Pinewood Derby brings fun and excitement to the Cub Scouts this past weekend

PERRY — Cub Scout Pack 419 held their annual Pinewood Derby at the Perry United Methodist Church Family Center this past Saturday. 

Cub Master Scott Bauer described the Pinewood Derby as a wooden box car race where Cub Scouts get an official kit from the Boy Scouts of America. 

“The [kit] is basically a block of wood with four nails and four wheels,” Bauer said. 

Bauer added that the Pinewood Derby also has a set of rules the Cub Scouts must abide by. He said the car must not be longer or wider than the original size of the wooden block.

“The kids are asked to design their car and some of us adults, we have power tools so we can cut rough shapes of the cars and we let the kids decide what they want,” he said. The most popular [design] recently has been the Tesla Cybertruck.” 

The track used for the derby is made out of aluminum with computer timing. 

“The speed of the track is measured by the one hundredths of one-thousandths of a second as it is extremely accurate,” he said. 

Bauer shared they had opened up the Pinewood Derby to not just the Cub Scouts. This year, families and other adults participated, including the Perry Police Department and Perry Fire Department. The Fire Department made three cars and the police Department provided two. Perry Fire Department reached 229.94 mph, finishing in 3.36 seconds while Perry Police Department reached 238.90 mph, finishing in 3.23 seconds. 

“The race involves multiple races with four lanes on the track and each car wil race one time in each lane, and we average the times of the cars in each lane to determine who’s the fastest,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.” 

Cub Scout Trip Zuest built the fastest car. His car recorded 242.21 mph finishing in 3.19 seconds. The fastest family car registered a speed of 239.36 mph finishing in 3.23 seconds. Cub Scout Khush Patel received the Best Design award. 

The first Pinewood Derby was in 1953 and has become a yearly tradition for Cub Scouts nationwide. Although the event does not get Cub Scouts a badge, Bauer said participating could lead to other achievements. 

“Some of the stuff the [Cub Scouts] do might lend itself for other awards as the kids might be able to get some kind of craft reward in terms of painting, decorating or sanding their cars, so things like that may go towards other patch advancements or awards,” he said. 

The Pinewood Derby is something that encapsulates what being in the Cub Scouts is all about. Bauer said it is a great event enjoyed by the families. 

“Kids come in with their families and we just try to make their cars as fast as possible,” he said. “[Pinewood Derby] gives the boys a chance to work with their moms or dads or grandparents or aunts and uncles to help get their cars to the right shape. It is really just a great way to get adults and kids in a family setting working together on something that’s fun.” 

Bauer was happy to see all of the Cub Scouts having a lot of fun at the Pinewood Derby. 

“We let the kids do something creative and teach them a little bit of skill as we talk to them about simple things that can make their car go faster, and we want to let their imaginations take off,” he said. “I like it because it is a chance for me to try and help the little guys mature by doing some positive stuff here. The whole point of working with the kids in Cub Scouts is to get them to learn useful things and start that gradual maturing process.”

Bauer thanked the first responders in attendance, which included Capt. Gerald Michel representing the Perry Fire Department and Crp. Marcus Camps, Lt. Chris Sutcliff and Lt. Quridsha Gilliam representing the Perry Police Department. 

Bauer also wanted to thank Linda Smith of Classic Award and Trophy Center for providing the trophies for the Pinewood Derby.