4.23.2012

Pinewood Derby


 Tom and Isaac rocked the derby this year with "Diamondback" the car.
They brought home the Piston cup (try saying Piston cup slowly)
This is the only potty-mouthed joke that makes me smile.  Next time you watch
the movie "Cars" you'll hear it.

I had nothing at all to do with this project  and I loved it.
I just sat back and observed the process. 
We are not creative, building, crafting types over here....
we amuse one another over our efforts.   
My mom used to build all my brothers cars for them.  She was and still is energized by a project.
She made sure there were windows, grills, doors...fancy creative stuff and they were fast. 
She didn't pass that gene on to me.


However,  I did help out by allowing them to use my kitchen 
table for a week, piled high with the stuff creation is made of.
Don't mock my contribution...it was not easy for me.



Yes,  we have the book and Tom discovered all the secrets.

1.  Bake the wood 2 hours in a 250 degree oven

2.  Cut your racer into the "wedge" shape...boring but aerodynamic. 

3.  And finally, a secret weapon....




take a drill to the bottom of your car and go nuts.

Ok not really,  Tom just added too much weight 
and had to take it off somewhere so it could "make weight" which is 5 ounces- FYI



watching them drill the car was a hard pill for Isaac to swallow.
 He was a little ashamed of how his car was looking.
Style over substance.


    But the disappointment faded as soon as Diamondback smoked the competition.
      His sad looking car ended up setting a record for the derby track----3.46 seconds.


Typical me, I didn't get a photo of him with
 the piston cup (hee hee)
so this will have to do.