Cub Scouts 'start their engines' at derby

DANVILLE — For decades, the Cub Scouts have been making memories at the pinewood derby races. 

This year, about 28 boys participated in Pack 399′s derby, as well as a special guest  — a winner from 1964, Tom Morse.

Morse is commander of the American Legion Post 210, which is the charter organization for Cub Scouts Pack 399 and host for the race last Sunday.

The grand champion winner was Dominic Herrmann, a member of Pack 399 and a second-grader at Bismarck Elementary.

Morse was the grand champion winner in Pack 389 in Rockford 50 years ago. He brought the wooden car he had used all those years ago and a plaque.

“I have very fond memories of the pinewood derby,” Morse said. His three sons participated in Bismarck pinewood derbies, “so I’m very familiar with it.”

Marguerite Bailey, cub master of the Boy Scouts of America Pack 399 of Danville, said, “Fifty years later we’re still making cars and making memories boys never forget. Even those who were never a cub scout or have ever been part of scouting know of this tradition.”

The derby works like this: A kit contains a small rectangle block of wood with four plastic wheels and four nails to be cut, shaved, sanded, and then painted. Leaders weigh the cars to make sure they do not exceed 5 ounces. Then they are numbered and logged into a software application to record the speed of the car electronically.

A wooden five-lane track is used, with two fluffy pillows to catch the cars as they exit the track.

After many heats, the software tracks the speed of each car to determine the winners.

“At the end when I had the honor of awarding the trophies,” Bailey said, “I got to see the smiles of the Cub Scouts and parents and know the pinewood derby was a success.”

Cub Scouts "start their engines" at derby