February 11, 2005

Cub Scouts spend a night at the races

Pack 275 holds its annual Pinewood Derby

By Marilyn Fahey
Special to the Times

Chomping on popcorn and oblivious to the storm outside, the Cub Scouts of Pack 275 sat alongside the track during the pack’s annual Pinewood Derby, cheering as their cars zoomed—or, in some cases, gasped—toward the finish line.

Fans watch as four speedsters race toward the finish line.

Held Jan. 29 in the cafeteria of Norwood Creek Elementary, the derby was the culmination of six weeks of designing, sawing, measuring, weighing—and re-sawing, re-measuring, re-weighing—and transforming plain rectangular blocks of pinewood into race cars.

Twenty-eight cars participated, ranging from unadorned, unpainted rustic types, to glossy, excessively stickered mini-works of art. Among the participants was a sleek black coupe, a police car, a “Shrek-anator” with (you guessed it) a tiny Shrek strapped precariously to the top, and the unlucky number 13—shiny, red and covered with sad-face stickers.

Although the goal was to create something “cool” (as well as fast), the cars also had to meet certain requirements. The rules say a Pinewood Derby car must be no longer than 7 inches, no wider or taller than 2¾ inches, and no heavier than 5 ounces.

“The trick is to get as close to 5 ounces as possible, without going over,” my husband whispered to me, as we waited in the inspection line. He glanced around nervously, afraid he’d been overheard, as if the other dads around us hadn’t figured out the 5-ounce secret yet, either by trial and error or by visiting one of the thousands of Pinewood Derby sites on the Web.

At the inspection counter, before the race started, each car was weighed and measured to make sure it was the proper size and weight. Those cars that passed were whisked away to a waiting area until the race began. Cars that didn’t pass had to be fixed, and fast. Dads pulled tools from coat pockets; they dug through toolboxes; they switched on power drills. And by 7 p.m., all the cars were ready to go.

Some of the scouts, like Seby Wong, who’s won in past derbies and is considered the one to beat, seemed relatively relaxed when the race began, and as interested in the old-fashioned popcorn machine—and the popcorn—as in the derby itself.

All over but the shouting: First place winner Jim Fahey (left) and most unique car winner Kyle Banks display their cars at the end of a memorable night.

But some scouts, like Tiger Cub Maurice Young, were attending their first Pinewood Derby. Maurice sat alongside the track, wide-eyed and full of anticipation. His dad, David Young, seemed almost as nervous as his son. “I’m not sure what to expect—whether Maurice will be disappointed if he doesn’t win. I hope he enjoys it, either way.”

Despite all the racing-night tension, including a computer glitch that delayed the race for several minutes and one of the cars’ trouble reaching the finish line so it had to be nudged along by master of ceremonies Michael Gabler, the derby was a success.

By the end of the night, every car had raced twice on each lane of the four-lane track. A sensor at the finish line determined the race results. These were displayed on a pull-down screen behind pack leader Mike Ivey, who sat at the computer monitoring the racing software.

The seven cars with the best average times moved on to the finals. Certificates and Jamba Juice gift cards went to the first place—Jim Fahey, second place—Thomas Meyer and third place—Elias Munoz—winners. Other awards went to Andrew Lee for best-looking car, Thomas Meyer for most original and Kyle Banks for most unique.

Maurice Young wasn’t in the winner’s circle this time, but there’s always next year. Anyway, for Maurice as well as for the other scouts, making the cars was just as important as the race itself. “He enjoyed making his car so much,” said Maurice’s dad, David, “that tomorrow we’re going back to the hobby store.”