Pack 168 Home
Pack 168 Pinewood Derby Information Page (updated 1/2008)
Note; This page was originally created in January, 2004. Some links have been added (provided by Steve Miller), broken links removed, and minor revisions made.
Hi All!
I've collected some Pinewood Derby links below. Some are very useful, some are cute and some are incredibly technical. No matter how skilled you or your son is with tools, please remember that the Pinewood Derby is for parents and children to have fun creating their car together. It's not about having the flashiest car or an engineering marvel, its about fun and fellowship. On some web sites, the real purpose of the Derby might not be evident.
For those who were not at the pack meeting, here's a short outline of how it works. Arrive on time! This provides plenty of time for last minute adjustments and/or repairs. Registration and weigh-in takes usually closes 15 minutes prior to the start of the race.
Your car will be weighed and measured to make sure it meets the rules of competition. Once it is weighed and checked out, it will be taken to the pit area where it will stay until the start of the race. You will not have access to your car once it is weighed in.
Some tips:
1) Keep the car in a shoe box and use the shoe box to transport your car. This will protect it during transport and keep parts together in one place. A last-minute accident can be heartbreaking. When constructing your car, using a shoe box for all supplies and the car lessens the risk of lost parts and keeps everything together.
2) Try to arrive close to the start time so you have time to make last minute repairs or adjustments.
3) To check the weight, the local deli or produce department are usually happy to weigh the car -- as long as it's not too busy. Cars can be no more than 5 ounces.
4) Only dry lube can be used and no lubricants can be brought into the building.
Each car will run one "heat" on each of the five lanes. The computer selects the cars for each heat. Because of this, your car will race against different cars every time. The total time for all five heats determines the winners. Our computer times the cars to thousandths of a second and the difference between the first few finishers is often only a few thousandths of a second. Trophies are awarded to ALL participants at the Blue & Gold Dinner. The top finishers get slightly larger trophies.
Even though we have a lot of entries, with our system, it goes very fast. When the cub race is over, we have the sibling races. Siblings do not earn trophies.
Accessories, decals & paints are available at lots of area hobby and craft shops. I've listed a few below. It's a good idea to call before going to the store to make sure they still stock pine car supplies.
Brian Pecora
Connecticut Yankee Council -Scout Shop
60 Wellington Road
Milford, CT 06460
(located 3 minutes from the Milford/Stratford Merritt Parkway bridge)
Telephone: 203-876-6880
Blinn's
50 Unquowa Pl,
Fairfield, CT 06430
Poster's Art's & Crafts
2353 Black Rock Tpke
Fairfield, CT 06432-3229
Phone: (203) 372-0717
JP'S HOBBY CENTER
82-84 MAIN STREET
ANSONIA, CT 06401
PHONE: 203-735-5512
