Pinewood Derby 2025

It’s that time of year again! Here is a post explaining the Pinewood Derby event this year.

Important Derby Related Dates:

Cutting Clinic at Lewisville Scout Shop
Day: Saturday, 1/11/25
Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm
Where: Lewisville Scout Shop
What is it: The Lewisville Scout Shop’s annual Pinewood Derby car cutting clinic is scheduled for this coming Saturday, January 11 from 10am – 3pm. This come and go event is FREE. We’ll have templates you can use to trace onto the car for cutting, a weigh station, plus the staff can make recommendations on accessories and tools for creating your car.

Pack Meeting with Car Cutting and Building
Day: Monday, 1/13/25
Time: 6:45pm (Please note earlier time)
Where: Town Center Elementary Cafeteria
What is it: This is our monthly pack meeting. In addition to our regular meeting (regular yet condensed), we will also be cutting cars at this meeting if were unable to go to to the Cutting Clinic at the Scout Shop. PLEASE BRING YOUR CAR WITH YOUR DESIGN ALREADY DRAWN ON IT. Wear Class A Uniform OR Class B Uniform.

Pinewood Derby Car Check-In
Day: Friday, 1/24/25
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: Assisi Hall at St. Ann
What is it: This is when you bring your completed Derby car for weigh in to officially enter it into the competition. This is a come and go event. It will go through an inspection to ensure it follows the official rules of weight and construction and is eligible to race. Uniform not required.

Pinewood Derby Car RACE!!!
Day: Saturday, 1/25/25
Time: 9:30am
Where: Assisi Hall at St. Ann
What is it: The Big Event! This is the actual Derby Car Race and should be a lot of fun! Wear Class A Uniform.

Official Scout Derby Car kit

Derby Car Construction Rules

These are the rules for construction and racing:

  1. Each car must pass inspection by race officials before it will be registered. If the car fails inspection,
    the owner can make legal modifications to pass inspection.
  2. Once a car is registered it cannot be touched by anyone except race officials.
  3. Construction of ALL entries MUST have begun AFTER last year’s races.
  4. Only one car may be registered by any scout in the Pinewood Derby with a max of three for outlaws.
  5. The car weight shall not exceed 5.0 ounces. The official race scale shall be considered final.
  6. The overall length of the car shall not exceed 7 inches
  7. The overall width of the car shall not exceed 2 ¾ inches.
  8. The car must have 1 ¾” clearance between the wheels.
  9. The car must have 3/8” clearance underneath the body.
  10. Outlaw car dimensions and weight should meet the aforementioned criterion.
  11. The wood provided in the kit must be used. The block may be shaped in any way that is desired.
  12. Official BSA wheels only. The wheels may not be cut, drilled, beveled, or rounded. The only allowed modification to the wheels is that you may remove the seams. Minimum of 3 wheels touching the track at all times.
  13. The axles (nails) supplied with the kit must be used.
  14. Axles (nails) must be placed in the grooves provided on the car for that purpose.
  15. Axles may be polished or lubricated, but only dry lubricants such as graphite or powdered Teflon “white lube” will be allowed.
  16. Wheel bearings, washers or bushings are prohibited.
  17. The car must not ride on any type of springs.
  18. The car must be freewheeling, with no starting devices.
  19. No loose material of any kind, such as lead shot, may be used.
  20. Details such as the steering wheel, driver, decals, painting, and interior detail are permissible as long as these details do not exceed the maximum length, width, and weight specifications.
  21. If a car leaves its lane, at his sole discretion, the track chairman may inspect the track and, if a track fault is found which probably caused the initial violation, the track chairman may order the race to be rerun after the track is repaired.
  22. If, during a race, a car leaves the track without interfering with its opponent, it shall be considered to have ended its heat at that point.
  23. If, during a race, a car leaves its lane and, in so doing, interferes with another racer, then the car at fault shall be declared to have lost the race heat.
  24. If, during a race, no car reaches the finish line on the track, the car which went the farthest in its lane shall be declared as the heat winner.
  25. Race officials have the responsibility to disqualify those cars that do not meet these rules. Rulings by race officials are not appealable.

Would you like to help with the Derby day events or have questions?
Contact: David Mangrum – davidman23@yahoo.com

Q: How do you transfer your drawing to your wood block?
A: This method worked for us! We drew a design out a piece of paper in sharpie. We turned the paper over and covered the other side with graphite. (We just drew thick pencil over the sharpie line that we could see through the paper). Then we taped our design onto your block (graphite side on the wood). Finally, we traced our sharpie line with a sharp pencil and viola — The design was transferred to the wood.