In January, the boys sanded and painted their wedges of wood in the most creative ways. The car kits we used this year came from a Scout Council in the mid-west. The blocks were pre-cut in wedges and this allowed us to complete cars with the minimum amount of prep.In March, the boys built display stands for the cars from wood that used to be kitchen cabinet drawers. Since January I've been telling the boys we would race the cars on a real Pinewood Derby track and with just a few weeks left in out schedule I set a date.
The track was located and pre-assembled and all the materials gathered to have a great race.
On Wednesday, May 27 my husband and I arrived around 10:30 to set up the track in the meeting hall. When the boys came rolling in after school the race officials and pit crew were there and ready for them. My daughter, Megan, a Venturer with BSA Crew 474 served as Finish-line Judge, my youngest son, Matt, a First Class Scout in Troop 449 was the Starting line Official and I served as photographer. And so it was that we held our first Pinewood Derby Car Race. 
It was an exciting time for all the boys. Some of the boys had not attended at the time we made the cars, but we were able to come up with enough cars for all the boys to race. We ran several heats and had several exciting issues. Cars jumping tracks, flipping from the track to the floor and a couple with wheels that were not set quite right causing friction issues. We even had two of the Boy Scouts join us to race their cars as their meeting got out early. The race officials also judged the cars based on appearance and each boy earned a certificate stating an attribute of the car he raced.
It is my pleasure and honor to work with these fine young men.
Written by Dani Killingsworth - Program Leader
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