Pack 748 Medway - Pinewood Derby 2025

The Pinewood Derby (PWD) is one of the most exciting and fun events in Cub Scouts. With an adult assistant, your child gets to build a gravity-propelled car from a block of wood, polish and assemble axles and wheels, adding weight to optimize performance, and of course decorating the car.

This year’s race will be on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Car registration will be on Friday, February 28, 2025 from 5:30-7pm. Reach out to Alecia if you need to drop off your car another time. Cars cannot be entered on race day. Pre-register your car here before dropping it off: https://forms.gle/BXjeo1y2FMWknp5x6

Before building (and perhaps again throughout the process), please review the Mayflower Council rules:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GOwq_sFkGXK0QjQ2P4BOGARN9JKXZej7/view?usp=sharing

Please read the rules carefully. Common mistakes include not meeting the dimensions and weight limits, or accessories that are not permitted by the rules.

If you are new to PWD and need help, please ask sooner than later. There are also plenty of resources and accessories you may find online to help get you started with the build process and how to optimize your car's performance. Please don't wait until the week before the race to begin building.

It's expected that the younger scouts will need much more adult support for the woodworking and axle polishing, but the Scouts should be involved in the design, decoration, etc. as much as possible. Older cub scouts should be doing most of the work themselves with adult guidance. However, scouts should only use tools they are comfortable with, and BSA has guidelines against power tool use by Cubs.

Pinewood Derby Coordinators- Alecia Lebeda alecialebeda@gmail.com and Scott Lebeda lebeda.scott@pm.me.

Basic Pinewood Derby Rules

1. DIMENSIONS: The car, including all decorations, must conform to the following size and weight restrictions:

WEIGHT: Not to exceed 5 ounces and having no loose weights.

NOTE: The weight of a car can be affected by humidity, as wood can absorb moisture from the air. It’s possible for a car that weighed 5.0 ounces in January to weigh 5.1 ounces in June. The reading of the official scale shall be conclusive.

LENGTH: Not to exceed 7 inches, including wheels, fenders, etc. ◦ HEIGHT: Not to exceed 5-1/2 inches.
WIDTH: Not to exceed 2-3/4 inches, including wheels, fenders, etc.

2. CENTER RAIL CLEARANCES: The center rail of the track has a width of approximately 1-5/8” and a height of 1/4”. Cars with an underbody clearance of less than 3/8” are not assured to clear the rail at all points along the track, but this is not a disqualifying condition.

NOTE: Cars with narrowed bodies may be prone to “pinching” the center rail, which may slow the car, but this is not a reason for disqualification.

3. AGE OF CAR: Construction of the car must have begun no earlier than the start of the current school year.

4. MATERIALS: Only official Boy Scouts of America, or BSA-licensed, axles, wheels and body are to be used. Non-BSA-licensed axles, wheels, or bodies from other kit brands are not allowed. Racers may be asked to attest, on their honor, that their car does not incorporate any axles or wheels that have been modified by a third party (e.g. aftermarket “performance” parts bought online), even if the original parts were BSA-licensed.

NOTE: BSA-licensed colored wheels are permissible. Weights, decorations, and/or fenders may be from non-BSA sources.

RULES IN THE BOX: Wheel bearings, washers and bushings are prohibited. The car shall not ride on springs. The car must be free-wheeling, with no starting devices.
WHEEL MODIFICATIONS:
Wheels may not be packed or enclosed.

Hub caps are not permitted.

The hub and/or bore may be sanded and/or polished to improve the surface(s) which contact the axle or body.
The weight of the wheel shall not be materially increased or decreased. No material such as glue, fingernail polish, or tape, may be added to the wheel.

NOTE: Wheel bores may NOT be filled and re-drilled.
LUBRICANTS: Axles may only be lubricated with dry powdered lubricant (e.g., Teflon or graphite). NO lubricating oil may be used; judges may require application of graphite if the use of oil is suspected.
FOULING OF THE TRACK: Cars with wet or sticky surfaces will not be accepted.
AXLE PLACEMENT: Axles must be attached directly to the car body.
NOSE: No part of the car nose may extend beyond the back of the starting pin when the car is positioned on the track.

NOTE: This rule prohibits both concave front ends (in which the sides extend past the center of the nose) and “barge” noses (in which the nose extends over the top of the starting pin). Racers may assume the starting pin to extend at least 1-1/2” above the surface of the track.

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