The Big Race
With all the build up to the big race, we were hoping to have a respectable showing, knowing that many of the other scouts would have expert assistance for their cars. There were 54 heats with six cars in each, spaced at a dizzying 45 seconds apart. The top cars sped down the track in less than 4 seconds, usually around 3.8 seconds. The slower cars, well they varied somewhere over 4 seconds up to nearly 5. The individual heats consisted of cars entered from all levels, the little kids, through the older webelos, to the parents entered in the open class. Each den was awarded a 1st, 2nd & 3rd place trophy based upon average speed, not by placement in each heat. So the races were an hour of straight activity until the end, when the race system tabulated the results for each group.
I was able to grab some video of Connell & Liam while in the same heat.
As the video indicated, we had a respectable, showing.
Here are our individual times:
Liam
Car Name: The Gray Wolf
- Avg. Time: 4.0686 Sec. (217.9 MPH)
- Fastest Time: 4.0290 Sec. (219.1 MPH)
- Slowest Time: 4.1011 Sec. (215.3 MPH)
Connell
Car Name: The Failed Stripe
- Avg Time: 4.1073 Sec (215.0 MPH)
- Fastest Time: 4.0316 (219.0 MPH)
- Slowest Time: 4.1513 Sec (212.7 MPH)
Ray
Car Name: NFC North Division Champs
- Avg. Time: 4.3127 Sec. (204.7 MPH)
- Fastest Time: 4.2190 Sec. (209.3 MPH)
- Slowest Time: 4.5008 Sec. (196.2 MPH)
At the end of the races, Liam took 3rd in his den, while Connell & I, well we were just ‘participants’ in the open class. (Notice my car was by far the slowest. Some people may say that is like my driving in real life, but we won’t go there right now.)
We’d liked to have been a bit more competitive with the race leaders, but one of the lessons that the Pinewood Derby teaches the boys is sportsmanship and that most of the fun is in the process of building our cars together.
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