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Pinewood Derby Stories and Photos from Maximum Velocity
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PINEWOOD DERBY MEMORY Pinewood Derby Song
My first derby was in 1975 in the basement of our church and the track seemed larger than life. I had never won anything in all of my 8 years until that day.
This was back in the day when the kits required that you glue a wood axle in place and nail the brads into the wood axle. The wheels were different too, they were harder plastic and shaped differently. Dad had done a lot of the work on the car, but it was the first time he ever let me use the scroll-saw. Thinking back, using that tool was like a right of passage into young manhood. I chose the color (royal blue to match my uniform), and Dad said that it would look cool if we added some silver pin striping to it. He helped me tape it off, then I got to work with my brush (to this day, I think the three coats of blue forced him to remove some of the weight). When we were all done, he told me that we needed to use this stuff called graphite to lubricate the wheels (it was in an enormous plastic bottle, not like what you buy today).
Back at the church, I remember that there were balloons, decorations and snacks; it seemed like a really big deal. In the first heat, my car finished car-lengths in front of everyone else, but I didn't watch because I was so nervous. From that moment on, my buddies wouldn't let me watch because we all thought it would be bad luck if I did. In the end, my car took first place. I still have the car and the trophy, but mostly I remember the song we sang; I still sing it today with our Pack at every derby.
Pinewood Derby Song (To the tune: Camptown Races)
Cub Scouts all join in the song, Do-da, do-dah! Pine car track am mighty long, Oh, do-day-day!
Chorus: Going to run so fast, Going to get ahead, Bet my money on a blue pine car, Somebody bet on the red.
Black cars, blue cars, green and gray, Do-da, do-da! Are running on the track today, Oh, do-da-day!
Chorus
Pine cars do have lots of class, Do-da, Do-dah! Even though they don't use gas, Oh, do-da-day!
Chorus
They're the pride of all the Dens, Do-da, do-da! Built by Cub Scouts and their friends, Oh, do-da-day!
Chorus
Song source: http://cubbobwhite.tripod.com/songs/pinewood.htm
The Pinewood Derby Memory is a regular feature of the Pinewood Derby Times Newsletter. To subscribe to this free e-newsletter, please visit: www.maximum-velocity.com/subscribe.htm