Race to Victory:

Girl Scouts take on the Pinewood Derby with creativity!

BY RESIDENT AND JUNIOR WRITER LUCAS VOOYS THIS FEATURE SPONSORED BY HILLYARD AUTOMOTIVE

Have you ever heard of a Pinewood Derby? Well, now you have! A Pinewood Derby is when Boy or Girl Scouts construct their own car from a car kit. The car is made out of wood and you can design it however you want. To help the car roll down the track faster you need to add weight to the back of the car. In a Pinewood Derby there are different rounds consisting of several races.

This spring, the Girl Scout Troops around Loudon County competed in a Pinewood Derby at Hovatter Elementary. The event was very well decorated with green and blue. There were also concessions. The name of the concession stand was The Silver Cafe. They had water, juice boxes, candy, and snacks.

Some of the cars at the race were super creative-looking. There was one car that looked like a banana, a hot dog, and even one that was covered with eyeballs. There were so many shapes, colors, and decorations. The race track started up high and ended in the middle of the cafeteria. At the start, there were little poles that stuck up to stop the cars from rolling down. But, when it was time to go you would count down, hit a switch, and off they went!

It was a great event for the girls to participate in. It was a lot of fun and I’m sure that others who were there would agree. I hope the Girls Scouts hold another Pinewood Derby next year!

Charlotte Goodfriend

I got to interview Charlotte Goodfriend, a Girl Scout and the maker of a crazy car. She has participated in many Derbys and is really good at making the cars.

What is your name and what troop are you in? Charlotte Goodfriend, Troop 4792

How long have you been a Girl Scout? 10 years

How many Pinewood Derbys have you participated in? 3 Derbys

Have you ever won a Pinewood Derby? My first year, I won an award for creative design. It was a car made of candy.

What is some advice you would give to build the best derby car? The weight of the car is important. I glued coins on the back of my car to make it faster.

What is the craziest car that you have made? The candy car was my first car, and probably the craziest. The first time down the track candy started flying!