Pinewood Derby

I have really been enjoying Cub Scouts this year. One of the big Cub Scout events is the Pinewood Derby.

A month ago, Dad and I got our Pinewood Derby car kit. It consisted of a block of wood, some little nails to serve as axles, and four wheels.  Dad told me we were going to make it into a car. I couldn't believe it.

First, we went over to a friend's house with some of the other cub scouts in my den. I got to draw a picture of what I wanted my car to look like. Then I watched as Dad used a table saw to cut the block of wood into the car shape that I drew.

Next, Dad helped me sand the car. We had an electric sander and I got to hold the car (with Dad's help) while we sanded it down. I was pretty amazed at how smooth we got it.

Then, Dad and I cut out a little hole in the bottom using a chisel to store more weight in the car. When Dad told Mom we were going to chisel, she thought it was some kind of slang for relaxing.

Over the next few weeks, we worked on the remainder of the car. The next step was to paint the car. We went to the store and I got to pick out the paint colors. I picked out blue and green. Dad let me paint the car all by myself. It looked pretty good I thought. Once the paint dried, we put the weights in, put the wheels on, and gave it a test ride in the back yard. Hazel and Turner were pretty excited to watch.

Finally, this Saturday was race day. We brought the car over to the school Friday night to get it officially checked in and make sure it wasn't over weight. I had to name my car, so I named it "BAM." After checking in, I played a little basketball with a friend.

My car, BAM, is the dark blue and green
one (slot 17 if you zoom in)

On Saturday, we arrived at the school to find the track all set up. Lots of scouts and their families were there to watch. Each car was raced four times in a heat of four cars. There were computers there to record the times and show the heat winners and times on a big screen at the front of the room. It was very exciting.

Mom, Hazel, and Turner came to help Dad and I cheer for our car. We did pretty well. While we didn't win, our car finished as high as second on one of the heats, and seemed pretty fast to me. Most importantly, we had tons of fun making it.