Old rules for reference: 2019 Cornhusker Council and Salt Valley Pinewood Derby Rules (version 1.3 as of Jan 4, 2019)
Old rules for reference: 2018 Salt Valley Pinewood Derby Rules
Hints for Pinewood Derby
Planning:
When deciding on a number of cars, plan for extras for outlaw races, if desired; selling the cars will limit the amount of deadweight loss of car kits (there is lots of desire to create an outlaw car, but my experience is that 10% will be built)
Trophies should be planned ahead, and planned with the trophy coordinator - they can be ordered locally through Rexstine Recognition (not the BSA ones, of course)
Extra cars are good as things get lost, broken, etc.
Assign numbers that do not repeat digits, as the car kits only have sticker per digit
Use the Salt Valley District rules for your pack derby so you avoid a double car setup (or disqualification)
Plan a separate check-in day from derby day, as the two activities are both demanding, and very separate skill sets - impound cars in boxes with separators between check-in and derby
Decide in advance how much variation you will allow from the included kit
Having a patient dad to help with other scout's cars is helpful - many people are intimidated by building a car
Emphasize that cars should be built by the scout, even though this never happens
Consider having a "build day" for the cars, where you have power tools, paint, decorations, etc. for all scouts. This day could be used for entirely finalizing the cars, and getting them ready to race. This takes the pressure off those who aren't feeling capable of building a car, and will drive the perfectionist builders crazy. Packs that do this seem to have fairly even results, and even allows the dads with good ability to spread their knowledge to more than one scout.
Somewhere, somehow, you must watch "Down and Derby" - the Council generally offers it at the Joyo, or do this in another venue
Check In:
Verify your scale skills before check-in night - every scale should have a calibration weight, and an official Cub Scout 5 oz. weight - don't confuse these weights
Setting up an old track on check-in night seems to go well, and allows the scouts to test running ability
Pinewood Derby Day:
Have new people set up and tear down the track, as this is intimidating, and you will need this to be done every year
Having a projector for your timing computer allows everyone to see race results in real time
There is no substitute for setup time - plan for 2 hours
FOS presentation can be done here, but make sure to cordon the parents aside