Pinewood Derby

Last weekend was the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby -- the last one for McKay! Here, they hold a combined derby with all four wards from Amarillo, plus the ward from Canyon, so it is a big group!

They have a group come in to run the track (they do derby races all over the area). The track is a little different than the one we had in The Woodlands. Instead of having a steep drop followed by a long straightway stretch, it is pretty much an even slope all the way down.

My dad was here last weekend (for Hannah'a baptism), so he came with us to the big event. That was fun to have Grandpa with us.

They opened for weigh-ins starting at noon and the races were supposed to start promptly at 1pm. We got there about 12:30 or so so Brian and McKay could get the car all ready and checked in.

Here are some of the waiting cars -- McKay's is the blue BYU car.

Confession time: Yes, this is the same car McKay raced last year in The Woodlands. We missed the December Pack Meeting where they handed out kits (McKay was sick) and didn't know about the derby until a week or so before it was scheduled. I didn't pick up a car kit until Tuesday of that week and it turned out to be one of the busiest work weeks for Brian, plus we had company coming and Hannah's baptism. So, there just wasn't enough time to really build a new car. We weren't aware of a rule here that said you couldn't race a car that had already been raced before (it didn't win last year), so we decided that since McKay built this car and it had been less than a year, we would use it again (and McKay was okay with that). So if we broke any rules, we're sorry! :-)

Hannah got a seat front and center on the floor by the finish line...

... and ended up sitting and sitting and waiting and waiting (along with the rest of us). Somewhere about 30-45 minutes after it was supposed to start, they made an announcement that they computer running the track had gone down, the back-up computer also wasn't working and they were making one last attempt with a third one (that someone had gone home to get). Turns out that one didn't work either, so they ended up doing head-to-head races in some kind of a double elimination tournament with call-it-as-you-see-it judges sitting at the finish line. Needless to say, it made the whole event last a REALLY long time, especially added to the late starting time.

McKay's car did do really well and I think he had fun!

The girls, not surprisingly, got very restless and bored and hungry having been there so long. So I ended up leaving early to take them home (plus, Courtney had wet pants by then... sigh...) So I missed the end, but got the report from Brian and McKay later.

McKay made it to the final race and ended up taking 2nd place overall! Here is a picture of one of the earlier races:

Brian said the last race (best 2 out of 3) was really close and really came down to how the judges called it since the computer wasn't working at the finish line. Even though it wasn't scientific and therefore prone to error, McKay was a really good sport about coming in 2nd. And, that's a great accomplishment in a field of so many cars to start out with.

Way to go, McKay!