Design Rules

• Material: Derbies shall be newly constructed in the year of the event for which they are to be raced. From materials contained solely in the Boy Scouts of America “Official Grand Prix Pinewood Derby Kit” provided by Hobart Cub Scout Pack 42. Only derbies constructed from Hobart Cub Scout Pack 42 provided derby kits will be allowed to race in the years race event.  Derbies that are purchased preconstructed or made of materials other than the “Official Grand Prix Pinewood Derby Kit” will be disqualified.

  • Provision 1: Wheels contained in the derby kit may be substituted with Boy Scouts of America “Official Pinewood Derby Wheels”, that vary only in their color as compared to wheels contained in the derby kit provided.

  • Provision 2: The attachment of additional weight, not contained in the derby kit and described below, may be used.

• Weight: Weight is considered to be any material on the derby that is not provided in the derby kit. Derbies shall not weigh more than five (5) ounces (oz) total weight as determined on the official scales during the qualification check in prior to the years race event. All weight must be securely fastened to the derby by means of permanent adhesive or mechanical fasteners. Tape as well as double sided, and adhesive spray’s are not allowed as they contaminate the racing surface. All weight must be passive in it’s nature. Moving, magnetic, electric, non-stick weight is prohibited.

• Size: Derbies may be no longer than seven (7) inches (“), no wider than two (2) and three quarters (¾) inches (“), overall. The wheels attached to the derby must have one (1) and three quarters (¾) inches (“) of clearance from the wheel directly adjacent. The underside clearance must be minimum of three eighths (⅜) of an inch (“) while in racing stance. All material and weight are included in the measurements. All measurements are taken of completed derbies by official gauges at qualification check in prior to the years race event.

Construction: The completed derby must comprise of materials newly fashioned in the year of the event they are to be raced in. The hubs (nails) shall not have their mass substantially reduced, as determined by officials at qualification check in. The wheel surface may not be beveled and the wheel diameter may not be reduced from that of original. The wheel width may not be reduced from that of original. The wheel surface that contacts the track must remain parallel to the hub (nail). Hub caps, inserts, bushings, bearings, and or sleeves are prohibited. Only dry lubricants, such as graphite powder are permitted. Liquid petroleum based lubricants, silicone based lubricants, lubricants derived from animal, or vegetable are prohibited.

 

 

Race Proceedings

• Qualification Check in: Only current Boy Scouts of America registered Cub Scouts of Hobart Cub Scout Pack 42 (hereafter referred to as “registered scout”) are eligible to qualify for the race event in the same year as their Boy Scouts of America registration. The registered scout MUST be present at qualification check in. At which time the registered scouts derby will be qualified by presentation to a race official and/or any race officials designated assistants for inspection by the official measuring devices, standards, and calibers. Any derby found not to conform to any rule or procedure described herein shall be disqualified and not allowed to race in the event for which qualification is being attempted. In the case of a derby being disqualified, the registered scout and/or crew will be told the reason for disqualification. The registered scout and/or crew will then have until the end of the qualifying check in session to repair or modify the derby and re-present for qualification. All qualification decisions are final and at the sole discretion of the qualifying race officials interpretation of the rules and proceedings herein without appeal. Once a registered scouts derby has been qualified it will be impounded by the race official or any designated assistant and placed in the impound area. No further modification, lubrication, or repair is allowed. Any damages to materials or weights not directly related to racing on the track surface are not repairable.

• Racing Event: The event will be governed by the race officials. The race officials shall comprise of the finish line race official in charge of official time keeping, the starting line race official in charge of staging and starting races, the impound race official in charge of transporting pre and post racing derbies to and from the impound area, starting line, and finish line. Together the 3 officials comprise the race committee. All interpretation of the rules and proceedings during the race event are final and at the discretion of the race committee. There will be no appeal to the decisions of the race committee. In the event of a racing run accident involving damage to a qualified derby that renders it unable to be propelled by gravity down the race track, the registered scout and/or crew is allowed to repair the damage to the extent that the qualified derby is returned to the same state as was prior to the accident only. Any further repair must be due to any subsequent racing run accident. Any repairs to return the derby to a pre accident state must be made in a timely manner. The race committee will have final decision, with no appeal, as to the disqualification of a qualified derby due to an untimely repair from a racing run accident. Any scout and/or crew found to be acting without good sportsmanship like conduct will be disqualified from the race event and asked to leave the race event, at the discretion of the race committee.

  • Racing Awards: Each registered scouts qualified derby will be raced in each of the racing tracks lanes once. An official elapsed time will be assigned to each racing run of the qualified derby. All awards are based on the registered scouts lowest elapsed time of all the racing runs. The registered scouts lowest elapsed time will be compared first to the lowest elapsed times from all registered scouts in the Pack to determine “Grand Champion” (lowest elapsed time overall), “1st Runner Up” (next lowest elapsed time overall), “2nd Runner Up” (third lowest elapsed time overall), and “Most Fuel Efficient” (greatest elapsed time overall, finally determined by distance traveled if needed). Registered scouts winning any of the above positions will have their elapsed times removed from comparison of the elapsed times of the registered scouts rank and be further disqualified for any subsequent racing awards. Each registered scouts elapsed time is then compared to other registered scouts in his rank to determine “1st” (lowest elapsed time in the rank), “2nd” (next lowest elapsed time in the rank), “3rd” (third lowest elapsed time in the rank). Ranks are “Tiger”, “Wolf”, “Bear”, “Webelos”, “Patrols”. The registered scout MUST be present at the awards presentation to receive an award. Else, the award is given to the next present registered scout with the lowest elapsed time.

  • Design Awards: Awards for design shall be governed by the Hobart Cub Scout Pack 42 Committee (herein after referred to as “the committee”). The committee will have final interpretation of the rules and procedures governing the design awards, with final decisions made by the committee chair with no appeal. A registered scouts derby must comply with all rules and proceedings herein and must be qualified for a racing event to be judged in the design category. The committee will provide a panel of judges of their choosing that should be no less than three (3) and of which have no affiliation with any registered scout qualified for the race event. The independent panel shall judge the qualified derbies for best representation in  four (4) awarded categories; “Fastest Looking” (the derby that looks the fastest), “Best Scouting Theme” (best representation of scouting in design and/or color), “Most Patriotic” (best representation of patriotism in design and/or color), “Best in Event” (best representation of technology, engineering, craftsmanship, perseverance).

  • Sawdust Race: The race event known as the “Sawdust” race shall be conducted after all the registered scouts qualified derbies have concluded their race event. The Sawdust race event is open to all non-registered Cub Scouts. Any person entering the Sawdust race event considered to be an “adult” is ineligible to receive an award. All wanting to participate in this race event must comply with all previously stated rules and proceedings governing “Materials”* (see provision below),  “Weight”, ”Size”, “Construction”, “Qualification”, “Race Event”, and “Race Awards”. Position awards are determined based on lowest elapsed time, unless ineligible for award, then next lowest elapsed time and so on.  Awarded positions are “1st” (lowest elapsed time in sawdust event), “2nd” (next lowest elapsed time in sawdust event), “3rd” (third lowest elapsed time in sawdust event). Sawdust event racers are ineligible for design awards. Sawdust racer MUST be present at awards presentation to receive an award. Else, the sawdust racer with the next lowest elapsed time will receive the award.

                        *  Provision 3: The materials used in constructing a derby for the                                             “Sawdust” race event may be from any Boy Scouts of America “Official                                Grand Prix Pinewood Derby Kit”, not provided by Hobart Cub Scouts                                  Pack 42. All other rules and proceedings governing “Materials”                                              previously stated must be complied with.