District Race

Discussions on race planning, preparations and how to run a "fair" and fun race.
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Rukkian
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District Race

Post by Rukkian »

I offered to help yesterday with our Districts pinewood derby, and overall it went very well. The issues I had is with the inconsistencies with check-in. Since this was my first time, I did not feel I should be telling people what to do, but some were enforcing the rules, some just absolutely were not, and the inconsistency caused issues after checkin.

I was doing checkin for the tigers before the races started, then turned in to the starter. During checkin, I saw a few that had completely rounded wheels, and all the other person said, was "You will have to change it when it gets to council". I thought this was completely wrong when the rules were very clear about the wheels. Since I was not part of inspection later, and was running the race, the biggest issue that came up with dads (I say this because the people that had issues were the dads, with the kids seemingly hiding in shame) was with the height of the front of the car. Several tried to build up pieces that went well over the start pin to get an advantage, which was completely against the rules. We got into several heated discussions with dads that argued it was allowed at their pack, or "just let it run". We also had several cars that after the races started, had to be switched to running backwards due to the design and the fact that 2 of the pins were only 2" high, while the others were just a little longer. Once we figured this out, we tested all cars on the short pin.

Overall I thought the event went pretty well. They ran on a 56' piantadiozzi (SP?) track, which caused several of the tiger and wolf cars to not make it to the finish line, this was always hard to see.

My son ( a bear) participated in his 3 race, and got 15th (out of 36), which he was hoping for top 10, so he was a little down. But he got some ideas for what to do next year. One question I had for the group, is if you know it is a 56' track, is that long enough to get an advantage from the older wheels since they have more weight? His car was always one of the first down the hill, but got caught near the finish line. We did not do a rail rider, so that may have also accounted for some of the difference as well.

I want to thank everybody on this board for all the tips, even though I did not find the site till he was almost done this year. It will help next year when I have a Web1 and a tiger.



Posted rules about starting pin:
H. Front End – Depending upon the track, the front of the car may rest against a short starting pin. We therefore require
that the front bottom of the car which rests on the pin is no higher than 1/2" above the axle line. The front end must be at
least ½ inches wide.
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gpraceman
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Re: District Race

Post by gpraceman »

Hopefully, you gave the race coordinator the feedback on check-in inconsistencies that you saw.

We've also heard the excuse at our district races of "but it was allowed at our pack race...". We'd tell them that the district rules were out since the October prior and that these were the rules we were sticking to for this race. If their pack chose not to adopt the district rules, that was up to them, but in not doing so they put their scouts at a disadvantage.

On the starting pins, I think it would be clearer to just list a maximum nose height above the track.

A 56ft long Piantedosi Oars track is a bit unusual. They only sold them up to 48ft lengths, but I guess an extra section could have been bought. If there were some cars that were having trouble finishing, then they should consider removing one or even two sections. Our pack bought a 48ft track and after we started leaving out one section, we had little issue of cars not finishing.
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Rukkian
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Re: District Race

Post by Rukkian »

I do not actually know who long it was, it was pretty old according to the guy running it. He explained at the orientation of how to run the race that it was a Piantedosi and that meant that cars with real aggressive COM would jump the track due to the aggressive curve involved. It had 8 full length sections, which I assumed were 7', plus the stop section. This thing was a monster.

I agree with the maximum nose height, and will propose that, as the height above axel line could be confusing.
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FatSebastian
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Re: District Race

Post by FatSebastian »

Rukkian wrote:IHe explained at the orientation of how to run the race that it was a Piantedosi and that meant that cars with real aggressive COM would jump the track due to the aggressive curve involved.
Correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding was that Piantedosi tracks have a gradual curve:

Image

Wouldn't this be more forgiving?
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gpraceman
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Re: District Race

Post by gpraceman »

FatSebastian wrote:Correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding was that Piantedosi tracks have a gradual curve:

...

Wouldn't this be more forgiving?
It sort of sounds to me that it is a Beta Crafts "Challenger" track. A wood frame with aluminum track plating. If built to the online plans that track is a hair over 54ft and has more of an aggressive curve.

Regardless of what type of track it is, they should consider leaving a section or two out to help make sure all cars will at least finish.
Randy Lisano
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Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
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Re: District Race

Post by rpcarpe »

It's good you got involved. It's easier to help change things when you're willing to put in some work.

For the cars, it sounds like you either bounced back/forth on the center guide strip, or hugged it with two wheels rubbing, both causing major speed loss on the flat.

If you're already doing good axle and wheel prep, your next step might be to practice the alignment process.

I don't think a 50' ft track is not long enough to use older/heavier wheels. On Doc Jobe's website he explains more on the new/old wheels. See Lecture 26 http://www.pinewoodderbyphysics.com" target="_blank

Hope that helps.
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
Rukkian
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Re: District Race

Post by Rukkian »

gpraceman wrote:It sort of sounds to me that it is a Beta Crafts "Challenger" track. A wood frame with aluminum track plating. If built to the online plans that track is a hair over 54ft and has more of an aggressive curve.

Regardless of what type of track it is, they should consider leaving a section or two out to help make sure all cars will at least finish.
What you are describing sounds correct, as it was a wood frame, and elevated the entire length, with a 6 lane aluminum tack surface. The only other track I have had anything to do with is our pack's homemade wood track that has been around for years.
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