Derby Talk

For months, the Best Track website has been teasing everyone with a notice that they will be coming out with a light tree. Looks like it is just around the corner. Pretty cool looking. No pricing or feature details just yet.

http://www.besttrack.com/LightTree.html

Looks very nice. Waiting for them to provide details and pricing.....

They have now posted pricing and feature information. I was rather taken by surprise at the $485 price tag. That seems rather high for this market.

It is interesting that the tree can be paired with their new split start gate, http://besttrack.com/split_start_gate.html. That can lead to a true drag race event. They will be offering split start gates for 2 to 8 lane tracks. So, how does that work with 3 to 8 lane tracks with only two release levers? Maybe they only expect you to ever have two racers going head to head.

In drag race mode they state that "In this mode, the light tree is connected to the Champ Timer and automatically starts the timer counting when the lights turn green." I assume this means that the tree is used in lieu of the start switch for indicating that the race has started. Of course, you have to hope that there is not a noticeable difference in the time for each gate to open (especially if both are solenoid activated); otherwise, one racer will be at a bit of a handicap.

Overall, it is a very nice looking tree. I especially like that it looks like how you would expect a drag racing light tree to look. Hopefully, they will post a video of it in action. If it wasn't for the price, I'd be tempted to get one and provide a more in-depth review.

I also was a bit taken aback by the price. I'm not sure I can even take that to my committee as they would probably throw me out of the room.

That said, it does look very nice.

I don't see the drag racing option with the split start gates getting used by our pack at all as that would be a huge change in tactics for running a pinewood derby (you are now only racing head to head and how well you do depends on how well you pull the gate quickly when the light turns green). It is an interesting concept for running a race though.