Derby Check-In

Tonight was car check-in for tomorrow's Pinewood Derby. We've been working on these cars for almost a month and there was a lot of pressure to make sure the cars met all of the requirements. If you don't meet the requirements, you have to go to the Outlaw Race and you don't get the chance to compete at the District race. Here are the big requirements (there are actually 11 requirements with requirements within each like the cars have to be at least 1 3/4" wide and cannot have offset wheelbases or all paint and glue must be dry but we didn't have to worry about those)...

1. Each car can be no more than 5 oz each (but they can weigh anything under that). Jacob's was 5oz exactly. On our scale, it was 4.95 so I knew we'd be cutting it close. Daniels was 5.1 oz. On our scale, it was 5 oz on the nose, so we were actually relieved that he wasn't too far over. We ended up taking off the mouse's nose (which is a shame because he's so darn cute) and came in at 5oz. It looks kind of dumb but it makes weight.

2. They have to be no more than 7 inches long, but not less than 6.75 inches. Both cars passed with flying colors.

3. They have to have minimum 3/8" ground clearance. This is because of the way the track is set up. Any less and the cars can't run properly on the track. There was some question as to whether or not either made that since we had weights on the bottom. Our pack leader put both on the track and they were fine.

Phew. We cleared check-in.

Looking at the track, I'm wondering if the cars will make it to the end since there's more straight-away than ramp, but considering our weight, we should be good.

It was fun to see everyone's cars...some were very simple and some were very elaborate. That made me wonder how much the kids actually did on the cars. Although, I'm sure some were thinking the same thing about ours.

I ended up talking with Lisa, mom of Jacob's friend Andrew. I've always liked her. She's from Wisconsin and moved here about the same time we did. She was telling me that the thing that bothers her the most about living here is the lack of friends. She knows a lot of people but has no one that she feels she can call just to vent or talk. I told her that I felt the same. So, we made tentative plans to get together. It'll be nice if we can become good friends.

So, our pinewood cars are in the "Pack Impound Lot," all checked in and ready to go for tomorrow's race. I'll let you know how we do tomorrow!


Mike holds our cars as we wait to check them in. Sorry the picture's a little blurry. We'll get better photos tomorrow (and plan to glue the mouse's nose back on after the race). Daniel's Cheesemobile is on the left and Jacob's car is on the right. And yes, the boys did do quite a bit of work on the cars (sanding, painting, etc). It's hard to believe these started out as simple blocks of wood.