Cub Scouts race pinewood derby cars at Fairhaven
Published 2:49 pm Saturday, February 9, 2013
Boy Scouts Noah Hay and Luke Lindsay set cars up to race down the track during Saturday's pinewood derby at Fairhaven Baptist Church.
Cars of various shapes and colors sped around Demopolis on Saturday. These joyriders weren’t on the highway though, but instead on a wooden track at Fairhaven Baptist Church.
The annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby was held Saturday when 20 local scouts put cars they designed up against each other.
The derby has a long history in scouting. It started in California in the 1950s and soon spread across the country.
The rules haven’t changed much since the early days — scouts shape and decorate their cars and then race them down a wooden track.
During Saturday’s race, each scout’s car was raced six times. A computer recorded times from every race and set the line-ups for all 20 heats.
After the final checkered flag, scouts with the best cumulative times were given awards.
Scouts and their family members cheer on their cars during Saturday's derby.
Derby organizer Ken Brock said the hardest part about the competition is getting the car’s weight right. Derby cars can’t weigh more than 5 ounces.
A few last-minute adjustments had to be made to a couple of cars Saturday to meet weight requirements.
“That’s really the biggest challenge,” Brock said.
The scouts with the top three overall times were Slater Brock, 13.353 seconds; Jim Lindsay, 13.483 seconds; and Wyatt Card, 13.631 seconds. The three will get the chance to go on and compete March 2 in the council derby in Tuscaloosa.
The top overall winners based on lowest combined time over six heats were (L-R) Wyatt Card, third place; Jim Lindsay, second place; and Slater Brock, first place.
Awards were also given to the top three finishers by age group.
The top Webelos racers were: Slater Brock, first place; Jim Lindsay, second place; and Graham Parker, third place.
The top Bear racers were: Rayshawn Benison, first place; and Cooper Smith, second place.
The top Wolf racers were: Wyatt Card, first place; Jackson Miller, second place; and Ben Turberville, third place.
The top Tiger racers were: Jackson George, first place; Ben Lindsay, second place; and Joshua Foxhall, third place.
Several awards were given out in addition to those for speed. Those included: Cooper Smith, best scout-themed car; John David Bedsole, most creative; Thomas Bedsole, judges choice; Slater Brock, judges choice; Mac Hurst, judges choice; and Ethan Pezent, best of show.
For more photos from the derby, see Wednesday’s edition of The Demopolis Times or our page on Facebook.
