HOULTON – Taylor Bailey had a good luck charm. Dustin Champagne had a car that has brought others good results.

And both went into Saturday’s 8th Northern Maine Soap Box Derby with plenty experience from last year’s race.

Bailey was crowned the Stock champion and Champagne tore through the Super Stock field to win their respective divisions in Saturday’s competition.

Both winners received savings bonds and black-and-white checkered finish-line flags. It took a while after the championship was decided for Bailey to finally put down her flag.

The big prize? A trip to the 2003 All-American Soap Box Derby race in Akron, Ohio, where the national championship will be crowned.

The national race is scheduled for July 26. Winning racers spend the week before in Akron getting to know their fellow local champions and participating in several events.

The top eight local winners each received a savings bond worth at least $50. The champs each received a $500 savings bond.

There were 66 stock racers and 43 super stock racers.

In order to advance through the heats, drivers must race against their heat opponent twice, in an A phase and a B phase. Drivers can lose a phase but advance anyway if the combined time in the two phases is better than their opponent in that heat.

Both Bailey and Champagne lost the A phase of the championship final but came back to win the B phase and advance by virtue of time.

Champagne, a 16-year-old who will be a sophomore at Fort Kent High School, finished third in last year’s derby. It was his fourth year of racing.

Champagne lost to eventual runner-up Dayna Tidd in the A phase, but beat her in the B phase and his combined time was good enough for the win.

“I had a feeling. When they said the time, everyone starting looking at me,” Champagne said. “I was like, oh, I think I got it. Whenever they said my name [after heats] I was so happy. And this was my last year, so I had to get it.”

Champagne said his experience was key.

“You have to be kind of flexible and you have to know the track,” he said. “I know it pretty well.”

Champagne also knows the car pretty well, and he knew he had a fast entry. The boy who last used the car finished as high as third in the local race, just as Champagne did last year.

“I talked to his dad, who owns the car,” Dustin said. “He just told us to race it. I’m thankful that he let us use it, because it’s a nice car. It’s taken me a long way.”

Karla Hethcoat was third in the super stock, Maggie Widhalm was fourth and Josh Harvey came in fifth. All three placed in the top eight last year.

After the race Bailey showed off a good-luck charm: a dollar bill taped to the left sleeve of her derby T-shirt that had a message from a friend who was racing in the Master’s division in Rockland Saturday.

“It says, ‘Taylor, have fun racing, you can come in first,” said Bailey, who turns 10 on Tuesday.

Bailey, a Houlton resident who will be a fifth-grader next fall, was eighth in the Stock division last year, her first time racing. Second-place finisher Alyssa O’Connell beat Bailey in their A phase race, but Bailey won the B phase and the championship.

“You just have to get down and go,” she said. “I was just so excited.”

Jordan Benn finished third in the stock event. Dylan Gard was fourth and Logan Holmes finished fifth overall.

Three special racers, who raced down the hill with assistance, where Adam McDonald, Miranda Tidd and Derek Barnes.

Bailey said she’s not nervous about going to Akron.

“It’s just a day to have fun,” she said.

Stock: 1. Taylor Bailey, 2. Alyssa O’Connell, 3. Jordan Benn, 4. Dylan Gard, 5. Logan Holmes, 6. Levi Ledger, 7. Brooke Smith, 8. Ian Gervais; Super stock: 1. Dustin Champagne, 2. Dayna Tidd, 3. Karla Hethcoat, 4. Maggie Widhalm, 5. Josh Harvey, 6. Robbie Aucoin, 7. Emily McGary, 8. Jeff Holmes