Steven Moore spent two days working on his Pinewood Derby car trying to get it just right. The 11-year-old Cub Scout said it was fast, but not as fast as he wanted.
“I had some spare parts left over so I decided to build another car,” said Steven. “I call it my five-minute car because I threw it together with spare parts. It turned out it was faster than the one I spent two days working on.”
The car was fast, zipping its way to a first-place finish for Pack 888 at Saturday’s Pinewood Derby at Hickory Creek Elementary.
“The trick is where you put the weight,” said Moore. “The best place is directly in front and in back of the rear axle. Your car can’t weigh more than 5 ounces.”
Participants push it to the limit because a heavier car travels faster down the track. Steven’s car weighed 4.99 ounces.
Participants can either go for looks or go for speed. There are two categories up for grabs – fastest and best design. Cars can typically excel at one category, but not both.
Isaac McVey grabbed attention for his car, which was shaped like a block of cheese. It won first place in Pack 888 for best design.
“I originally wanted to have a mouse on top of the cheese riding on the rocket but it didn’t work out,” said Isaac.
Benjamin Spanjer claimed second place in design for his guitar car.
“It looked like a guitar when we finished cutting it out and I play guitar too,” said Benjamin, who said he spent about three weeks working on the car.
There were around 60 participants in Saturday’s Pinewood Derby, according to Melonie Turner, one of the organizers.
“They have to use an official BSA kit so everyone is on the same playing field,” said Turner. “Whatever they do with their block of wood is up to them.”
Judy Thomas is the cubmaster for Pack 888, which has been in existence for 20 years. The pack was originally formed by George Beaver.
“What I like most about this is the interaction with the boys,” said Thomas. “For a lot of them, they don’t have anything else but this. The Pinewood Derby is a favorite, but camping is their favorite thing that we do. We try to do at least one event every month.”
Thomas said her pack meets weekly and consists primarily of boys in grades K-5.
