Derby Talk

True, there's a kind of a con game going on. The races 'look' closer since the cars are speed matched. But can I tell you about my grandson? With my help (in my defense a last minute rush job) he finished exactly in the middle of the pack. He came home THRILLED. He had finished first in two of his ...

gpraceman wrote:It has always been machine bent.

Perhaps so. If true, I have anecdotal reports from people whom I hold in high regard that indicate that it was machine bent rather poorly. The reports date back to roughly 2001 or 2002, when BestTrack was new.

Has anyone seen this large of variance in one of these tracks? How old of a BestTrack was it? Their curved section has changed over time. I believe that originally it had to be bent by the customer, lane by lane, which might explain the variance that you saw. Now the curve is machine bent at the fa...

Congratulations to Spencer and you, great job!!!

How many songs will it hold?

That are some infractions that simply can not be detected at inspection. For example, a car weighs in at 5.0 oz and then halfway through the races someone notices a weight on the car that wasn't there before. In such a situation, I might re-weigh the car. If upon re-weighing the car was up to, say, ...

They checked the with between wheels, and it was about 1/16 inch narrow. I said "It's okay, I'll take my chances". The judge wouldn't let me enter it that way. When deviation from a "rule" will only hurt the performance, I say let it go. When was it established that narrow cars ...

Have you posted your simulator Cory? It has moved about faster than Google and my few links can keep up with it. Currently at http://members.cox.net/pinehead/software.html . Ah, c'mon....it only moves about once every five years. And it didn't move a single time last century. :mrgreen: Slarty, you'...

SlartyBartFast wrote:Dumb luck isn't involved in who gets into the top of the pack. But luck, IMO, plays a large role in final order of the top cars.

Larger than many people might think, if your track is not the greatest, and you trust my simulator.

Kids (young and old) believe they deserve to win all the time. :roll: Not all kids, but granted this is true for many kids. Like when my 10th best player would ask me if she was going to make All-stars. In general, though, my experience is that kids can be taught to understand when the other side i...

Do kids really think in terms of “deserving” to win or lose? I coached youth soccer for nine years. I ran Pinewood Derbies for nine years. Yes, I know many that do. And didn’t many of the kids who built much slower cars work just as hard? I am not into coddling kids either. Life rewards performance...

SuperDave wrote:"Innovate and Educate, don't Legislate."

I think that pretty much every Pinewood Derby does all three of these things, albeit to differing extents. The proper balance is a matter of opinion, nothing more.

Time, especially time when in subsequent heats the cars are speed matched, allows even very slow kids to win heats. As an email I received just last week said, "I love the look on a child's face when after coming in last in the first heat by a yard he almost wins in the latter heats." Fro...

Here's a poem my older sister claims I wrote in 1st grade to satisfy a history requirement in school:

Lincoln was a famous man
President of this great land
Someone shot him in the head
How I wish he wasn't dead
Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln

The Pack 146 web page mentioned in the previous post has moved to this location:

http://members.cox.net/pinehead/awards.html

2kids10horses wrote:And, if there's already a thread like this, just point me to it!

viewtopic.php?t=1382&highlight=muscle+car+automobile

In addition, "Mean Machine" has always been one my favorites.