Pinewood Derby Race 2009

The boys have been very excited about their Pinewood Derby car race. They were given a block of wood and 4 wheels to make their cars. There is a listing of requirements that a car must met. One of the most important one is that the cars had to be under 5 ounces. In general, the heavier the car is the faster it will go so we tried to make the cars as close to 5 ounces as possible without going over. The cars were weighed in by officials making sure they meet all the requirements. Then the cars were impounded until the race.

Jordan and Hunter with their cars

Cub Scouts are divided in packs. The pack is the large group of scouts in an area. The pack is divided into dens. Your den is based on your age. The cars from the same den race first. The top three winners were named and then the winner from each den raced for the pack winner.

The Competition

The cars are divided by dens. The first group on the left is Jordan's den. His car is the third one of the first row. Hunter's den is the last group of cars. His car is the third car on the second row.

The car that won for the whole pack was from Hunter's group. The car was shaped like a tear drop. It is the car in front of Hunter's (the third car and the third row). You can click on any picture to make it larger.

Jordan getting ready to race

For each race, there were two matches (one for each lane). If their was a tie, then they would flip a coin and the winner would choose the lane. The winner of the tie breaker race won the race. It is a double elimination completion. So each boys got to race at least twice.

You can click on the arrow and see one of Jordan's races. His car did great! His car came in second place in the his den. If one of his weighs had not fallen off, he probably would had won. He also got an award for the car with the best paint job.

One of Hunter's races

This is a video of one of Hunter's races. His car did great also. He unofficially came in fourth in his den and remember he was competing against the pack winner. Hunter received a certificate for most colorful paint job.

The boys had a great time making, painting and racing their cars. I think this is their favorite parts of cub scouts.