Pinewood Derby

The Downens weren't as lucky as we have been in years past.  I was very thankful for this; having all three place last year and have two place the year before put too much pressure on us to win this year.

From left to right, we have Daniel-8th place, Shane-9th place, Ian-8th place, Fiona-11th place, and Evie-4th place.  There were 38 scout racers and 18 sibling racers.  Evie got beat by two Boy Scouts and the sister of the boy who won 3rd place in the scout races.  Shane would have placed 3rd or 4th if the weight on the bottom of his car hadn't fallen off.  It actually dragged on the track during his second heat and fell off after he crossed the finish line.

The winner of the derby had a time of 3.11 seconds.  Second place had a time of 3.18 seconds.  Shane and Ian had times of 3.22 and 3.24 (or something very close to that).  When places are determined by tenths and hundredths of seconds, poor sportsmanship and sour grapes abound.

Gone are the days when boys build their own cars from start to finish using only what comes in the box, hacking out body designs with a hand-held coping saw.  Now we have pre-built kits, cars designed by professional engineers, souped up wheels and axles purchased from online dealers, and most of the car body removed and replaced with metal weights.  All so they can bring home a shiny piece of plastic and have a little segment patch.

It must be a guy thing.  I was grumbling to our cubmaster about Ian being a sore loser and that he should be thankful he even placed last year.  The cubmaster said it was normal for males to be this way and I should be worried if he wasn't complaining.  Whatever.  I'm just glad its over and we only have one more year...until Daniel is old enough for Cub Scouts!