The Race

The annual Pinewood Derby is a highlight of the Cub Scout year.  A narrow body was the key design element this year.  Both cars placed first in some of the heats they were in, but the trophy did not come to our house this year.

You can see the boys' cars more closely as well as some of the other entries.  Studies with wind tunnels have shown that aerodynamics do not help a car win.  An unaltered block of wood would do as well as the sleekest design: the cars just don't go fast enough for shape to make a difference.  Still, shaping a car is a lot of fun. 

Just a nice shot of a race.  Click on the picture to see it in its original size.

 

Here is a video of a race Gregory's car was in.  You can see how our front end design helped us off to a fast start, but the other car caught us before the finish line.  Might be a weight distribution problem.