Slowest Car Award

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gpraceman
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Slowest Car Award

Post by gpraceman »

Has anyone tried an award for the slowest car? If so, how was it taken by the recipients? We tried it one year, publicizing it ahead of time, and the winner was actually trying to win it. The challenge in the award was making the slowest the car that would still cross the line each time. I even used a spare trophy with a toy turtle attached to the top. We haven't done it since, since I was afraid that a recipient would be embarassed by the award even though we may try to encourage those that feel they couldn't win for speed to go for that award.
Last edited by gpraceman on Thu Sep 18, 2003 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Randy Lisano
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by Darin McGrew »

gpraceman wrote:Has anyone tried an award for the slowest car?
I like that idea. For speed, you could have 1st place fastest and 1st place slowest. For design, you could have 1st place automobile and 1st place unusual. There's a certain symmetry there... :-)
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by Barga Racing »

At our State Fair PWD they had a Golden Turtle race. It was composed of the slowest car from each of the qualifing heats. It was run just before the championship race. The kids that raced in it seemed to enjoy it and the winner got a huge round of applause. I think it is a neat idea. They also gave away a fairly large trophy to the winner. I think my car would have won it back when I was a Cub Scout :lol: .
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by ExtremePWD »

We refer to the slowest car competition as the "Best Gas Mileage" competition. This has been in our derby for many years. A number of scouts design and tune specifically for this competition. The crowd also really gets into watching this competition because of the added suspense of if the car will cross the line. We only require that the nose of the car crosses the line and some barely cross the line. This also provides an alternative to those that may not have the knowledge/skill/time to build a super fast car. We award a trophy for "Best Gas Mileage" in each age group as well as at the pack level.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by Darin McGrew »

ExtremePWD wrote:We refer to the slowest car competition as the "Best Gas Mileage" competition. This has been in our derby for many years. A number of scouts design and tune specifically for this competition. The crowd also really gets into watching this competition because of the added suspense of if the car will cross the line. We only require that the nose of the car crosses the line and some barely cross the line. This also provides an alternative to those that may not have the knowledge/skill/time to build a super fast car. We award a trophy for "Best Gas Mileage" in each age group as well as at the pack level.
Okay, now you've got my curiosity up.

Do you provide early access to the track, so kids can tune their car to just barely cross the finish line?

It seems that it would be a game of chance otherwise, like playing shuffleboard while blindfolded, with only one chance and no feedback until you were done.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by gpraceman »

ExtremePWD wrote:We refer to the slowest car competition as the "Best Gas Mileage" competition.
I like that title much better than the Turtle Award.
darin_mcgrew wrote:Do you provide early access to the track, so kids can tune their car to just barely cross the finish line?
Prior to our Awana Grand Prix, we do hold a "Time Trials" where each racer can run their car down the track two times. There is no actual timing done and absolutely no head-to-head racing is allowed. This would be a good opportunity for a racer to tweak their car to make sure it would still cross the finish line.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by ExtremePWD »

1 week before the big race we setup the track for an hour or so for all scouts to check their cars. This is an opportunity for the boys to tune their "Best Gas Mileage" entry. This results in a few cars that barely make it across the line which adds to the excitement. The risk of tuning for barely crossing the line is instant elimination if you fall short since it is a single elimination. Also keep in mind that two cars can both travel the same distance but one can take longer to get their. A car may start out fast then decellerate quickly on the flat resulting in arriving earlier.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by Stan Pope »

Do you have any rules for this competition?... e.g. could I add to the angular momentum of the wheels? Could I link a flywheel to the rear wheels? Coule I "power" the car with a stepping motor? etc.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by Darin McGrew »

Stan Pope wrote:Do you have any rules for this competition?... e.g. could I add to the angular momentum of the wheels? Could I link a flywheel to the rear wheels? Coule I "power" the car with a stepping motor? etc.
Good ideas!

My thought was to add a weighted balance that applied a slight drag while the car was on the slope, but then released the drag when the car reached the level. The goal then becomes to build a well-lubricated and well-aligned car that can reach the finish with as little momentum as possible, and to tune the drag so that the car reaches the bottom of the slope as slowly as possible and with only as much momentum as necessary.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by gpraceman »

Stan Pope wrote:Do you have any rules for this competition?... e.g. could I add to the angular momentum of the wheels? Could I link a flywheel to the rear wheels? Coule I "power" the car with a stepping motor? etc.
I think the easiest way is to just under weight the car, but if you go too far, it will not finish.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by ExtremePWD »

The "Best Gas Mileage" car construction rules are the same as the speed competition. Our rules mirror the Wotamalo district rules posted on their website. These scouts actually run in the regular competition. The first cars eliminated from the regular competition move into the "Best Gas Mileage" runoff.
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by Stan Pope »

ExtremePWD wrote:The "Best Gas Mileage" car construction rules are the same as the speed competition. Our rules mirror the Wotamalo district rules posted on their website. These scouts actually run in the regular competition. The first cars eliminated from the regular competition move into the "Best Gas Mileage" runoff.
Thank you for the compliment! (I am the keeper of the Wotamalo District WebSite and technical advisor for the past several distr. PWD chairmen! Just put the 2004 rules up... very minor changes ... both affecting conduct of races. One change is that until group size forces a single winner, each judges' selection of 1st place in heat is honored! So, if a heat is so close that the three judges select three different winners, all three progress in the elimination as though that had won the heat! When group size is two and in the finals, the judges decide by majority rule.)
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by Stan Pope »

gpraceman wrote:
Stan Pope wrote:Do you have any rules for this competition?... e.g. could I add to the angular momentum of the wheels? Could I link a flywheel to the rear wheels? Coule I "power" the car with a stepping motor? etc.
I think the easiest way is to just under weight the car, but if you go too far, it will not finish.
Yes, but a flywheel coupled to the wheels would be such a gas!

A stepping motor could make the heat last for hours!
Stan
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by TDean »

I love the idea of a Slowest Car (Best Gas Mileage) Award -- and I'll suggest we try it this year -- but it reminded me of a race I was in (for adults) where there was an Ugliest Car category. Several entrants designed (I use the term loosely) their car specifically for this category -- and some were pretty funny. But "Ugly" is pretty subjective -- and can range from poorly-crafted to plain disgusting. The next year, nobody built a car specifically for that category, but three awards were presented anyway.
I'm not sure what's worse -- to create the most "ugly" car you can and lose -- or to win "Ugliest Car" without trying....

(sorry to get off the subject...) :|
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Re: Slowest Car Award

Post by gpraceman »

This year we will reinstituting our Turtle Award (now better named as the Best Gas Mileage Award), but I need some ideas on an appropriate prize to award. I don't want to give just a certificate. Any ideas?
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Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
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