Seven Principles of Pinewood Derby
On this page, you will find seven principles of Pinewood Derby. A good understanding of each of these has been helpful along the way.
Principle 1: A well run Derby is not an accident.
It takes planning, preparation, and a bunch of helpful people to run a good Derby. Among many sites with nformation about "what it takes" is Don DeYoung's Roles Of The Derby Committee
Even if you've been running Derbies for a very long time, you might consider taking a look at this or similar sites. There may be something there you haven't thought of.
Principle 2: "Cub Scout can do" implies "Cub Scout should do".
I recently heard a story about a man who had a friend who was a craftsman. He gave his son's Grand Prix kit to the craftsman, along with a copy of the rules. A week later, the craftsman gave him back a finished car, which he, in turn, presented to his son. The son was not involved in the construction of the car in any way. The car, by the way, won its Pack races, and finished second at a regional event.
Is this what Pack 280C in Manhattan Beach, California had in mind back in 1953 at the first Pinewood Derby? Probably not.
Designing, constructing, and racing a car is a joint effort between a young person and a mentor. Obviously, there are some jobs that some young people can not perform adequately or, more important, safely. But if the young person has the skill or can learn the skill, then let the young person exercise the skill. You'll both probably learn more that way.
Principle 3: The simplicity of your rules is inversely proportional to the simplicity of the resulting cars.
Having a simple set of rules limits your ability to be precise about what is and is not legal. This increases the probability that you will see cars with exotic modifications, such as pointed wheels or metal bushings. (This is especially true when your group is large, or when your ability to control or influence their actions is limited.) Combined with subjective differences in how folks interpret the spirit of the rules, this has the potential to result in an unlevel playing field and Race Day controversy.The alternative is to explicity prohibit such exotic modifications, thus eliminating any questions as to the spirit of the rules. You'll still get cars which are visually impressive, but the engineering will be more vanilla. Racing success will become a function of how well basic tasks, such as alignment, wheel and axle preparation, and weight distribution, are performed. And your rules will probably be long and detailed.
Darin McGrew has written a nice discussion on rules issues.
A final note: If your event sends the winning cars on to higher level competitions, then those cars will be subject to the rules of those events. In other words, consider making your local rules at least as strict as the rules at the next level.
Principle 4: Not all racing methods are created equal.
If your goal is mediocre identification of the fastest cars, or minimal and uneven participation by contestants, then use single and double elimination ladders at your Pinewood Derby.
On the other hand, what's best for NCAA Basketball tournaments, where the teams are seeded, where money is a primary goal, and where each contest lasts two hours instead of three seconds, may not be best for you.
If you would like a better understanding of some alternative (and arguably superior) methods and how to implement them, you should visit the following sites:
- Darin McGrew's Race Methods for a Shape N Race Derby
- Stan Pope's Conducting Pinewood Derby Races.
Principle 5: Technology is your friend.
The empirical evidence in support of this principle is considerable. For example:
- Modern finish lines work extremely well. Much better than the older ones, and much better than the human eye. We ran 300 heats last year without a dispute or a re-race.
- At a workshop in 1995, I watched a participant spend 30 minutes with a hammer and chisel inlaying one of those "flat" weights in the bottom of a car. At a workshop in 1998, I watched a participant do the same job in 3 minutes using a Dremel tool with the router assembly.
- In 1996, our racing charts were elimination ladder scribbles on a piece of paper that the audience couldn't see. Now we have snazzy-looking, computer-generated, final-standing charts displayed with an overhead projector.
You can make your Derby a better event by taking advantage of technology.
Principle 6: Performance and appearance are different design goals.
Many kids want simultaneous optimization of both speed and beauty. No problem, as long as your definition of beauty is "it goes fast!".
In 1997, I built a Batmobile. The body is extra-wide with lines like a Le Mans car. It has a "bat logo" in the front and "bat wings" in the back. It has a glossy, black finish. It is a cool-looking car. 
In 1998, I built a Rail. I spent a lot of time on the wheels and axles. The body is only 7/16" tall. There's almost as much metal as wood. Remove the wheels, and it doesn't even look like a car.1 
Click on the image at right to see what happens when Form meets Function on a Pinewood Derby track. Car design time is a good time for kids to learn about opportunity costs. 
Principle 7: The truth is out there.
Or at least someone's version of the truth.
Seriously, there is a great deal of Pinewood Derby information on the Web. Anyone running a Derby, building a car, or participating in any aspect of Pinewood Derby should consider doing a bit of surfing. There are dozens of sites containing tons of information.
Need a place to start? You might try the Pinewood Derby Racing Webring.
Plus there are a number of sites which contain nicely organized link pages. Here are some excellent examples:
- Don DeYoung's Pinewood Derby Resources.
- Randy Worcester's Pinewood Derby Links.
- Darin McGrew's Resources for a Shape N Race Derby.
Finally, if it's not on somebody's page, there's a good chance it's in somebody's head. Most site owners have been involved in Pinewood Derby for a number of years, and couldn't possibly post everything they know. They probably wouldn't mind sharing some of that information, especially if you've done your homework. Don't be afraid to use those mailto: links, or to post a message to Usenet!
1Actually, to me this car has a certain elegant aesthetic appeal. But Stan Pope informs me that some folks laugh at the Rail design on first seeing it. If the design is properly implemented, though, the laughing stops after a few races.
Last updated on December 13, 2006, 12:00 PM
Copyright 1998-2006 © by Cory Young. All rights reserved.
