Pinewood Derby – 2022

Pinewood Derby News

We are excited to be able to host an in person Pinewood Derby again! We welcome all young racers to the 2022 Pinewood Derby, otherwise known as the greatest race on earth! We will have a lot of potential racers vying for that elusive spot in the winner’s circle! Or maybe you just want to make a cool car and see it go! There will be prizes in multiple categories, as well as the fastest, so have fun building and decorating. For the best racers, they move onto the National Derby Race!

Events Schedule

Rough Cut of Wooden Blocks – Friday 03/10

Join this workshop with hands on tools to help you make your first rough cut! This will help you get the right shape and weight for your Pinewood Derby car.

Optional Practice Run – Sunday 03/12

To maintain safe social distancing, practice runs where scouts can test out their derby cars on the race track will be based time slots reserved ahead of time. We ask if you or your scout do not feel well to not attend the practice run. Everyone will be required to wear face masks in order to participate or else will be asked to leave.

Sunday 03/12, with reserved 45 minute slots between 1PM-6PM. Sign Ups to be Distributed Closer to the Date.

Pinewood Derby Race – Friday March 17th Pack Meeting

The Pinewood Derby Race will occur during our March 17th Pack Meeting at the Sandpiper Community Center Multi-Purpose Room.

Rules

The rules are intended to provide a fair fun race for the scouts. The basic rules are:

Cars must be built this year and not re-used from previous years
Use an official BSA Pinewood Derby kit, and not a PineCar or other kit
Weight: Cars must weigh no more than 5 ounces as weighed on the official scale (some people may not have scales, if the car is overweight, the car will be run in the Outlaw races)
Width: Cars must be no wider (with wheels) than 2.75″
Length: Cars must be no longer than 7″. There is no minimum other than the wheelbase requirement below.
Wheelbase: Cars must have a wheelbase of between 4″ and 4.5″
Ground clearance: At least 3/8″ from the bottom of the wheels to the lowest part of the car other than the wheels.
Wheel treads must not be modified in any way.
The car should be substantially built by the scout, with assistance from the parent. The parent shouldn’t build the car for the scout!

For the detailed rules, please refer to the BSA Pinewood Derby Rules

Alternate Locations to Go For Help

The web is full of some great resources for designing and building your car with your Cub Scout. Here are a few of our favorites:

Use Science to Build the Fastest Pinewood Derby Car. A former NASA engineer explains how you can use science to build a fast Pinewood Derby car
Dremel Car Designer. You can pick a design and download the template for copying to your car block. Makes it really easy to get started with your car design.
Michaels. They have a section of Pinewood Derby cars, paints, decals, books, graphite, axles, etc.