The event itself was very organized and very well-run. I had no idea the amount of "seriousness" that went into this event. I thought it was just going to be some big wooden track that the kids send their cars down and whichever car gets to the finish line first, wins. WRONG. There were timers, and heats, and calculations, and some very serious computer-run time keeping going on.
When Payton decided that he wanted his car to be decorated as a "Minecraft car" (from his favorite video game) we looked up images that we could paint on the car. After much internet searching, we opted to print out pictures and glue them on. Fortunately for us, our sweet neighbors, The DeAngelos, helped us get the wheels on properly and let us in on some of the pinewood derby secrets to faster racing (sanding wheels, axles, and graphite dust). In the end, this is what we ended up with:
The day before the race, you have to bring your car to a "weigh-in" to make sure it's not over 5 oz. Then they catalog the cars according to your Cub Scout group and your category and keep it overnight (to make sure you don't go home and add rocket fuel to it or something). Here is a picture of some of the cars before the race:
And here is Payton's car just waiting to be sent down the track!
The next day we frantically ran from church to the race and made it just in time to watch everything being calibrated and set (again, these people take their racing quite seriously) and to hear all the rules being explained.
Here's the car-setter-upper-guy (that's his official title I believe) getting Payton's car ready to race:
Here is his car (far left of the track) getting ready to go!
There were something like 44 races in all.
And believe it or not, he won a trophy (along with several other of his den members)!
All in all, it was a great experience. I think he learned a few lessons along the way, and he had a great time. What more could you ask for?
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