The Rules

Car construction rules for The Bredford Theatre's Pinewood Derby

1. You must use an official kit from the Boy Scouts of America. These can be purchased from a Boy Scout store or online (scoutstuff.org). This is for your own benefit as we have found other brands of pine car kits to be inferior.
2. Car construction must begin with a block of Pine approximately 7" x 1 3/4" x 1 1/4"- no using a block of wood that has already been pre-shaped.
3. Maximum car size, including wheels, is 7" long, 2 3/4" wide.
4. Minimum width between wheels is 1 3/4".
5. Minimum ground clearance between car and track is 3/8".
6. Maximum car weight is 5 oz. Metal or wood may be added.
7. No wheel bearings, bushings, springs, starting devices, loose or moving weights or parts are allowed.
8. Simple accessories such as exhaust pipes, fenders, decals, etc are allowed however, no pre-manufactured bodies are allowed.
9. You must use the wheels and axles that come with your kit.
10. You may enter as many cars as you wish.
11. Cars may not have previously been raced. This means no using a car that you raced in a previous year, and no using a car that you might have used in a different Pinewood Derby.
12. Participants age 8 and above are strongly encouraged to make their cars themselves. By this we mean that they are to design, cut, and finish the car by themselves. They should use age appropriate tools with adult supervision, but they should be doing the work themselves. (If you don't think that your child is capable of using power tools, a coping saw is a fairly safe tool for them to use.)

New for 2011
Due to the purchase of an electronic finish line, we now have a height requirement.  Please let me know if you need dimensions for this.

Categories

1. Fastest Car
2. Slowest Car- Please do not make a car that you hope will win this category. That is not the spirit in which this category exists.
3. Best in Show- Overall Appearance
4. Illegal Car- For this category, the only rule is that the car must be within the size specifications. Also, for purposeful entry in this category, you must also make a legal car.

LET IT BE KNOWN
The Local Rules Committee (Girl Chris) has received many questions about whether or not certain things are allowed. The answer best gets summed up as this- For the entry for the regular car, pretend that you are an 8-year-old boy. As an 8-year-old boy you probably wouldn't be coming up with the ideas that need these clarifications. This is a "basic" car entry. This means no casting car bodies or using model cars and putting them on a chassis made from the kit. This means no rocket engines. This means no "fancy stuff". However, since the Local Rules Committee (got to love that committee of one) does not want to completely squelch your creativity, feel free to do pretty much whatever you want for the illegal car category!