Pinewood Nerdy (by Ben)

Last year (2011), when James was a Tiger Cub, he attended a large non-LDS cub-scout pack. And eventually it was time for his very first Pinewood Derby. I was recalled when I won as a 10 year old cub (there were about 10 boys in my pack), and also refreshed in my frustration with my parents who both had great woodworking skills, but who didn't have the time to help me out. I ended up doing my own research (looked up aerodynamic in the encyclopedia), my own drawing (drew the profile of an airplane wing on my block of wood), and my own woodwork (Yes, my parents didn't seem to mind me using the band-saw and belt-sander on my own! My dad did come help after I was done to clean up some of the blood where I cut an inch long gash in my finger. No joke! I still have the scar to prove it.)

I decided that I would be far more involved in the process with my son, and provide some added safety oversight as well. I started where any sane parent would: The internet. As it turns out, there are a lot of dads that go to great lengths to help their sons do well in these competitions. I was overwhelmed with conflicting information, and decided to pick up a few books. I figure, someone has got to know what they are talking about to publish a book, more-so than a website, at least.

I picked and read Pinewood Derby Speed Secrets and Pinewood: Winning by the Rules.

After reading both, I'd have to recommend the former (... Speed Secrets) by far. I was also surprised that the aerodynamics of the car are of very little importance. but there are a handful of things that one can do to drastically increase the speed of their car. Which is good, because if a boy can't (or shouldn't) do the sawing of his block, then there isn't much else to do except for some minimal assembly and painting. BORING! I'd much rather spend a bunch of extra time teaching my son about craftsmanship and scientific principals, so that is what we did.

With some ample warning from Nicki that James needed to be in charge, we started the process by letting James choose the overall design of the car. Luckily Pinewood Derby Speed Secrets had about 30 sample car pictures, and several blueprint designs in the back of the book. James quickly chose his favorite (even though I didn't care for it much) and he was happy. I tinkered with the plan a little bit (changing length and thickness) and printed out the updated design which James glued onto our wood block. We used a reciprocating saw to cut out the basic pattern (James literally held my hands and the saw to help). James then spent the better part of 20 minutes sanding the little block of wood until it was nice and smooth.

James picked out some nice blue and gold spray paint and we painted his car carefully, layer after layer until it looked fantastic.

We discussed gravity, and put the lead weights into his car, and talked about how the weights placement would make the car accelerate faster and longer. We also got to talk about density and why wood and lead didn't "feel" quite the same.

Then we spent several hours discussing how friction slows things down while carefully and methodically sanding and straightening and polishing each axle and wheel that came with his set.

We got his car assembled and finished just hours before the race, and James was excited. I carefully discussed with him the need to be a good sport and just try to 'do his best'. I knew we'd do well, since I'd followed the guidelines in the book to coach him to a good car, but assumed some of the other boys that were older, or dads who were more hands-on would win.

There were 49 boys in the pack, and James did really well. His car kept winning each heat it was in, and when they announced the final results, our little James had won First Place! He got a trophy, and accolades, and was ecstatic. I was full of pride for my little boy and all the hard work he was willing to do, and the time we got to spend together.

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Fast forward to this year. I knew there were several boys/dads who had won in our wards pack, using the same book as me. James was adamant to work on his car for weeks, but our schedules didn't allow it until just days before the race.

We modified last years design to be even faster, and James picked new colors (red and silver) and sketched out the design on the car.

We followed the same careful methodical steps, and the night before the race spent an extra two hours in the garage (past bedtime) finishing up polishing the axles and wheels.

I am the Cub Committee Chair this year, and so I am in charge of the Pinewood Derby and was responsible for much of the setup. (though, Nicki, who is an amazing wife actually did most of the planning, coordinated most of the preparations, and managed most of the setup, and worked harder than anyone to make the event amazing.) This meant that I was sidetracked from getting James car done until (literally) the last minute. As families were streaming into the church James and I sat down and assembled his car, got his front spoiler on. He was one of the last boys to check in.

After winning all 8 of his heats, James made it into the final four. He was placed third out of 19 boys. I was a bit sad, but excited that he'd done well, and glad that he could learn about humility and losing. The top four boys raced 5 times against each other, taking turns on different lanes... and James won, every single time. He was once again crowned Grand Champion, and won his second Pinewood Derby in a row.

I feel a little bad, knowing that he could have a larger role doing the car on his own with much more minimal help from me. I also feel embarrassed being the scout leader, and having my own son win. (I was in fact, running the scoring software, and hope that no-one feels that I skewed the race to benefit James.) I'm bummed that he may be getting used to winning, and hasn't had one more learning opportunity (from losing). But... he did work hard, and did earn his win. I guess we'll have to wait until next year to see if I let him draw his own plans, do all the sawing by himself, and if I can just serve as a consultant. Today, I'm just proud of my boy, and glad to have the opportunity to be an involved parent. Good job, James!