Cub Scout Pack 2 brings tough competitors to Pinewood Derby

One block of pine, plastic wheels and metal axles were crafted into racing machines that carried the hopes of 27 young boys as Pack 2’s Tiger Cubs, Wolves and Webelos met up for the 22nd Annual Pinewood Derby. Only a few emerged the race with trophies, but all left with smiles this past Saturday from United Methodist Church’s Family Life Center.

Car entries with names like Green Goblin and Bulldog battled it out in a series of four heats, on a 29-foot track, but only one of each group could go forward to the final race.

In the midst of the good spirited competition was the continual reinforcement of Scout values such as repeating the acronym N.E.D., which represents: Never give up, Encourage others, Do not quit.

The scouts also told jokes and made sounds to imitate their mascots.

Cub Master Eljie Bennett said that a lot of hours and work went into the event from start to finish.

“The typical hours count it takes to complete a derby car just differs really,” Bennett said. “The cars that were the fastest definitely had a good bit of time put into them. I would say possibly anywhere from 6-24 hours per car.”

It all adds up to quality time for the Cub Scout and family member.

“That gives you an hour or two every night or weekend (or until finished) with your kid for three to six weeks,” Bennett said. “The cars are modified by cutting, sanding, hollowing out, axle placement, painting, weighing and designing. All these aspects are done as a scout and parent team to make sure the scout has the car he wants to race. I didn’t meet a scout on race day who wasn’t proud of their car.”

Scout leadership invested a good deal of time to make sure the event was a success— success being defined as having fun and not just winning.

“The cars were given out by the pack as Christmas presents, a few weeks before Christmas, so the scouts could work on them during the holidays,” Bennett said. “As leaders, we set up shop for an hour every Monday night in January. We also held a three-hour workshop on a Friday night, so the scouts would have plenty of time to get their cars done.

“For the event, it took around six hours of setting up and testing the track to get it ready for racing. These six hours were a combined effort by leaders and dedicated parents to make this race as successful as it was.”

Winners for the event were:

Tiger Cubs: First place, Ben Naquin; Second place, Grant Malcolm; and Third place, Joseph Giaise.

Wolves: First place, Noah Dobbs; Second place, Sabastian Mitchell; and Third place, Chase Formby.

Bears: First Place, Slade Malcolm; Second place, Johnathon Polson; and Third place, Bulldog Bennett.

Webelos: First place, Michael Olive; Second place, Christopher Gestring; and Third place, Ethan Hickey.

Overall winners were: First place: Ben Naquin; Second place, Noah Dobbs; and Third place, Slade Malcolm.

Bennett said, “Pack 2 would like to thank the First United Methodist Church of Picayune and everyone that provided support for the 2014 Pinewood Derby Race on Feb 1st, 2014.

A very special thanks is deserved for the following people though: David and Dawn Malcolm, Keith Fletcher, Bryan Polson, Cheryl and Devin Gestring, Daniel Ford, Allen Walker and Allen Forsman.”