Carl Smith shook hands with his competition, then walked beside the racetrack with a winning smile on his face.

Saturday, January 22, 2000

Carl Smith shook hands with his competition, then walked beside the racetrack with a winning smile on his face.

The Cub Scout’s hands held his Pinewood Derby racer.

"My mom (Connie) got an idea for the shape, but we had trouble putting the weights in to keep it fast," Smith said.

Eventually, they found the perfect weights, chiseled the bottom out of the race car, cut off the front for a wooden motor and shaped the back into a spoiler.

"And it went pretty good after that," he said.

Smith wasn’t the only Troop 104 scout who chiseled and shaped a racer to enter Saturday’s derby at Ironton First Methodist Church.

Sixteen Cub Scouts and five Tiger Cubs brought cars, placed them on the black, wooden racetrack and watched them soar to the winner’s circle.

Third-year Cub racer Caleb Hammond, and a former derby winner, made it to the derby with the help of his dad, Jerry, and mom, Faye.

"We always put my car right on five ounces," he said. "It makes it faster."

The race cars come from the Boy Scouts of America as blocks of wood, with four wheels and two nails for axles.

Only permanent improvements are allowed, and cars must conform to strict width and weight requirements.

Once the decals, paint and other work completes the cars, the competition begins.

"It’s fun because I usually win," Hammond said, grinning.

But winning isn’t everything, he said. It’s really just the fun.

"It’s fun for all the kids to do and everybody likes racing cars," Smith said, agreeing with his racing cohort.

"I don’t care who wins, as long as everybody’s having fun," he said.

This is the scout’s last year at the derby, before he moves on up to a full-fledged Boy Scout, so he hopes he gets a shot at the trophy.

But it doesn’t matter, he said.

Cubmaster Carolyn Burwell smiled at the young scout’s attitude and his habit of shaking hands with the competition after a race.

"One of the toughest things a boy can do is shake hands, especially if one of them has lost," Mrs. Burwell said.

Even though races get heated, all the scouts take away trophies – of good sportsmanship, she said.

It brings children together with their families, when they build cars and compete, she added.

"But the main thing is the fun."

The top three winners of the Cub Scouts and Tiger Scouts in Saturday’s derby will travel to Raceland Feb. 5 for the Tecumseh District races.