Charles City Cub Scouts cross the finish line with their Pinewood Derby cars

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

With a little elbow grease and some ingenuity, a block of wood can become a streamlined champion on the race track.

That’s what several Charles City Cub Scouts found out last weekend as their Pinewood Derby cars crossed the finish line first during the organization’s annual race.

The Pinewood Derby is one of the highlights of the year for Cub Scouts across the nation as kids that range from 5 to 12 years old take part. The Cub Scouts build their own custom cars and race them against one another to see who has the fastest, sleekest and coolest hand-crafted car out there.

Cub Scout Pack 4166 located in Charles City held its Pinewood Derby this past Sunday afternoon at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Cubmaster Todd Prichard said members of Cub Scout Pack 4166 had about a month to work on their cars.

“Some kids spend a lot of hours, some kids don’t,” said Prichard.

Contestants receive a kit that consists of a block of pine wood, four plastic wheels and four nails for axles. No derby car can be motorized.

Pinewood Derby builders shape the car to their specifications and then sand it down. Then it’s up to each race entrant to use the right balance of aerodynamic design and the proper use of gravity to make the car one that will find the winner’s circle.

How each entrant uses weight distribution as well as how they align the axles and wheels is an important factor in who comes out on top.

“The kids had a lot of fun with it designing their cars,” said Prichard.

Prichard said 27 cars competed in the Derby this year and all races are electronically timed on a 37-foot track.

“The fastest car was 207 miles-an-hour,” said Prichard.

Cub Scouts competed in several categories and in the five scout age groups – Lion Cub, Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos.

Wyatt Johnson took first place in the Bear Den and was the pack’s overall first-place pack winner.

Rylie Keyes’ car was selected as the Cub Scout’s favorite car. Luca Hobert won lightest design and Corbin Uhde was voted as sporting the best unique design. The Scout theme winner went to Trevor Johnson.

The Derby, along with the Raingutter Regatta and Blue and Gold Banquet are among the events Cub Scouts do throughout the year.

The first Cub Scout Pinewood Derby was held in California in 1953.

Cub Scout Pack 4166 Pinewood Derby Results
Sunday, January 26, 2020
St. John Evangelical Church in Charles City

Scout Favorite Car – Rylie Keyes
Lightest Design – Luca Hobert
Unique Design – Corbin Uhde
Scout Theme – Trevor Johnson

Overall Pack Winners
1. Wyatt Johnson
2. Max McCabe
3. Patrick McCarty
4. Isaac Gassman
5. Rylie Keyes

Lion Cub Den (kindergarten)
1. Corbin Uhde
2. Hunter Rule
3. Sam Soifer

Tiger Den (first grade)
1. Max McCabe
2. Eric Shannon
3. Liam Abbott
4. Lucas Hobert

Wolf Den (second grade)
1. Isaac Gassman
2. Aston Duryee
3. Elijah Soifer
4. Darrius Blakewell
5. Zander Kellogg

Bear Den (third grade)
1. Wyatt Johnson
2. Patrick McCarty
3. Ryan Pavolich
4. Owen Prichard
5. Atticus Ludington

Webelos (fourth-fifth grade)
1. Rylie Keyes
2. Damian Blakewell
3. Isaac Soifer