Pinewood Derby

This year's Pinewood Derby was especially competitive for Clark since it is his last one and he didn't participate last year with Joe being deployed. He was determined to win First Place and have the fastest car. A couple of weeks ago, Clark asked Joe if he had ever won a Pinewood Derby. Joe replied yes and Clark asked what color his winning car was. Joe said that it was blue and black so those were the paint colors that Clark chose. They spent several nights before the competition cutting, sanding, painting, weighing, etc. to create the perfect winning car.

Before the race began, the scoutmaster handed out some awards. Clark received three and is on his way to earning his Webelo award.

After the awards were given and an arrow of light was presented, the derby began. The race track was pretty high-tech in that it was hooked up to a computer and had a timer/scoreboard at the end of the track. All of the competitor's names were entered and the computer would randomly put them in heats to race. Each heat included cars from the Webelos, Bears, and Wolves dens along with the Unlimited Class racers. Clark's car won each heat but for some reason, he took 5th place overall. He was pretty disappointed, but decided that he would just "learn from his mistakes and help make the best racecar ever for Jake when he gets into scouts!" All in all, the boys just enjoyed building a car and racing each other for the finish line. At least we have a couple more years to prepare the perfect winning car before Jake gets in there!

The First Race:
Brother Eckersley lining up "The Brick" from the Unlimited Class.
Clark's "The Bruiser" is in the middle.

The Bruiser goes on to First Place!

The second race:
The Bruiser continues to First Place

Two brothers, jumping and cheering

Best buds--Clark and Carter

Best buds--
Mitchell with "The Hammerhead" and Clark with "The Bruiser"