So Trey calls the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.
Last year, conflicts with Upward Basketball’s picture day prevented Trey from being a part of the Pinewood Derby. This was doubly sad considering that out of the whole pack only 3 Tigers entered last year, preventing them from having a design competition in that age division.
But this year, no Upward = Pine One Derby!!
I’ll let Matt share the gory details of building the car…as well as the pictures of what his “workshop” (also known as our “dining room”) looked like. For more than a week, I had to share space in my kitchen with dremel tools, screwdrivers, epoxy glue, hammers, nails, lubricant…and the inevitable, “Honey, have you seen my…?” Let me tell you, it was not a pretty sight. However, it was a good motivator, so now I’m anxious to help Matt get his workshop in the GARAGE set up so it’s usable! But I digress.
For Trey’s first entry into the Pinewood Derby, I must say I was pretty proud of him. Due to time constraints, we had to keep the design pretty simple, but Trey came up with the ideas for the paint job on his own and helped sand and paint the car. After seeing the different designs at the Derby, Trey’s plans for next year are far more involved!! Dad did a great job of aligning and lubricating the wheels: Trey’s car placed 4th out of all the wolves who competed (and there were at least 10), and he missed placing by only a few hundredths (ed. note: thousandths) of a second. Even though he didn’t win an overall medal or ribbon, he did win a couple of his heats, and that was enough for him. The excitement of counting down the races, watching the cars race, and cheering on his friends was all he needed.
Here is our proud Cub Scout with his car:
were there any general lee pinewood’s? that would be cooler.. or a knight rider car.
No, no KITT’s or General Lee’s – though we probably could have done that with Trey’s car. There was a Shamu, a penguin, an army tank, some Star Wars transport vehicles, etc. etc. Great ideas. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the cars but the impound station was hard to photograph.
Good for you, Trey! Pinewood Derby is a big event. Did they weigh the cars? As Matt knows, more weight will make the car go faster. Some dads would try to put on too much and things were very competitive. We also found if you get too fancy, the car doesn’t go as fast. We used to have weigh-ins and used a special track that timed the heats.