(Editor's Note: Scroll to the bottom for a 27-photo gallery of images from this year's Scouts Pinewood Derby.)
The annual Pinewood Derby is a highly anticipated event that is carefully marked on the calendars of young Manchester and Essex Scouts and their families. This year’s event in Manchester did not disappoint.
After all, this is not some ragtag competition. There’s a kit of parts involved – the official Scout kit of wood and screws and wheels – that with the right skill and creativity and design can be transformed into a miniature speed-blazing “machine.” And for those who lack engineering prowess, there’s always an outrageous paint job or a clever name that may just do the trick on race day. But in the end, it’s usually the magic combination of both that takes the day.
This year’s Derby was no different. On Sunday, the Parish Hall of the Sacred Heart Church in Manchester-by-the-Sea was set up for race day, and this year, a healthy contingent of Girl Scouts bolstered the turnout.
The Scouts entered their wooden cars with names like “Lightning Bolt,” “Cat Car,” “Flying Wheels,” “Pink Racer,” “Deathanator,” and “Grease Lightning” that clearly spoke of their maker’s steely hopes of success. Others, like “Himawalka” or “Toothless” or “Shekah Racer” and “Thag” left many to ponder the mystery of the tiny race car’s origin story.
In the end, it was Antonio Randazza’s "Pomodoro" that took first place, with a time of 9.127 seconds and an average 216 mph (wow), followed by Madison Brown’s car, “Bella” (9.19s and 215 mph), Phillippe Quinquis’ “Blackbeard” (9.33s and 211.9 mph), Felix Raleigh’s “Grease Lightning” (9.46 seconds and 208 mph), and Sam Warnock’s “The Bullet” (9.486 seconds and 208 mph). The girls did quite well this year, taking three of the top ten slots.
Of course, with all the waves of shrieks and calls of each racing heat, it was clear that the annual Scouts Pinewood Derby is about marveling at what can be done with a few small pieces of wood and some wheels, especially when they’re fashioned into a supercharged ice cream sandwich.
