Pinewood Derby

This was Ben's last Pinewood derby as a cub scout. He becomes a Boy Scout this week. The Pinewood derby has always been a favorite scouting activity for Ben (and myself), even though he hasn't always done very well.

This year Ben did 90% of the work himself as he should as a Webelos scout. I helped with the drill and getting the axles polished (I held the drill) and the hammering of the wheels into place. A neighbor helped Ben saw the bit out for his Lego man. His car is a space ship on wheels.

Patiently waiting for the races to begin.

It's hard to see, but click on the video above to see the first heat. I'm not sure why the picture that goes with the video clip isn't showing up.

For those of you who don't know Ben, he's a bit on the shy/quiet side. He enjoys scouting, but doesn't really have any close friends. It was very touching to hear his den cheering for him before the race.
In case you couldn't tell, Ben came in first in the first heat! He also came in first his second and fourth heat. His third heat he came in second. This was the best Ben had ever done in all the years he's participated in the Pinewood derby. Even though he did well in each heat, there were a lot of other great cars with faster speeds and so we weren't expecting much other than the joy of doing so well in his individual heats. Imagine my surprise when they announced den placements:



That's right, Ben placed third for his den. While this wouldn't have been good enough for him to go to the district races (he wouldn't have been able to go anyway because by the time they took place, Ben would no longer be a cub scout), it meant he received a ribbon. He was very pleased and so were we.