It’s that time again. Pinewood Derby is being held at almost every elementary school right around now. Our local races were last night, and technology has definitely had an impact since our oldest son was racing some 15 years ago!

These days, as you are probably already aware, the races are judged with a laser beam and digital count. It’s pretty neat. The track we saw last night was a four lane with a high slope at the start, and laser read digital display at the bottom. Not only does the digital display allow more than one placer (2 second place, for instance), but the information is also captured on a laptop for final judging.

Each den used to be allowed to write their own rules and guidelines, taking into consideration that the more wins, the higher the level of competition, and ultimately there are guidelines to those races. Usually the differences had to do with what the younger dens getting some wiggle room, not anything big.  You wouldn’t want to win, for example, on flimsy rules where you would be out of the running in the higher levels. Bearing that in mind, the rules outlined for Pack 871, our local Cub Scout Pack, were the Boy Scouts of America Official Grand Pix Derby Rules, using the official kit only. Most are done that way for obvious reasons.

Axle Placement Update

The official rules don’t allow your own grooves for the axle placement. That’s contrary to the advice given earlier. While the dens may get away with that, the packs won’t. Now that the tracks have individual lanes, it just doesn’t matter. That car will run straight, no matter what speed! If the pre-cut grooves aren’t square and parallel, the car will just be slower. The BSA rules say there are NO exceptions to the factory cut grooves, so if it isn’t square, it probably needs to be returned and swapped out.

Rocket Scientist Pinewood Derby

Picture by Katie H

It’s great to see what these kids are up to now. The coolest thing I’ve seen so far is the Rocket Scientist competition. WOW.  Only a handful of rules similar to the Pinewood Derby rules. The difference is in the propulsion methods.  With the exclusion of explosives or anything that might harm the track, anything goes!

My daughter took these pictures. I see photojournalism in her future!

When did all the technology start seeping into the Pinewood Derby? I like it.