By Judith Roberts
Temple Baptist Church member and A.E. Phillips student Campbell Hodge was named the 2026 National Pinewood Derby Car Champion, which was held during the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando.
Hodge, the son of Sam and Kelly Hodge, earned his spot in the national event after winning his age division at the Louisiana Royal Ambassadors (RA) Congress this spring in Alexandria. The Royal Ambassador program is a missions discipleship program for boys in grades 1-6 and is sponsored by the Woman’s Missionary Union through the SBC.
The National Pinewood Derby featured 14 competitors from across the country. Participants raced their handcrafted cars eight times — twice on each of the four lanes — with the averages of those times determining the final standings.
“Every spring, all of the churches and their dads meet in Alexandria, and they spend the night and do a lot of outdoor activities,” Kelly Hodge said. “One of the main events is the Pinewood Derby car race. Campbell’s built a couple of cars, and he and Sam have gotten the hang of it. (For nationals), they decided to build a new one to race, and they were together researching. It was very scientific, and Sam is an engineer. So they were looking at things like weight balance, the design, how to cut the car, all those things.”
This win for Campbell was actually the third win for the state of Louisiana in the national races.
“Campbell was pretty pumped because we didn’t know how his car was going to race,” Kelly said. “When his car won first in every heat, we were just in complete shock, and it was just a sweet time for Campbell.”
Kelly added that the entire experience was a great encouragement for all who participated.
“It was a competition, yes, but they were truly all cheering for each other,” she said. “When they were announcing the winners, they were just truly excited for one another. We loved seeing everybody cheer each other on.”
And even more, Kelly said it was a great family moment as well.
“Campbell was just so happy to represent his church and the state,” she said. “And one of the things that meant the most to him was getting to do this with his dad. Sam is an RA leader, and this was something extra special they were able to share together.”
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