Raised wheel on extended wheelbase?

[RollerDerby]

Would a car with an extended wheelbase also benefit from one raised wheel on a wooden track? If so, which wheel? Thanks.

[whodathunkit]

RollerDreby!

(Rotational Inertia )
It takes a certain amount of energy to start a pinewood derby car rolling down the track.. heavier objects need more energy then lighter objects to get rolling.

By lifting one wheel it also reduces the rotational inertia and small amount.. so less energy is needed & used to start the 3 remaining wheels rolling .

By having 4 wheels on the tacks surface more energy is needed to get all 4 wheels to start rolling ( so a car with 3 wheels would start rolling a little bit faster.)
Same hold's true for the lighter weight wheels to get it rolling.

You can lift what ever front wheel you like.. it can be the left front or the right front of the car.

Extended wheel base cars some say it allows the car to go faster and straighter. ( This is more true on the rougher tracks where stability is needed like on a rough wood track.)
So if instability is a concern for a rougher track surface.. there could be a trade off in getting to the finish line by a ten thou of a sec faster then a short wheel base car.

On smooth aluminum tracks some fell that the extended wheel base car is giving up on a little bit of speed because it's rear weight does not fall as far..( To push the car! )
Due to curvature of the track and that the front wheels are on the flat of the track and starting to slow it down.
As the shorter wheel base car still has its front and rear wheels on the hill and still has yet to lose speed off the ramp into the flat..
And that the shorter 4.75 wheel base car offers a good balance between speed & stability on smooth tracks.

[RollerDerby]

Thanks. I will try the extended version with left front wheel lifted then since it is an older wooden track. Should the back wheels be cantered too?

[whodathunkit]

If your Rules say you can.. I would to keep the rear wheels off the wooden guide strip.