When the race is over, enter the winner's circle by building this display for your pinewood derby or model car.
Looking for pinewood derby design ideas? Browse photos of more than 100 amazing pinewood derby cars created by Boys' Life readers. Is yours better? Send us a pic!
I KNOW THIS GAME! IT IS A REAL GAME CALLED BIG PIXEL RACING BUT IT IS ABOUT DOGS
Got first with $29,250 and got boss’s car. Very easy. Did it in about an hour and a half to two hours.
Roblox is GREAT i started in april 21,2010 AND THIS IS GREAT!
Beat The Game With Cash 50,000, First Pleas, 1,372 Points And I Got The Boss’s Car! 
!! 
!! !! !!
To get The Boss’s car you got to get first pleas in every race.
i got all that,(1st place also)got gold in every race on all 3 files!
I love derby town racing beacause i really think the game is fun.
The worst computer game in the history in the history of computer
games.
I beat the first boss in 10 Minutes! AWSOME!!!!!!!!!
Good, but controls are really bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
I can’t steer.
This is not fair for us we can,t get longer then the boss.
I wish that you could race REAL people cuz once you beat everything, which doesn’t take long, there’s nothin to do!
i have boss car gold trophy in every race and beat every boss and 1st place on two different files, soon to be three!
I have not played it but it looks cool. i do not know why one caled it boring
i have two files and i’m 1st place and beat all the bosses
BOSS schould be easier, everyone else schould be harder
The races are easy.I wish we can change cars.You should try it.
I know, i wish you could customize your car besides the color
i beat boss and got gold in every race,and soxfan,this how u make a frowning face
i’m the 1st one to write a comment!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Derby Town, pinewood derby racing is a way of life. You'll need to work hard and drive fast, working your way up the rankings table and unlocking more races as you go.
i made a car last year and it popped a whelie because i had too much weight in the back but it backfired and caused MORE friction because the back of the car touched the track so don’t place too much weight in the back of the car
One of the secrets is against a rule; Raise one tire 1/16 off the track.
i would use these tips but i am going to boy scouts before that.
Puting the wait in the back really helps. thanks BoysLife!
pinecar is a good company for decals car building hints and pre made cars (i don’t like the pre made cars but you might) they also have books and dvds full of tips and hints to make a great car you can find them in the hobbie section of most hobbie lobbys ps they are bsa aproved unless it say other wise
As a Den Leader we try to follow the BSA rules, and as such I have an issue with the numbers, 5 and 6 on the secrets list, they say to make it run on 3 wheels, and to extend the wheel base, both of which are against the BSA Rules. I would hope that all you scouts out there will not think about cheating just because these tips are on this site. Have a great race.
Pack 16, Athol, MA.
Be sure that any of the hints to make your car faster don’t make your car illegal. For instance, our council doesn’t allow a pointed front (must be flat for 3/4 of middle), nor can we extend the wheelbase, it must be factory cut. Not all speed tips are equal or a good idea. Check the rules before you run with it! Good luck racing.
Every cub’s dream is to have a cool looking car and have it fast. Are they both possible at the same time though? With these tips it can be.Tip 1: model your car after a race car. The real thing goes fast, so why shouldn’t your derby? Tip 2: like the packet above says you need lots of weight in the back. Try drilling a hole in the back and filling it with lead. (Make sure you get it weighed first.) Tip 3: Think of cool models that look good aerodynamic. One year I had a rocket that had a point at the front ,after that it slanted up to go fast. It almost won before it broke during the race☻. Tip 4: Try using metallic spray paint for a nice shine.
MAKE SURE TO HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The critical point in making the car fast is to be absolutely sure, or at least as sure as you can be, that the wheels are running true and smoothly. Polish the axles where the wheel rides on them to remove all burrs on the axles, polish the insides of the wheel hubs with pipecleaners and smooth the tread surface of the wheels to remove all mold marks. Be absolutely sure the axles are perfectly aligned with a 90 degree angle from the track surface and precisely perpendicular to the axis of the car body. Use plenty of dry, powdered graphite to lubricate the wheels and get the weight of the car just as close to the maximum allowed with weight inserted in holes drilled in the rear of the car and fastened low on the sides of the car between the front and rear wheels.
I am a WeblosII and I am so sad because today was my last pinewood derby.
i can’t wait it is fun working with my dad and mon on my car
Does it matter which wheel is off the ground, if we are doing the three wheels?
Awesome. i never won at all but i got 2nd in design 1 time with this ill be like, TEH_PWNAGE!!!!!lol
Thanks for the tips! I’m sure with them I won’t lose.
I was looking at the Picture of them putting a Axle in the Drill. What kind of tool do you use get the rough burs out with to make it smooth?
Also where can I get extra wheels and axles?
thanks 4 the tips it made car go faster then i expected,but anyways my model was a made F1.I didn’t enter be cause i can’t find the event.Were is Pinewood anyways?
In my first cub scout year, I got 1st and second year got 2nd, this year I wan’t to make my derby car myself with my pocket knife, I think BL’s tips will help a lot, Thanks!!!
hey i’m in pack 10! but i’m in VA.
I won second place once with my own design! To bad I’m a Boy Scout now and not a Cub Scout.
i think every part about it was cool except i always lose
you know this worked thanks and Merry Christmas
I got 1st place once then next time I got 3rd.This year, we aren’t just racing, but this time, we also made the trophies. It is cool. I hope you all have fun in your derby!
cool when i was a cub scout i won first place twice
That show with the pictures and sounds is amazing!!! Wish we could have one for our pack. I hope you put more shows like that online.
There are many ways to make your pinewood derby car go faster. Here are some of them.
As a single mom, I can say THANK YOU, this really helped me out
I am a single mom, and this is our first pinewood derby. I have no idea how to even start, so this is very helpful!
singlemom,
There is nothing wrong with asking one of the other parents in the Den or Troop for help. We can’t learn if we are not taught and that is part of what Scouting is about.
Some boys don’t have a role model to show them this stuff, so braedenre10, no not everyone knows these steps. I’m happy to read this post as a dad!
After the first smooth sanding, wipe the block with a damp cloth to raise the grain and then sand again.
A smoother finish may be had by sanding in the direction of the wood’s grain, instead of against the grain.
Good point about sanding with the grain. I think that a lot of people would assume that people already know this, but depending on how much woodworking someone has had, they might not. I learned it myself when I was 11 in Orioles. But no one ever told my husband. If I hadn’t known then our boys wouldn’t have known. It’s like cutting meat “across the grain” to make more tender cuts of meat. It seems obvious, but unless you’ve been told then you don’t know it.
i can use this in a lot of ways my awana car and for fun
everybody knows these steps! even boys that are my age know this! >:(
Make that block of wood look like steel with these pinewood derby painting tips.
like how many were really made from the block as oppose to a pre cut kit? where are the original homemade ones? totally taken to seriously
Hey Big Joe just so you know that the batmobile that you’re talking is from the late 80′s not the TV sitcom from the 60′s.
the mexican flag was the best out of all of them it is beast mexicans ruel
i make alot of these for fun i will add mine!! these are great disignes.
I liked the wii car,the gutair car,and the first batmobil car!!!
Hay, Amdrew 22, you did a nice job on your Titanic car. Assum.
how did the carve the wiii remote? it looked just like the real 1
I thought that the dukes of hazard,titanic,eggs and the dinaco king were the best!They were so good that I could’nt decide on just one! Oh, yeah and the base rocks!!
I want to see kid that can make these himself all these cars look like they were made on a cnc machine by the kids dad or orderd from a magazine
The wii remote, bat mobile, and the dukes of hazards cars are the best.
My favoite one was the Wii Remote and the eggs the eggs one is funny!
i think 21 is some sort of gong lol. my favorit was the eggs. bye @(o_o)@
the Wii remote is pretty beast, I also like the black truck & car
weird but inspiring to make them out of everyday things you see mabye around your house like pokemon cards or a limo or even the badges of cub scout but craft work on these, very talented.
I liked the wii remote. next year I will make a numchuk
the cars that look like eggs in a pan are awesome
The wii car looks awesome I want plans for the next cubscouts when we get some down at St.Ansgar.
those are cool looking car! But the wii remote 1 looks cool
Looking for pinewood derby design ideas? Browse our photos of more than 100 amazing pinewood derby cars uploaded by Boys' Life readers in 2010. Is yours better? Send us a pic!
the way those cars zoom by.that is so…so…AWESOME!!!!:)
cool! i make a car every year,and race it on a track that my old pack had and put up every year.
Helpful hint on building your car.
Use Graphite paste on the wheels and axel. Less friction ensures top speed
ALL YOU GUYS THAT DID THAT:WHAT IS THE MPG ON YOUR CAR
That was awsome!!!Wens it going to start?I think I’m going to be first place!!!(#1)
WOW talk about adding some pizzazz to a pwd event you did it. Maybe all PWD Chairpeople will take notice on a way to add something to a PWD
That was fast!I beat you that if it was my car.I could of beat them.
wow those cars are FAST. Good design and terrific coloristic fantastic job. What did you do with them to make go fast? Answer me back!
jackknife..Miles Per Gallon? dont you mean Miles Per Hour? MPH?
The cars whent so fast that it was like a lighting bolt coming out of the sky!
That is awesome! Maybe I can see one of those if they do it again!
That is cool!!! I love the lazer at the end that counts the cars! On some I could almost not see them!
I really want to send one of my cars down that track!!!!!
It only seemed fast when they went by you, but still, they were really fast though so it was really cool and awesome.
That is AWESOME!! That would be cool to have a track that big!
Watch video of Indiana Cub Scouts experiencing a whole new speed of pinewood derby at this giant track.
Dear Editor, The Gratest Pinwood Derby Trophy Of All..Is The Car! And the time well spent makeing this memory with are Father. What a gift Don Murphy,Gave to his son.Then to Scouting! It’s truely sad to hear Donn’s stoy about his dad.And how he never took a pennie for it! And then to look back at the BSA History for 1953, were Cub Scouts donate 2,889 pennies for Korean Scouts plus the “tons” of used uniforms. But what a ride this wooden car turned out to be.((The Fastest Wooden Car On Planet Earth!)) All for the love of a small Child! No Wounder the Dad’s are crazy over it! Sincerly the Kid.
Dear Editor, What this great man, Don Murphy, did for the love of not only his son but for the millions of children world wide, it’s with a saddened heart to see him pass on from us in scouting and the many different clubs that follow in this event. But his wooden car will live on and will be seen in every child’s eyes and enjoyed by the smile on their faces. And his voice will be heard through the fathers cheering and saying to their sons, “You Did Your Best!”
I appreciate your site. I like to have workshops for the kids each year and teach them about the history of this event as well as show them some items that are autographed by Don Murphy himself. We were blessed to get a phone call from him four months before he passed. Since then I’ve been blessed to help keep his memory alive.
Sincerely, Mark
Dear Editor,
I thought the article was informative since I learned about the story of pinewood derby racing. I thought it was really sad to find out he died, but what he did in his life was pretty cool. I enjoyed reading the aricle.
Sincerly,
Sean
Fifty-five years have passed since Don Murphy, then Cubmaster of Pack ...
GOOD JOB, BOY’S OF PACK 10! IN THE WORD’S OF ONE BOY. PINEWOOD DERBY ROCK’S!!!!
Liked the video. For my pinewood derby, I came in first in my rank, first in the pack, third in the districts, and fifth in the final districts.
i think that is a good lesson to learn from the pinewood derbys in the past to be able to know if you will need to make you’re car go faster.
pretty cool my pinecar car took1st in best looks in 2007 i wish i can do it again some time but im in boy scouts now >:^)
I had my pinewood derby in March and got 4th place! awesome video
Watch as members of Pack 10 in Cornelius, N.C., prepare and race their cars in a Pinewood derby.
If you paint your car with a water base paint,or an acrylic spray paint. when you car is dry and decals are on spray your car with krylon acrylic crystal clear gloss spray paint,to hold the decals on the car. plus your racer will have some shine to it! just watch out for what paints you use.As some will not mix and bubble up on you.
i dont use nail polish but my sisters do so i could do that
Though I must say that I’m not a big nail polish fan, I can say that your idea is a really good one.
Keep the number stickers on your derby racecar by putting clear nail polish over the stickers after you put them on your car.
Joe moe, I hated it because the turns are too sharp to handle, my car can’t make them without crashing into another care or into the annoying yellow cones.
I made it to the wolf run. If you hated it tell me why!
the second level is kind of hard but then again that could just be me. and I do not understand those guys always complaining about the game I really loved the game.
ha ha!! Pathetic graphics! But I know that I would never be able to create a game like that so I won’t critizise, BL Rocks!!
I DOUBT people actuallly mean they’re good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and vcu won haha duke fans, Duke is still better!
This game is terrible! The other cars don’t slow down when they hit us.
this game is aaaaaaaaaaa blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can only move nowhere or too far. I don’t think this game is very fair.
The first level is really easy but the second is kind of hard
THERE IS NO CONTROL AND THE YELLOW CONES GET IN THE WAY. GOOD GAME FO LITTLE KIDS BUT NOT ME
it reminds me of pole position but alot harder. cool people the boys life guys worked hard on this game
THE GAME IS COOL BUT NEEDS MORE GRAFFICS
IT WAS OK AND THE ORANGE THING NEED TO GO. HAHA DUKE FANS
my brother told me about it and i got really excited but when i actually played it it was a total snooze fest. you should be able to customize it more and the graphics are terrible. I totally hated it so much!!!!!!! )-:
We should be allowed to hit other cars….THATS THE WHOLE POINT OF RACING!…..(DUH)
It gets boring after a while. I made it to level 9.And i agree with dude!
This game is hard, and you need to be able to draw on your car or somthin when your costomize it.
There’s too many orange things on the side of the road. They get in the way.
WHAT?!?!?!!!!!! I had no control over the car. I’m sorry, but I am not impressed. The car designing was neat though.
Your website is really cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
Choose and customize your own pinewood derby-style car to race. Take first place to proceed to more challenging courses.
What also worked for me was just piling the supplied weights on the top of the car close to the back.
Use fishing weights to make your pinewood derby car heavier. Drill holes just a little bigger and deeper than the weight, then pour glue into the hole before putting the weight in. Set the car upside down until it dries. Be sure to weigh the finished but unpainted car until you’re close enough to the [...]
the little nubs on the plastic tire from the mold really can slow you down if you don’t get them off, but be carefull, if you sand them too much, you can create a flat spot which could be as bad as not sanding your wheels at all
There is nothing in the rule book that states you cannot sand the wheels. There are three different molds the BSA uses. One are bettert than the other two. That is why it is legal to sand them, because there is an unfair advantage if some boys get the better wheel. Look carefully the next time you get a kit.
done it since 1978. Round sharp edge on inside of tire. molding nob for tire is usually the problem./
official rules prevent you from doing that or else they disqualify you
Sand the wheels on your pinewood derby car. It helps them spin fast when rolling down the track.
Love the sandwhich
HOW DO THEY DO THAT!?!
A cub can learn by involvement in the building process, how to use tools, techniques, apply finishes, safety measures etc. I wouldn’t want my son to try using power tools or spraying paints without first knowing how to do it and wear a proper mask. A parents involvement also allows for the interaction to help build something together that he can be proud of and learn from. Isn’t that what the intent of the Derby is?
I wish my car is on this site. I made cheese car with lots of holes and a toy mouse. It is so funny.
These are some really good ideas, but they are WAY too complicated for the cubs to do. Other than that , they are AWSOME designs and extremely creative.
I love the idea, but we can’t find any pictures of him. We saw a few the other day, but now we cant find it.
awesome
My 11 years old girl scout daughter made the subway sandwich car. She did 95% of the work. She learned by watching me making her brother car. Kids learn from their parent.
a-w-s-o-m-e
man i love the high heel car who ever made that is awsome
Thay look rilley cool, but there defintaly made pros
u will not beleve wat my design is… A PACKAGE OF GUM!!!!! if u no hoo i am, u wood really no that i wood do that for a car.
pretty awesome
What do you all think of Sonic the Hedgehog?
Parents probably made these cars but they are realy cool.
useless
I like the eyeball and shoe one:)
so do i its cool
There all really cool but they look like parents that are carpenters made them.
Cool
the cars are cool but i bet that they were originally made by the parents of the kid and the kids just bring them to show them off
I like the bullit one the best!
iReally like all the designs,but now all the good ideas are taken.
These are great. This will be our first year in the scouts and I am feeling just a bit intimidated!
i bet all of these cars are either store-bought or made by parents
50/50 chance
I agree
Funny,cool,best!
amazinggggg
i agree 2 these couldnt have been made by 7-10 year old boys the parents had to help them
This years cars are way better than last years but I think the adults made them with no help from the boys though last years were still really good.
Yep, a lot of parents beautiful jobs.
As a Cubmaster, I have to agree. I would rather see less “art” and instead see the smiles of accomplishment on the boys faces when they have there car completed. The PD was never suppose to be about the accomplishment of the parents.
There are maybe 10 of these cars that could possibly meet standard derby regulations and maybe of those, 5-7 were made by actual scouts and not their parents. While the art is lovely, it’s about the boys learning how to compete in a healthy and mature manner and how to work with basic tools to gain basic skills… too much leader involvement here. Never the less….amazing works of art.
you are right because last year I had a pinewood derby race and some cars where pre cut and alot where made by their dads
well i let my parent cut out a basic design then i put stuff on it
(some one else might cut it to)
advice:
i put a rock monster on mine
(from LEGO power miners)
and i think it went faster!
Too true
Did the kids make these? We would rather see the kids make them.
I agree these were not made by 8 to 10 year old boys….
These are great… but how many were really created primarily by the boys?
Who Knows by the way what do you think of Sonic the hedgehog
@sonic I like sonic but i like shadow more… comment is; i like the ones on the yellow shelf and you can tell that it was made by the same people.I like the jet the most.