Planning the den year
January belongs to the derby. Here is how to lay the rest of the year out around it so the required adventures still get finished.
Seasonal
Pinewood Derby rules, checklist and run of show
A Pinewood Derby car built from the official kit must weigh no more than 5 ounces, measure no more than 7 inches long and 2.75 inches wide, and run on dry lubricant only. Everything past that is set by your pack. Here are the standard rules, a six-week countdown and a race-day schedule that finishes on time.
Packs, districts and councils set their own derby rules. Use this as a starting point and publish your pack's own rules in writing before kits go home.
What the Pinewood Derby is
The Pinewood Derby is a pack event where each Cub Scout builds a small car from a block of pine, four plastic wheels and four nails, then races it down a sloped track against the rest of the pack. It has been part of Cub Scouting since 1953 and it is usually the biggest night of the pack year outside Blue and Gold.
The point is not the racing. It is a Scout and an adult spending a few evenings with a saw, some sandpaper and a scale, and a Scout finding out that the thing they made themselves runs. Packs that keep that in view give out as many design awards as speed awards, and run an open class so siblings and adults have somewhere to put their own cars.
The standard rules
These are the common baseline, drawn from the official kit. Your pack's printed rules win any argument, so read them and hand them out with the kits.
- Weight: 5 ounces maximum, on the official race scale. The race scale is the only scale that counts.
- Length: 7 inches maximum. Width: 2.75 inches maximum.
- Clearance: at least 3/8 inch under the car so it clears the track guide rail, and at least 1-3/4 inches between the wheels so it sits on the track.
- Wheels and axles: the ones from the official kit, four of them, all touching the track unless your pack says otherwise.
- Lubricant: dry only, such as graphite or powdered PTFE. No oil, no liquid lubricant, no wet graphite.
- The wood block must be from the kit. Shaping it is the point, but it is the kit block.
- No loose material, no starting devices, no springs, no propulsion of any kind. The car is released by gravity.
- Weight added must be fixed in place so it cannot come loose on the track.
Where packs differ, so decide early
Publish your answer to each of these with the rules, not on race morning when a family has already built the car.
- Whether wheels may be sanded, trued or lathed, and whether aftermarket wheels are allowed at all.
- Whether the axle slots may be moved or re-drilled to change the wheelbase.
- Whether a three-wheel setup, with one wheel raised, is legal.
- Whether a car that failed inspection can be fixed at the pit table and re-weighed, and by when.
- Whether last year's car can race again, and whether siblings and adults race in an open class.
- How the winner is decided: elimination heats, or every car in every lane with times averaged.
How a Scout actually builds one
The build is a Cub Scout activity, not an adult woodworking contest. The adult does the cutting if a saw is involved, and the Scout does everything they safely can: drawing the shape, sanding, painting, placing the weight, polishing the axles.
The order that works: draw the shape on the block, cut it, sand it smooth in three grits, paint it and let it dry properly, polish the axles, mount the wheels, then weigh it and add weight until it is just under 5 ounces. Weight goes toward the back of the car, about an inch in front of the rear axle, because a car that carries its weight high and back keeps more energy for the flat.
A pack workshop with two adults, a drill press and a scale turns three weeks of family stress into one Saturday morning, and it is the single best thing a pack can do for the families who do not own tools.
Where the derby meets advancement
The derby is a pack event, not a den meeting, so plan it as one. The den-level tie in is the Race Time elective adventure, which several ranks have and which the derby build fits neatly: Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Arrow of Light.
If you run a build workshop as a den meeting, put it on the den calendar and use the check-in link so you know who came and whose car still needs cutting. Parent check-in covers how that works.
Six weeks out to race day
The pack leader's Pinewood Derby checklist
A derby runs on decisions made early. Work backwards from the race date and most of the stress disappears.
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1
Six weeks out
Lock the date and the rules
- Book the room and the track. Council and district tracks get reserved months ahead, so if you are borrowing one, this is late rather than early.
- Write the pack rules on one page, including the decisions above, and have the committee approve them.
- Order kits with a spare box for the families who join in January and the ones who cut the block wrong.
- Put the date in front of families twice: at the pack meeting and in writing.
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2
Five weeks out
Kits and expectations go home
- Hand out kits at a pack meeting, with the printed rules stapled to each one.
- Announce the two dates that matter: the workshop and the weigh-in.
- Say plainly that the Scout builds the car and the adult helps, because saying it once in January prevents a difficult conversation in February.
- Ask for the volunteers now: weigh-in, impound, starter, timer, results, awards, concessions, cleanup.
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3
Four weeks out
Cutting workshop
- Two adults, eye protection, a coping saw or a band saw with an experienced operator, and a shop vacuum.
- One table for drawing shapes, one for cutting, one for sanding.
- Keep a bin of scrap blocks for the Scout whose first cut goes wrong.
- Take a photo of each Scout with their rough car, with photo permissions checked, for the pack newsletter.
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4
Three weeks out
Paint, weight and the awards list
- Second workshop, or a reminder that paint needs days to dry properly, not hours.
- Have a scale available so families can test the weight before race day.
- Publish the award categories. Speed plus four or five design awards means most Scouts go home with something.
- Confirm the trophies or certificates are ordered.
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5
Two weeks out
Run the race on paper
- Decide the race format and write the heat schedule for the number of cars you expect.
- Test the track and the timer with three practice cars, end to end, including the results display.
- Print check-in sheets, inspection sheets and the results forms. Bring paper copies even if the timer is computerized.
- Confirm every volunteer by name and tell them when to arrive.
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6
Race week
Weigh-in and setup
- Hold a pre-race weigh-in and impound the night before if you can. It turns race morning from ninety minutes of chaos into thirty.
- Stock the pit table: spare wheels and axles, graphite, adhesive weights, a drill, glue, sandpaper and the official scale.
- Set up the track on a level floor, test it again, and rope off the finish end.
- Arrange the room so the Scouts sit facing the track and the parents stand behind them.
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7
Race day
Run it and finish on time
- Start on time even if cars are still arriving. The pit table handles latecomers.
- Announce every Scout by name at least once, whatever their car does.
- Post results where everyone can see them after every round.
- Finish inside two hours. A derby that runs long is remembered for running long.
Race day, hour by hour
Times are from the moment the doors open. A derby that finishes inside two hours is remembered for the racing.
| From doors | What happens | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Doors, check-in and weigh-in | Cars that were impounded go straight to the track. Everyone else weighs in and gets inspected. |
| 0:30 | Pit table open | Two adults fix the cars that failed: too heavy, too wide, a wheel that will not turn. |
| 0:45 | Impound closes | Say this twice, ten minutes apart. After this, cars belong to the race. |
| 0:50 | Opening | Flag ceremony, the Scout Oath and Law, and the rules read out in sixty seconds. |
| 1:00 | Heats begin | Run by den or by rank so the Scouts watching know who they are cheering for. |
| 1:40 | Open class | Siblings, parents and leaders. It keeps the outlaw cars out of the Scout race. |
| 1:50 | Finals | The top cars, announced properly, with everybody in the room watching. |
| 2:00 | Awards | Speed awards and design awards together, every Scout named. |
| 2:15 | Cleanup | Assign it in advance, by family, or you will do it alone. |
Rules vary by pack, district and council. Publish your pack's own rules in writing with the kits, and settle the arguable ones, wheel work and wheelbase in particular, before anybody starts building.
Pinewood Derby questions
What are the basic Pinewood Derby rules?
The standard kit rules are 5 ounces maximum weight, 7 inches maximum length, 2.75 inches maximum width, at least 3/8 inch of clearance underneath, official kit wheels and axles, dry lubricant only, and no springs, starting devices or loose material. Your pack can add to these, so read your pack's printed rules.
How much should a Pinewood Derby car weigh?
As close to 5 ounces as you can get without going over, measured on the official race scale rather than a kitchen scale. Bring a small adhesive weight and a little sandpaper to the weigh-in so a car that is a fraction over or under can be fixed.
Where should the weight go on the car?
Toward the back, roughly an inch in front of the rear axle, and fixed so it cannot come loose. Weight that far back keeps more energy for the flat section of the track. Too far back and the car gets unstable and wheelies off the start.
Can parents help build the car?
Yes, and for the cutting they should. The adult runs the saw. The Scout draws the shape, sands, paints, sets the weight and mounts the wheels. A pack that runs a build workshop with adult tools gets better cars and fewer families who feel shut out.
Is oil allowed on the axles?
No. Dry lubricant only, usually graphite or powdered PTFE. Oil picks up dust, marks the track and is against the rules at almost every pack.
Can a car be repaired during the race?
Most packs allow a repair at the pit table if a wheel comes off or the car is damaged in a heat, and re-run the affected heat. Decide the rule in advance and print it, including whether a repaired car has to be re-weighed.
How long does a Pinewood Derby take?
Plan two hours from doors to awards for a pack of forty cars, plus a pre-race weigh-in the evening before. Impounding cars the night before is the single biggest saving.
What awards should we give?
Speed awards for the top three, plus design categories such as best paint, most original, best Scouting theme and judges' choice, and a certificate for everyone who raced. The aim is that most Scouts are called up for something.
Do Scouts earn advancement for the derby?
Not for the race itself. The Race Time elective adventure, which several ranks have, lines up well with building and racing a car, so a den can use the build as adventure work. Check the requirements for your rank before you promise anybody a badge.
While the pack races, the den still has a year to run
Adventures and meeting plans
Every rank and every adventure, each with its requirements and a sixty minute den meeting plan you can run as written.
Check-in for the workshop
Run a build workshop as a den meeting and take attendance from a public link, so you know whose car still needs cutting.
Get the den year back on track after the derby
DenBuddy shows you the requirements each Scout still needs and builds the next meeting around them. One den is free, forever, and nothing in Scoutbook changes.
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Pinewood Derby is a Scouting America program and the official kit rules are theirs. The rules summarized here are the common baseline only; your pack, district or council sets the rules that count on race day. DenBuddy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Scouting America. Cub Scouts, Scoutbook and adventure names are trademarks of their respective owners.