Staff writer
Young Cub Scouts and their families packed the Marion VFW post Sunday afternoon to see just how fast their pinewood cars were.
Around 15 cars built by Cub Scouts and a Tiger Scout raced vying for a place on the podium. The fastest racing speed was just over 3 seconds.
Logan Amos placed first in the Tiger Cub division.
In the Cub Scout division, Michael Hendricks, placed first; Conner Austin, second; and Trevor Schafers, third. Trevor also won an award for best looking car.
His car was green and had a black carved engine and black tail pipes off the back of the car. Designs ranged from cars that looked like cars, to cars that looked like sharks, swords, and even one shaped as a surfboard with Garfield the cat atop.
Before racing, each scout was given a “driver’s license” by Scoutmaster Jake Schadel. He used the license as a fun way to explain the racing rules.
“Always have your license,” he said. “You can’t drive without your license, and if you don’t follow the rules then your parent or troop leader can revoke it.”
The biggest rule Sunday was sportsmanship.
“Win or lose you have to respect your opponent,” Cub Scout parent Patrick Dye said. “It’s important to teach good sportsmanship at any age.”
While a few tears of disappointment were shed, it didn’t take long for the young scouts to put their loss behind them and cheer on some close races, including a tie between Ethan Schadel and Landon Dye.
“Our clock measures down to a thousandth of a second,” Jake Schadel said, “so it was a pretty close one.”
Ethan ended up winning a tiebreaker race before losing in the race to determine third place. He went on to win the outlaw division racing a car built by his dad.
“I built a car specifically for this weekend mainly because my son was building one,” Jake Schadel said. “I wanted him to do his own work so I always build one with him in case he has any questions then I can show him on mine and he can learn.
“I let him race my car in the outlaw so he wore the gold medal home,” Jake Schadel said. “He was a gracious winner and a gracious loser, just like all the scouts.”
Brothers Tristen Dye and Landon Dye took second and third in the outlaw division.