– Feature Article – Why Do You Have a Pinewood Derby? – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Q&A Why Do You Have a Pinewood Derby? Have you ever considered the question, “Why Do You Have a Pinewood Derby”? I know I hadn’t until I ran across a posting in the DerbyTalk Forum that posed that […]

– Feature Article – Weight Distribution: Concentrated or Distributed? – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Memory – Last to First – Q&A Weight Distribution: Concentrated or Distributed? Weighting a pinewood derby car seems to be such a simple issue; just get it to five ounces and keep it towards the rear of the car (on […]

– Feature Article – Remote Control Race Management – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Memory – Pinewood Derby Victory – Q&A Remote Control Race Management By John Shreffler The basics of the pinewood derby are simple enough: Using parental guidance, produce a car that is both unique and fast. Fast is perhaps more important than […]

– Feature Article – Top Fuel Cars: Wheel Bearings – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Memory – A Challenging Time – Q&A Top Fuel Cars: Wheel Bearings (The first in a series of articles on cars that stretch the rules) Virtually every pinewood derby rule set prohibits the use of bearings on wheels. However, occasionally […]

– Feature Article – Aluminum ‘Freedom Series’ Track from Piantedosi – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Memory – Better than 6th – Q&A Aluminum ‘Freedom Series’ Track from Piantedosi Back when BestTrack first introduced an aluminum track, I purchased a two-lane track for testing and tuning cars. The track has served us well, and continues […]

– Feature Article – Five Keys to Performance – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Memory – Pinewood Derby Perspective – Q&A Five Keys to Performance (This article first appeared in Volume 3, Issue 12, March 3, 2004) I can’t count how many times I have been asked, “How do I make my pinewood derby car […]

– Feature Article – Weighting Materials: So many choices! – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Memory – Second Chance – Q&A Weighting Materials: So many choices (This article was first published in Volume 1, Issue 6 (December 12, 2001) of this newsletter). What do you use to add weight to your car? Certainly the answer […]

– Feature Article – What is Maximum Velocity? – Pinewood Derby Car Showcase – Memory – Modeling the Nissan Skyline – Q&A What is Maximum Velocity? By Michael Lastufka Pinewood derby racers inflict body, wheels and axles with all manner of inhumane treatments to exorcise friction, the pinewood demon. Somewhere, tribologists (friction-ologists) tell us there […]

– Feature Article – Finding the Right Level of Parental Involvement – Car Showcase – Memory – Forget Pinewood Fever, 2005 was MADNESS! – Q&A Finding the Right Level of Parental Involvement This article on parental involvement in pinewood derby car building was updated and republished in Pinewood Derby Times, Volume 18, Issue 9. Pinewood […]

– Feature Article – Troubleshooting – Car Showcase – Memory – The Race – Q&A Troubleshooting So the car is done, you’ve given it a few test runs, and you’re not satisfied with the way it performs. What do you do now? Here are some common symptoms that occur along with some suggestions for correcting […]