PACK41 ROXBURY
Pinewood Derby Rules
GENERAL:
1. Essential Materials: All cars entered shall be constructed from Official BSA Pinewood Derby Kit material. The car body, wheels and axles must be from an official BSA Pinewood Derby kit. This includes colored wheels and kits sold by Revell® Inc. under license by the Boy Scouts of America. If you purchase bodies, wheels or axles from non-BSA sources, you must ensure that the parts originated from an official BSA kit.
2. Attendance: Only the Cub Scout may enter his car. This means that the Cub Scout must be present to enter his car into competition. An entry by “proxy” will only be allowed for special circumstances. Check with the Cubmaster for details.
3. "New Work": Construction of entries must not have begun before the previous year's Pinewood Derby Races.
4. Single Car per Boy per Event: A Scout may enter only one (1) car for the race.
5. The Cubmaster will be the final judge of these rules. The decision of the Cubmaster will be final, and will be judged in the best interest of the boy, while maintaining a level of fair competition. Un- sportsmanlike conduct by any entrant or member of the audience will be grounds for expulsion from the competition and/or the race area.
Technical Standards:
The inspection judges at race-day check-in are responsible to evaluate each car's adherence to the technical standards. Any car not meeting the technical standards will not be permitted to race. Any car, at any time, may be subject to additional inspections. Any car discovered to have any violations of the technical standards, even if not previously discovered during check-in, may be subject to disqualification. The Cubmaster will then consult with the SCOUT and his parent/assistant, and shall render a final, binding decision.
T-1. Material: The car body, wheels and axles must be from an Official BSA Pinewood Derby kit. This includes colored wheels and kits sold by Revell® Inc. under license by the Boy Scouts of America. If you purchase bodies, wheels or axles from non-BSA sources, you must ensure that the parts originated from an official BSA kit.
T-2. Weight: Race cars may weigh no more than five (5) ounces (total weight) as determined on the official scales during race day inspection.
T-3. Wheels and Axles: The car must roll on the wheels and axles from an Official BSA Pinewood Derby kit. The wheels must be attached directly to the axle and spin freely. Use of the axle slots is not required. You may drill holes to attach the axles and you may extend the stock wheelbase. There must be at least four wheels on the car, however, it is not required that all four wheels make contact with the track. You may not polish the outside (or the top) of the axle heads, but you may polish the axles (it is recommended that you do). It must be obvious to the judges that the wheels and the nails from the kit are being used.
T-4. Size: Race cars may be no longer than 7 inches, nor wider than 2 3/4 (2.75) inches, nor taller than 3 inches, as determined by the official gages during race day inspection. (Underside clearance of at least 3/8 (0.375) inches and inside wheel to wheel clearance of at least 1 3/4 (1.75) inches is recommended, so that the car will run on the racetrack. Adequate clearance is the responsibility of the race car builder.)
T-5. Weights and Attachment: Weight may be added to the car and will be considered part of the car for purposes of all measurements. "Weight" is considered to be any material on the car that is not provided in the kit. All weight must be securely fastened to the car, e.g. by permanent glue, nails or screws, Weights shall be passive, i.e. non-moveable, nonmagnetic, non-electric, etc.
T-6. Wheels/Axle Modifications: You may modify the axle shaft. You may not modify the size, shape, dimensions or weight of the wheels in any way. You may paint or polish any part of the wheel. No additional items may be added to the wheels or axles such as washers, springs, bearings, sleeves, bushings, o-rings, etc. Wheel tread surface must be cylindrical. The words "Official B.S.A." and other lettering on the wheels (inside and outside) shall remain intact and clearly visible to the inspector. All of the original "tread marks" on the wheel face must be intact and apparent to the inspector.
T-7. Gravity Powered: The race car may not be constructed or treated in such a way that the track's starting mechanism imparts momentum to the car. (For instance, this provision disqualifies cars with sticky substances on the front of the car and protrusions which may catch on the starting pin.)
T-8. Lubricants: Graphite lubrication is common. Other lubricants are allowed. ALL lubricants cannot leak or foul the track. ALL excess MUST be removed. All lubricants must be dry at the time of inspection/racing and NOT applied to the exterior of the wheels.
T-9. Staging: The car nose must not be pointed or forked. No part of the car can protrude past the starting pin.
T-10. Body: The car body may have no moving parts.
Conduct of the Races:
Track officials are responsible for the proper conduct of the races. Decisions of track officials on questions of rules interpretations and procedure may be appealed to the Cub Master. PARENTS should also be familiar with these rules.
C-1. Inspection Gages: All inspections will be conducted by one team at a special inspection area using scales and gages . A “public pit” area containing tools and other accessories may or may not be provided by the race officials, so the Scout should be prepared to make adjustments to their cars, if necessary.
C-2. Impounding: Once the car has passed inspection and received its number sticker, the inspection team will place his car on the table provided. No further handling of the car by anyone other than the race officials, lubrication, or improvements to that car will be allowed.
C-3. Car Handling Responsibility: A track official shall be responsible to stage the cars at the starting line, race officials will retrieve the cars at the finish line (after the race has been called) and return the cars to the pit after their heat is finished.
C-4. Lane Assignment: Lane assignment for each heat shall be determined by computer.
C-5. Car Repair: If, during the race, a wheel falls off or the car becomes otherwise damaged, then the SCOUT may to the best of his ability perform repairs. Any weights or cosmetic accessories that fall off are not considered damage to a car. If a car is damaged due to track fault or due to fault of another car or SCOUT, then the Track Official, at his sole discretion, may allow additional repair assistance.
C-6. Car Interference: If, during a race heat, a car leaves its lane and, in so doing, interferes with another racer, then that heat will be re-run. If, during the re-run heat, the same car leaves its lane and, in so doing, interferes with another racer, then the heat will be re-run without the interfering car, and the interfering car will be given a time of 5.00 seconds.
C-7. Car Leaves Lane: If, during a race heat, a car leaves its lane but proceeds down the track in a manner that does not interfere with its opponent, then the race will be called normally.
C-8. Car Leaves Track: If, during a race heat, a car leaves the track without interfering with its opponent, it shall be considered to have ended its heat at that point and the car will be given a time of 5.00 seconds. (However, see C-9.)
C-9. Track Fault: If a car leaves its lane, at his sole discretion, the Track Official may inspect the track and, if a track fault is found which probably caused the initial violation, the Track Official may order the race heat to be re-run after the track is repaired.
C-10. Not Finishing: If, during a race heat, a car does not reach the finish line on the track, a time of 5.00 seconds will be given to that car.
C-11. Call to Race: Scouts are strongly encouraged to be present to watch their car race.
The Racing Environment:
R-1. Track Length and Drop: The track shall have a racing surface (starting line to finish line distance) of approximately 42 feet with a drop of approximately 4 feet.
R-2. Track Slope: The track slope shall decrease from approximately 30 degrees at the starting line to approximately 0 degrees at the finish line. The track will have a 4’ section where this transition will occur.
R-3. Lanes: The track will have 4 lanes. Each lane will consist of a straight, strip approximately 1 1/2 (1.50) inches, but certainly less than 1 3/4 (1.75) inches, wide and approximately 1/4 (0.25) inches, but certainly less than 3/8 (0.375) inches, thick, centered on a smooth surface no less than 4 inches wide. Each race car shall straddle such a strip during its heats.
R-4. Starting Mechanism: The "starting line" shall consist of vertical pins of approximately 1/4 inch diameter, extending approximately 3 inches above the track surface and approximately centered in each lane. The starting mechanism will trigger a laser starting sensor which starts the computer timer.
R-5. Finish Line Sensor Location: The finish line sensors shall be in alignment with the corresponding starting line pin and be approximately centered in its lane.
R-6. Finish Line Judging: The track's electronic finish line sensor will determine the order of finishing for each heat. In the event of an inconsistency brought to the Track Officials’ attention before the start of the next heat, the Track Official will determine if the inconsistency is correct. The Track Official will make the final decision whether to keep the finishing order as recorded or re-run the heat. Any discrepancy brought to the attention of the designated officials after another heat has started will not be eligible for appeal and the results of the heat will stand as recorded. Since the timer is accurate to 1/1000 of a second, a tie is rare; however, they do occur. In the event of a tie, the cars will not be re-run since scoring is based on cumulative time, not placement of finish, unless the tie is a result of a computer error. If after all heats are run and any cars tie for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, the tying cars will run a 2 heat tie breaker race to determine placement (fastest cumulative time receives the better placement). All cars that placed after the tying cars will move down in placement respectively.
R-7. Lane Selection: If the track has more lanes than needed, the Track Official (in conjunction with the computer’s programming limitations) shall select the most evenly matched lanes for use by the racers. Each car will race in each lane an equal number of times.
R-8. Finish Line Electronics Sensitivity: Track Finish Line Electronics must trigger correctly if a lead pencil is passed 3/4 (0.75) inches above the track surface at a speed of 15 feet per second.
R-9. Finish Line Clearance: Track Finish Line Electronics and other track accessories must be no closer than 3 inches above the track.
R-10. Competition Format: Every car races the same number of times and every car races in each lane. The competition format will attempt to maximize the number of opponents that each car races against. In most cases, every car races at least 4 times. The number of races in each round is dependent on the number of Scouts entered in the race.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use colored wheels? Yes, as long as they are official BSA wheels that have not been modified.
Do the wheels have to say “Made in USA” on them? No. Some of the new BSA wheels made by Revell are stamped “Made in China”.
Can I use kits and parts made by Revell? Yes, as long as it is labeled as an Official BSA licensed product.
Can I use kits and parts made by PineCar? You may NOT use bodies, wheels or axles from PineCar since they are not from an official BSA kit. You may use tools, weights, paint, stickers and other decorations made by PineCar.
What happens if the inspector says my car is illegal? You will be given a chance to modify the car and/or change parts as needed. You may wish to bring tools, parts, weights, glue etc. on race day.