Hole in car... Cheating?

[reggaB]

So, Saturday was the district races and my son's car came in 1st!

One boy from another pack has won district the last 4 years in a row and we were told he would run away with it again this year.

My son read thru this message board and decided to put most of his efforts toward wheel/axle prep and it really paid off for him.

We won our pack race, but not by much because my son forgot to apply graphite before the race.

Well at districts, the boys were allowed to reapply graphite and my son took full advantage of this.

He actually lost his first race to the favorite, but my son's car seemed to pick up speed every race.

When my son's car won the second, third and every other race, the favorite boys father started getting upset. (the two boys did not care, they were having fun regardless) Each race was extremely close with my son's car just edging out the others.

Well after the race the other boys father came up to me and tried to tell me his sons car crossed the finish line first, but because of the hole in our car, it was registering our car as crossing first.

Now I did have to help my son cut a hole in the car due to the fact that when he placed his weights, he put all the weights he had into his car so it would fill up the holes I drilled for him. Well when he weighed his car, we were closer to 7 oz not 5 so we had to remove weight somehow. Since he had already painted the car and sealed his weights in, I did not want him to have to destroy all his work.

My question is, How would this hole effect an electronic timer?

Doesn't the front of the car set off the timer as soon as it crosses?

My son was not trying to cheat the system, he was just trying to make weight.

What do you guys thing?

 

[Vitamin K]

The timer is set off as soon as something breaks the communication between the emitter and the detector, which are positioned above and below the track (not sure which is which, but it doesn't matter). If you had (I don't know why you would) a cut-out section in the front of your car (like, a u-shape), that would actually cause your car to take LONGER to trigger the timer. There's no way any kind of cut out section in a car is going to make it trigger the timer more quickly.

 

[B_Regal Racing]

What do you guys think?

I think I am glad to be done with Scout racing and just race league. /images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif

Seems to have been a bad year for many.

 

[Gtdhw]

If you had (I don't know why you would) a cut-out section in the front of your car (like, a u-shape), that would actually cause your car to take LONGER to trigger the timer.

^^This.

My son lost the district title last year because of this exact issue. He had a cut-out in the front, with the old "quick start" design and a bar across the front of the car. We know the design is completely outdated, and no "quick start" advantage is achieved, but my boy liked the looks of the design/car, so he chose to build that way. Both times that he had to face off against the fastest car (eventual district winner), his car crossed the finish line first, but it was close enough, that the the other car got the win light. After looking at the video from their races, it was plain as day that the car itself was there first, by about a 1/4", but the cut-out (1/2") caused the timer not to "see it" until the cutout had passed over it. The start bar (heavy duty paperclip) wasn't substantial enough to set off the timer. Hand shakes & congrats given. Lesson learned.

 

[Kinser Racing]

The dad was a sore loser. He should have congratulated you and your son for beating them. He's a poor sport for sure.

 

[Kinser Racing]

Congrats on a legit win!

 

[Cubscout Dad]

Guess I am lost as what the hole would have anything to do with the front of the car breaking the timer light? You have a pic of car to show us?

 

[Crash Enburn]

Cubscout Dad: My guess is that the dad thought that the timer stopped when the light was unbroken — front of car hits beam: prepare to stop timer, beam reestablishes: stop timer. But that's not how they work...

Congratulations on a legit win, ReggaB!

 

[Cubscout Dad]

Cubscout Dad: My guess is that the dad thought that the timer stopped when the light was unbroken — front of car hits beam: prepare to stop timer, beam reestablishes: stop timer. But that's not how they work...

Congratulations on a legit win, ReggaB!

Some people..... Good win.....

 

[reggaB]

This is what our car ended up looking like (sorta)

 

[Rocket car]

The funny thing is, that if you taped over the hole in your car, it would accually be faster.

 

[RBE17]

The dad was a sore loser. He should have congratulated you and your son for beating them. He's a poor sport for sure.

The more I read on here about scout racing the more I'm reminded of the lack of sportsmanship. I made sure my son (Wolf) told the second place car owner in his den that the car was fast. It's just as important to be a gracious winner.

 

[Kinser Racing]

The more I read on here about scout racing the more I'm reminded of the lack of sportsmanship. I made sure my son (Wolf) told the second place car owner in his den that the car was fast. It's just as important to be a gracious winner.

I completely agree!

 

[Gtdhw]

The more I read on here about scout racing the more I'm reminded of the lack of sportsmanship. I made sure my son (Wolf) told the second place car owner in his den that the car was fast. It's just as important to be a gracious winner.

We are a racing family. Good sportsmanship is a way of life in our home. If you don't have it, and are not a humble winner, and a gracious loser, you won't compete on our team (no matter the sport/event).

 

[reggaB]

Thank you guys for the validation. I know my son was not trying to gain any advantage, but this guy was a real jerk. Went so far as to try to have my son's car disqualified for cheating.

Cubmaster running the race told him there was no advantage to having this hole and you guys have backed this up.

Best thing about the whole experience was they way the two boys handled it. They could of cared less about the cars appearance, they were just having fun racing and afterwards were comparing their cars and telling each other all their "speed" secrets".

Too bad all the adults couldn't get along the same way. Both these boys are a good example of a true scout.

 

[ngyoung]

Congrats on the win. Should taste even sweeter when you take down a sore loser. That guy was grasping for an excuse. Funny that the one he chose would actually make your car register later if it was happening. You can't break the beam with negative space. Now you have a whole year to learn how to get even faster. Hope he didnt cross over so you can beat him even worse next year.

 

[RBE17]

This was our first trip to districts. The guy doing the announcing and starting was great. sine of his first words were Rule 1: Have fun, turn to your parents and tell them Rule 1. I find it amusing parents need to be reminded to have fun. I find it disturbing they lack sportsmanship.

 

[Mojo Racing]

Too bad all the adults couldn't get along the same way. Both these boys are a good example of a true scout.

I'm tellin ya...

SOCKER BOPPERS ! ! ! !

Or flat out, just supply boxing gloves at every district race !

 

[LightninBoy]

Seems to have been a bad year for many.

It really does seem to be a bad year. Is it just because we are hearing about this stuff more because of forums like this - or is there something else going on?

 

[Rocket car]

It really does seem to be a bad year. Is it just because we are hearing about this stuff more because of forums like this - or is there something else going on?

I think it's because it's easier than ever(with all the knowledge on the Internet) to be fast. The dads that care about being fast think no one else is looking up how to be fast and then they get MAD when they don't do well.