
I forgot to mention in the video (I must have been distracted) that I let my sons design the body of the racer. I do the heavy cutting and they do the sanding and painting (brush on acrylic). After the paint dries I coat it with a clear coat spray can. This video is my reminder to my self of what I did to my sons pinewood derby racer wheels and body. Jake's came in (unexpectedly) at #1, Luke's at #5 and Matthew's (my friend's son whose wheels I did) at #6 for the 2008 race (out of 48 cars). I did not do everything that could be done to a derby car. There are plenty of websites out there that will help you with that, should you choose to spend that much time on your car. I just wanted my sons car to place fairly well with a minimum of effort, possibly in the top half of the racers. With the placements/results of the cars, I was wondering what it was I did differently this time around compared to the last two times (two years ago we came in dead last)and it hit me that it was all about preparing the wheels and weight distribution. Like I said, I KNOW there is more that could be done on top of what I have already done, but what I have so far is fairly easy to do and gets my son's cars into a respectable placing in the derby. Feel free to link your own videos or post your own tech tips here, Cub Scout parents gotta stick together, but remember on Race Day, its all about the kids and having fun right?!?!?!! HA! If you havent seen the movie DOWN AND DERBY, go rent it.
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