Pinewood Derby is Feb. 21
Staff writer
Matthew Christensen of Marion won the Tiger Cub division in Cub Scouts Pack 102’s Pinewood Derby for 2009, but he saw some design aspects among the winning cars of older scouts that he plans to incorporate into his car for the 2010 derby.
“I’m doing it a little different this year,” Matthew said.
He drew his 2009 design freehand, creating a car that looked like a stockcar racer. This year, however, he searched for ideas online, selecting a thin, tapered shape like a drag racer.
Matthew saw some interesting designs — including a hot dog car — at the 2009 derby. He is most interested in making the car fast, but other parts of the process are fun too, he said.
“I liked decorating it the most,” Matthew said.
Another important criteria for success in the derby is having the axles and wheels on as straight as possible. Wobbly wheels can rob a car of a lot of its energy rolling downhill, Matthew’s father, Jay Christensen, said.
For safety reasons his father cut out the shape with a saw. Christensen said he was amazed at the resources available for design and construction of the cars. A search online for pinewood derby returned nearly 500,000 results.
Each scout receives a kit that includes a block of wood with grooves already cut for axles, four wheels, and four nails for axles. The axles must be in the precut grooves.
A completed car must be between 1.75 and 2.75 inches wide, no more than 7 inches long, and no more than 5 ounces in weight.
Competitors generally try to get as close to the 5-ounce weight limit as possible, which requires adding weight to the car.
Many scouts will spend a lot of time on a car, Cubmaster Jackie Palic said. But she has seen scouts who have broken a car the day of the race, gotten a new kit, finished a car in time for competition, and won.
Pack 102 Pinewood Derby will be at 1 p.m. Feb. 21 at Holy Family Catholic Church activity center in Marion. There will be prizes for first through third places, with separate prizes for Tiger Cubs. Prizes will also be awarded for the most realistic car and most unique.