stock car pinewood derby race

[cubscoutmom3 10]

Hi- I hope someone can help me. I am a Cub Master and have been a leader for 7 years. Done lots of Pinewood Derbys but never with the stock car kit. We bought the kits for our boys for Christmas. There wasn't to many directions in the kit. The car fits on the regular track. We Set it up today. Do you still have a weight limit? On the directions there is nothing about adding weights. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Sandy in KY

[Twocubdad 665]

What do you mean by stock car kit? The official BSA kit or something different. Down here in NASCAR country, "stock car" don't necessarily mean then same thing.

[Fuzzy Bear 12]

What have you been using for the last 7 years?

[SR540Beaver 116]

I'm no authority, but I think the answer is fairly simple. The car can be shaped to look like anything as long as it meets the requirements for wheels, length, width, ground clearance and weight. I've seen cars shaped like tanks, jets, 18 wheelers, pickups, etc. One was even cut to look like a coke bottle. As long as it meets the "standard" BSA pinecar rules, the shape does not matter. The car that my son and I are finishing for our derby this weekend is cut so that each wheel has independent suspension for a smooter ride. The body is only about 3/8ths of an inch high. Springs are not allowed in pine cars, but this design actually uses cuts in the wood to make a suspension system.

[cubscoutmom3 10]

The kit is in the scouting catalog. It is a complete kit and they call it Scout Car Pinewood Derby kit , Special Edition. The kit has the block of wood. You make 2 cuts on the wood and it has a plastic molding of a stock car. You make the car over the wood. In the past we have just gone with the block of wood. But this kit was in the Scouting catalog. Hopefully someone can help me. Thanks, Sandy in KY

[EagleInKY 14]

In the past, some of our cubs have bought the plastic stock car molding that goes on the wooden car. I'm assuming that is essentially what you are talking about. If so, the rules are all the same. The car still needs to have weight added up to the limit, length, width and clearance rules remain the same.

 

Good luck!

[Twocubdad 665]

Our boys receive the basic BSA kit at the pack Christmas party. They are free to buy the fender kit at the Scout shop or any of the other add-ons. There are also non-BSA parts out there which are okay too. Our guys add all kinds of stuff to their cars: Lego parts, toys, drivers, you name it. As long as the car uses the basic block and the original dimensions aren't altered, they can dress it up any way they want.

[draks89 10]

Our Pack bought the "Stock Car" kits and used them this year. The main reason was price. The offical kit was something like $3.95 the stock car kits were $2.50. So we bought the stock car kits. These kits are exactly like the others except you get a plastic body, stickers paints and a brush. More for less!! Some of the boys used the bodies and some just used the wood block and cut their own design. We still used the 5 ounce max. weight. We are not that picky on the rules except for the weight and using the kit. Worked out just fine.

[cubscoutmom3 10]

Thanks Draks89- We bought the cars also because they were on sale. All our boys are using the stock body. They are designing and painting them there own colors though. I weighed my sons car and it was right at 5 ounces without adding weights. Do you do an inspection on your cars for washers and things on the wheels that are not suppose to be there. How do you run your race. I am thinking double elimination. If I can figure out how to chart it. I have been a leader for 7 years and a cubmaster for 1. So running the pinewood derby is new to me. I have always worked it but never ran it. I think my Asst. Cubmaster will handle this race. Any ideas of how to run the race would be helpful. Thanks, Sandy in KY

[CubsRgr8 10]

Sandy, here's some ideas for your consideration.

 

1) Sponser a workshop on a weekend for those boys whose parents are woodworking and/or painting challenged.

2) Have a separate adults catagory to minimize professionally crafted cars being raced by scouts. You can even sell the cars to the Dads, siblings, etc. as a fundraiser.

3) Race each rank separately and award a small trophy to the top three. Then race each rank's winner for the Pack trophies.

4) If you go with #3, have a couple of side activities available for boys to work on while they wait for the Pack finals.

5) EVery scout gets a certificate, recognizing something unique about their car (most colorful, best banana shaped, etc.).

6) Consider having the PWD as a special pack event, not during a regular Pack meeting time, to prevent the it from supplanting regular Pack meeting activities (recognitions, advancement, skits, etc.).

 

Have fun and delegate, delegate, delegate.

[EagleInKY 14]

I agree with Cubs wholeheartedly. We do everything on his list except #2. But even that sounds like a good idea.

 

Here are a few more:

1) Don't use double-elimination. We use a round-robin approach. Every boy races the same number of times in the initial heat. We then take the top cars and run a round-robin with them. Detractors of this will say it takes too long. They are incorrect. We went to round-robin 4 years ago and race day goes much smoother and quicker. My problem with double elimination is that the poor kid comes in with a slow car. He races once and he's moved into the "loser's bracket". Then he loses again and he's done.

 

2) We have three special races:

- Leaders race. Follows all the same restrictions. Find out which leader can build the best car.

- Open Race (legal) - Open the competition to siblings, parents, friends, Boy Scouts or anyone who wants to race a legal car. Some of the Cubs even re-enter their car in this race for the fun of it.

- Open Class (unrestricted) - Our only rules is that it cannot use any form of propulsion (other than gravity) and that it cannot damage the track or any other cars. There are no weight limits on the cars. The only restriction on size is that it has to stay within its lane and must fit under the finish line. The heaviest cars usually wins, so it's interesting to see the creative way people pack more weight on them.

 

3) Don't allow parents or cubs in the pit area. We use our Boy Scout troop to support the derby. Parent's of boys that are racing are prohibited from the race area, even if they are the Cubmaster! When I was CM and my boy raced, I had to go in the stands like every other parent. It eliminates any potential questions. Allow judgement calls to be made by non-partisan participants (our case, the Boy Scouts) and clearly announce what you decided.

 

4) Make it fun, keep it moving.

[cubscoutmom3 10]

Hi Everyone- Thanks for the ideas. Could you explain the round robin to me. This sounds like it will work with my boys. Do they get to race more? I like everything to be fun for them. Hey EagleinKY- what part of KY. I am from Murray. Yours in Scouting , Sandy

[CubsRgr8 10]

The two packs I've served always rent a 4-6 lane track from a Boy Scout Troop. There are quite a few troops in Milwaukee that do this as a fundraiser for their units. They typically supply enough adults/scouts to run the whole show. The set up comes with simple computer software that records the time of each car in each heat. So, instead of a round-robin or double elimination, each scout's car races once in each lane and its the averaged race time that determines the winners. Tuesday night, that meant that each scout raced four times. BTW - a Tiger cub won the overall pack trophy! And it isn't just weight, because the car that weighted 4.95 oz didn't even place!

[ScoutNut 147]

We stopped elimination races because they were just no fun for the boys. Once they were eliminated many chose to go home. We now do a type of round robin with the whole Pack (no separate Den races). We have a program which allows us to have each boy race every other boy and in each lane. It works out great because we keep all of the boys racing right up until the end. if it is getting kind of late we just drop a round. We then take the 3 who have won the most races and have a race off for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. We use Asst Scoutmasters from our Troop as finish line judges and Boy Scout Den Chiefs as helpers.

 

When the boys come in their cars are checked, weighed, and given a number. The boys get a drivers license with their picture and car number on it. The boy (ONLY the boy) then takes their car to the parking lot where it stays until their number is called to race. When they hear their car number the boy gets his car from the parking lot and hands it to the starter (Den Chief) who puts it in the correct lane. The boys in the race go down to the finish line to wait and cheer for their car. When their race is done the boys put their cars back in the parking lot to wait for their next race.

 

We have a couple of dads who have a table set up with spare parts, tools, hot glue and graphite. They act as our pit crew and fix any problems with cars. The race area is also roped off and only the starters, judges, and 3 racers (3 lane track) are allowed inside.

 

Before the final race off for 1-2-3, we take a short break for snacks and drinks.

 

Our 5th grade Webelos Den makes stands for all of the cars as part of their Craftsman badge. The 1-2-3 cars each get special ribbons for their place. Everyone else gets a pinewood derby ribbon with best "something" on the back. Everyone also receives a pinewood derby patch segment for their patch vest.

 

We do our PWD as our January Pack meeting. We have an opening and closing flag ceremony and have a few announcements, but no awards are given out. Usually no one has done a whole lot anyway what with the holidays and getting ready for Pinewood.

 

I know we got our race program off of the internet. Ours is DOS based and I know there are newer versions out there. Do a search, there are quite a few PWD sites! Just remember to keep it fun for the kids and don't stress the "gotta win" theme!

 

Hope this helps!

[EagleInKY 14]

We got an electronic finish line that takes human judgement completely out of the picture. I wrote a little web application to manage the races. There are several reasonably priced ones on the web, some that even tie into the timers. I just did it for the fun of it, but I would recommend buying one if you can afford it.

 

Sandy, I now live outside of Louisville. However, I'm originally from Murray. I was a Cub Scout in Pack 53 at Carter Elementary School (which I believe is now gone) We moved away when I was 9. I still have family there, but don't get down there too often. We did come down last summer. Depending upon how long you've been around, you would possibly know some of my family. It's a great town and a great area. I'm hoping to bring my troop down to LBL some day.