Pinewood Derby

“The Super Bowl of Cub Scouting”

Pinewood Derby Basics

There are two categories of competition at the Pinewood Derby:

  • Race

  • Concours (Design)

Scouts will compete only against other Scouts of their own Rank (Lion, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Arrow of Light). All work on the race car must be exclusively that of the Scout and their parent/responsible adult. This includes design, construction, finishing, and detailing, beginning with the Official Pinewood Derby Car Kit and other official BSA Pinewood Derby products and ending with the completed, finished, customized racecar. The parent/responsible adult provides oversight and guidance, but the goal is to have the Scout complete as much work on the race car as possible within the constraints of safety.

Those who place 1st for their rank will be invited to represent the Pack at the District Pinewood Derby, typically held in March. Those who place 1st in both speed and concours cannot compete in both categories at the District race and much choose one (the second place finisher of the category not selected by the winner will then be invited to the District Derby).

Race Competition Procedure

Four race cars at a time will be raced in each heat. Each race car will race in a minimum of four heats for each bracket, once in each lane of the track. The racecar’s bracket time will be the car’s average time across all heats of the bracket. Bracket competition will continue until every race car for that rank has a bracket time. The winner for that rank will be the race car with the lowest bracket time for that rank.

Workshops

If you don't have the tools to cut and shape your pinewood derby car at home, join one of the following workshop sessions:

  • The Pack typically hosts a workshop. The 2024 workshop will be on Saturday, December 9th, 1-4 pm at Fairfax Church of Christ. Please come when convenient, by encouraged to attend by rank during the following times:

    • Lions and siblings can come whenever convenient.

    • Tigers - 1-1:45 pm

    • Wolves - 1:45-2:30 pm

    • Bears - 2:30-3:15 pm

    • Webelos & AOLs - 3:15-4 pm

  • The Scout Shop occasionally hosts "Virtual Champ Camp"/workshop online. They will walk through the Pinewood Derby car-building process, and go through some little tweaks and adjustments that can make a huge impact on race day! Curious about how to install sound and light kits? They will also be walking through the process.

    • The Scout Shop also sells approved accessories for Pinewood Derby cars including additional kits, decals, weights, underglow kits, glow-in-the-dark wheels, and light-n-sound kits. Visit them at 5232 Port Royal Rd, Springfield, VA or online.

  • Sign up with your Den or individually at Michael's Woodshop at Camp Snyder in Haymarket to cut and carve with experts. Cost is $5-6 per Scout. Optional: they have weight kits available at the woodshop for $10. Visit their Pinewood Derby Days information here.

  • Sign up for one of the opening at the Reston Community Center Open Woodshop, typically $10 for Reston residents or $20 for non-residents per Scout. View information and link to registration at bottom of page here.

Please arrive at the in-person workshops with a design already traced, drawn, or printed and glued to your pinewood derby wood block.

10 Tips for a Fast and Cool Looking Pinewood Derby Car

1. Start Early

No one likes staying up late the night before the race cutting, sanding, and waiting for paint to dry and hoping the car is under weight. Before you even receive your Pinewood Derby kit from the Pack, start researching designs. Download example templates (see button above) and customize as you wish. Think how you will cut and shape the car and what tools you will need. The Pack has a band saw and belt sander we make available during workshops. Attend the workshop and ask questions and learn from others. Pass it on - share what you have learned with others!

2. Bake your block

Baking your Pinewood Derby wooden block helps to remove the moisture so that you have more wiggle room to add extra weight at the end. Remember, every little bit of weight in the right place makes a difference! Bake it in the oven at 250° for about 2 hours.

3. Spend time sanding

The smoother your car is, the more friction is reduced and the faster your car can slice through the air. Start with a coarse grit, move to a medium grit, and finish with a fine grit. It is helpful to wrap the sanding paper around another block of wood for better grip and to help prevent the addition of unwanted dips in your car. You can also up the ante by wet sanding the car after the first coat of paint (so primer, then paint, then wet sand). Some have used 1000 grit ultrafine carbide sandpaper. After this, proceed on with painting the rest of your coats!

4. Use a high-quality paint

The Testors Enamel Paint Set has amazing coverage, plus a great shine. The Testors Glow-In-The-Dark Paint Set and the Testors Fluorescent Paint Set are also awesome options. The Key to the best coverage and results: START WITH A GOOD PRIMER! Especially if you are using the Glow-in-the-Dark or Fluorescent paints. The next tip on painting is to use a wide sponge to paint. It creates a much smoother surface. More painting tips…

5. Add decals

You can find decals to add to the car at the Scout Shop or online. Use a credit card to press out all of the air bubbles, and then seal everything in with a clear gloss paint. Be sure to check to make sure it won’t curl your decals first! You can test it off to the side by sticking a decal to a piece of plastic and spraying it with the gloss paint.

6. Max out your weight at the regulation 5 ounces

Yes, it may take more time and effort, but those extra couple of ounces have proven time and time again that they make a difference. Place all of the weight you can about an inch in front of the rear axle. The closer the weight to the back, the faster your car will roll (but you don’t want it too far back, or your car will be popping a wheelie). For a more aerodynamic build, have a drill and a spade drill bit on-hand to put your weight up and into the bottom of your car. Make sure weights are not sticking out below the car - the car must clear the track rail. The bottom of the car must be no lower than 3/8 inches. Various weight types are available at the Scout Shop or online, and we have also seen pennies used!

7. Use floor wax and shine to a high-shine finish

You do need to make sure that your coats of paint are completely dry before you do this (think about a week). This final coat will make your car extra glossy and even more aerodynamic!

8. Sand and polish your wheels and axles

You can use a mini file to remove any major ridges on the axles because we all know that the less friction, the faster the car! For best results, mount your wheels onto an electric drill so that you can polish at a higher speed and reduce the likelihood of adding accidental imperfections.

9. Check alignment

If you want to get in-depth with this, adjust your car to allow it to ride a rail – this is better than your car bumping back and forth between bumpers. Another way to pick up speed is to ensure that your car has a true straight alignment. Level one, just run your car down a level surface and ensure it doesn’t pull one way or another. Level two, use an Axle Press Tool to ensure straight axles. You can also glue your axles to ensure there is no wiggling out of place – just make sure not to get glue anywhere near your wheels!

10. Use all of the graphite

Only dry lubricant is allowed. Coat it everywhere – all over the axles, where the wheels touch the axles, on the car itself, where the wheel can touch the car—everywhere. Do not apply lubricant inside the race venue - do it outside before entering at the latest.

Racecar Standards

All cars will be inspected to ensure they meet the standards of the Official Powhatan District Pinewood Derby Rules adopted by our Pack. 

Common Derby Pitfalls include:

  • Car is overweight - 5.0 ounces is the weight limit

  • Weights reduce clearance or car does not meet dimension specifications:

    • No taller than 3 inches

    • No wider than 2 3/4 inches

    • No longer than 7 inches

    • No lower than 3/8 inches (to clear track guide rail) - weights need to either be attached to the top of the car or if on the bottom, sunken into the wood so that they do not hang below the bottom of the car

    • The wheelbase (distance between front and rear axles) may not be changed from the kit body distance of 4 3/8 inches.

  • Items added to car are not firmly attached - be sure to glue anything that might fall off no later than the evening before the race

  • All four wheels do not touch - no lifting of 1 or more wheels. Wheel must be official "BSA" wheels and unmodified (sanding of wheels and axels as well as use of dry graphite lubricant is allowed). Axles must remain straight and unbent. All four wheels mounted on the race car must touch the ground flat (not beveled) and roll when placed on a level surface.

  • Front of car extends past starting peg - a small round peg holds each car at the top of the starting line to ensure an even start of the race. Cars that are unable to rest on this peg will be turned around to run backwards (assuming the back of the car can rest on the peg).

Concours (Design) Competition

The Pinewood Derby is not all about speed - it's also about design! Three volunteer judges will be viewing and ranking cars based on the following criteria:

  • Creativity /Originality – How much thought went into the design of the car.  Remember “simple” car design can show creativity and originality.

  • Color and Finish – How well is the car constructed?  Consider shaping, sawing, carving, sanding, etc.  How well is it painted?  Consider smoothness, gloss, quality, designs, etc.

  • Accessories and Decals – How do extras such as decals, driver, pipes, engine and other accessories enhance the appearance of the car.

  • Cub Scout Motif – Cars that have a scout theme should be given “extra credit”.  Complete scout theme = most credit, use of scout colors and/or insignias = less credit.

All cars must meet race specifications and will undergo the same inspection - width, height, weight, wheels, etc.

When all three volunteer judges have selected their top 5 cars, they get together, compile ranking, and identify which car has won.

Test Night

Join us for a fun evening of testing cars, held on the Friday evening before race day. Bring your Pinewood Derby to make sure it qualifies to race and runs smoothly on the track before the big race. We will have volunteers available to help check your car and provide tips on fine-tuning for a faster car. 

Please come when convenient, by encouraged to attend by rank during the following times:

  • Lions & Tiger - 6:00-6:30

  • Wolf - 6:30-7:00

  • Bear - 7:00-7:30

  • Webelos & Arrow of Lights - 7:30-8:00

Race Day Schedule

Check-in and race times vary by Den, with the older ranks going first:

  • Arrow of Light - 9:15-9:45 am check-in, 10:00-11:00 race

  • Webelos - 10:15-10:45 am check-in, 11:00-12:00 race

  • Bear - 11:15-11:45 am check-in, 12:00-1:00 race

  • Wolf - 12:15-12:45 pm check-in, 1:00-2:00 race

  • Lion & Tiger - 1:15-1:45 pm check-in, 2:00-3:00 race

Cars can be checked-in any time before the end of your assigned check-in time. Reach out to the Cubmaster if you are unable to attend the Derby in person and would like to check-in your car before race day.

Trophies and ribbons for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd within each rank or speed and concours (design) will be awarded at the end of the race time. 

Please wear your Scout uniform - we will have a photo booth set up!

Volunteers Needed!

The annual Pinewood Derby is dependent on numerous volunteers to be successful and enjoyable for our Scouts. Volunteers are needed for the following positions for each Rank's racing time:

  • Set Up - within the week ahead of the event, retrieve track from storage and set up, put up decorations, organize check-in desk and awards, etc.

  • Welcome, Inspection, and Check-In Station - Welcome Scouts, test/accept and last-minute car entries, and assign number to cars.

  • Pit Crew - Manage station to help with any last-minute fixes needed (more/less weight, adjust wheels, etc.)

  • Concours (Design) Judges - Use form to rate car designs and work with other judges to rank top 5 cars from each Rank

  • Car Transporter - Ensure cars make it from check-in to concours judges to racetrack

  • Master of Ceremonies - provides commentary, announces race cars entering the track and placement, presents awards at end. 

  • Start Line- Lines cars up at the start line based on the provided lineup, ensuring cars are straight and in the correct track

  • Finish Line - Gently removes cars from finish line and return to tray for future rounds of racing

  • Software Manager - Runs the raceday software which shows current lineup and tracks race winners by rank

  • Audio/Video - coordinates scene changes in video stream from lineup, starting line, finish line, and results

  • Awards Organizer - Takes the final results from the software volunteer and concurs judge and lines up the awards for the MC to present

  • Clean Up - Take apart track and move to storage, remove decorations, set up chairs in rows and aisles, remove trash, etc.