy is “the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) of the Soap Box Derby.”
Karlye told the Akron Beacon Journal that she was “completely overwhelmed” by her feat. “I’m so glad I was able to make history,” she said.
Karlye won her first race on her first day of racing, which also happened to be her seventh birthday. She claimed her first All-American title in 2015 at age 10 in the local super stock division. In 2016, she won the rally stock division, and in 2021 she became the rally super stock champion.
Soap Box Derby racing is a family endeavor for the Murphys. Karlye and her dad, Jeff, are a dedicated and hard-working team, with him setting up the car and getting her in the blocks for the race. Her mother, Amy, works at the bottom of the hill loading the cars onto the trailer to go back up the hill. Karlye is a skilled driver with competition from all over the country and the wins are sometimes by a fraction of a second. She attributes her success to practice and hard work.
One year when Karlye came in second, she jumped out of her car to hug her friend who won first. She received a Good Sportsman award for doing that.
This year, Karlye’s neighbor, Kristen Trujillo, who is assisted by Jeff Murphy, won ninth place in the All-American Soap Box Derby in the rally super stock division.
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