My son won 1st place in his Webelos Den in today's Pinewood Derby. He then went on to the pack champion finals...
and won.
Second year in a row.
He'll be going to districts in May and hopefully he'll do well there. He won that last year.
I am so proud of him.
I am also proud to report that my husband placed 1st in the dad's race. Two women and one boy scout entered the dad's race this year. There were a total of nine entries in the dad's race. I am very evil, but I am proud to report that I won second place and the boy scout won third. We smoked the other five men and the other female den leader in the races. I'm just kind of proud because a WOMAN placed second in the DAD'S race.
After the races, someone came up to me and asked me what was my husband's secret for building fast cars. I said, "Well, WE worked on the cars every night for a few weeks." I think people assume my son did not build his car -- but he did. He designed it, he cut it out on the band saw, he did axle work, he sanded it, he primed it, he painted it, he clear-coated it and he applied the graphite. My husband did help a with the axles and stood over his shoulder for guidance -- but MY SON BUILT HIS CAR.
I designed mine, my husband cut it out, he helped me with the axles and paint, but I did a lot of the work on the car. Really. And I'm NOT making one next year because it was a lot harder than I thought.
So what is our secret for winning? Well, researching good designs -- a thin, flat slab works best. (I chose a wedge because I like them better.) Weights in the back. Straight axles and wheels. Sometimes the wheels that come in the kit stink so you should buy more than one kit. Lots of graphite work and not too much handling before the races. That's all we do. BUT...we work on the cars every night.
Someone else asked me if we actually had fun building the cars. Yep. Every night after supper we would clear the kitchen table and go to work. We did this for a few weeks. I'd call it good quality family time. My son really enjoyed teaching me how to build a car this year.
I am very happy and proud of my son for all his hard work. He did a great job.
Next year I hope they rename the dad's race to an open class race.
4 comments:
Congrats! This was my son's last year and he will be so sad. I have been a den leader and my husband has been the pack leader for six years. I am always amazed at how little many of the boys participate in the building of the car. We stress boy participation every year, yet, know that most never even pick up a piece of sand paper or paint brush. I'm glad your "boy made" car placed first!!!
Our "boy made" tank placed second in the pack, first in his den! My husband was amazed because he was out of town during the design and building and thought that his tank would be a sure loser because of the barrel sticking out of the front. I had never even thought of that. A very proud Tiger Cub Dad won first place.
Congratulations to the whole family, especially to The Boy! But I think the real success is the time you all spent together, getting ready and learning from each other. What fun : )
You weren't evil at all, much as you might like to want to think so lol. Really, what's so hard about renaming "The Dads' Race" "The Parents' Race"? Last time I checked, it was 2006...
Congrats to all of you! That sounds like it was a fun and rewarding project for everyone.
Congratulations to your son!
Did you take pictures of his car? I love to see the designs the kids come up with. They're so creative.
Crissy
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