Thank you to everyone here who have been most open and frank with their advice. I had the unique challenge of both running our pack's Pinewood Derby Race this year as well as help my scout build his car.
The design stuff alone here was invaluable. I learned that I had been doing spray painting wrong for the longest time. I learned about Sharpies, and actually used that technique for the workshops we held with our Pack. But the concept of using Monokote was tremendous. It helped my son build this graphite car:
The guides that DD4H, Kinser, and 5Kids wrote were spot-on. We followed them pretty much to the hilt and trusted the process -- this forum has been probably the most honest and forthcoming with help and guidance -- and asked questions along the way. We built a second car with a more aggressive COG, and that bettered our speed by 0.05 s. I decided early on not to second guess anything, and doing all that helped my boy win this:
He had won last year by 0.002 seconds. This year he won by more than 0.12.
Given that our race is run on Freedom/Piantedosi 42' aluminum track, I also decided to take some mad money and buy one of DD4H's ebay cars as a benchmark. The DD4H car consistently ran 3.18 on our track. The above car (graphite, aggressive COG) ran 3.2102 in its last (and best) run -- I was surprised that it was actually getting faster as more races were run.
For the brag/Dad's race, I built an oil car -- first one I ever built. It ran 3.2219. I still have a lot to learn.
I just wanted to post and let the first-timers here know to trust the process that DD4H has laid out -- even the basic principles of wheel and axle work will definitely improve your track performance. And it is easy enough to convey and teach a young boy on what to do -- my son gained a full tenth on his competition, and now *I'm* 0.02 seconds behind him.
Mad respect and thanks to you all.
The design stuff alone here was invaluable. I learned that I had been doing spray painting wrong for the longest time. I learned about Sharpies, and actually used that technique for the workshops we held with our Pack. But the concept of using Monokote was tremendous. It helped my son build this graphite car:

The guides that DD4H, Kinser, and 5Kids wrote were spot-on. We followed them pretty much to the hilt and trusted the process -- this forum has been probably the most honest and forthcoming with help and guidance -- and asked questions along the way. We built a second car with a more aggressive COG, and that bettered our speed by 0.05 s. I decided early on not to second guess anything, and doing all that helped my boy win this:

He had won last year by 0.002 seconds. This year he won by more than 0.12.
Given that our race is run on Freedom/Piantedosi 42' aluminum track, I also decided to take some mad money and buy one of DD4H's ebay cars as a benchmark. The DD4H car consistently ran 3.18 on our track. The above car (graphite, aggressive COG) ran 3.2102 in its last (and best) run -- I was surprised that it was actually getting faster as more races were run.
For the brag/Dad's race, I built an oil car -- first one I ever built. It ran 3.2219. I still have a lot to learn.
I just wanted to post and let the first-timers here know to trust the process that DD4H has laid out -- even the basic principles of wheel and axle work will definitely improve your track performance. And it is easy enough to convey and teach a young boy on what to do -- my son gained a full tenth on his competition, and now *I'm* 0.02 seconds behind him.
Mad respect and thanks to you all.