When I was Cub Scout, my dad and I always looked forward to building a car together for the pinewood derby. In Fort Wayne, Indiana we had a big regional race on an 80 foot wooden track that was a two day event with over 600 cars. In 1985,(hence the name Revenge of 85) my last year in scouts we tried to win the race and fell just short. A crash in the final race another car jumped it's lane on the track and bent my rear axle. They had to re run the last race because of the timer malfunction from the other car in my lane. I thought I had won, but on the redo my car finished last. As a 10 year old kid I was devastated. I was robbed on my last chance to win the pinewood derby. Fast forward to 2015. I was put back into racing a few years ago when I told my neighbor kid I was a pretty fast racer in my day and offered to help him and his brothers. In my online research I found out about this giant 125 foot track in Indianapolis that hosted a race open to anyone. I told my wife I want win this race to get revenge on the past. Of course, my wife thought I was crazy but ,after a back injury ended my former hobby of playing club soccer, she was okay with me building these little wooden cars. I have struggled in the NPWDRL but continued to get faster and learned a lot from the advice of others on this site. With my new wheel prep and two years of experience to win this race, I knew I would be fast but didn't think I had a chance to win. So I am as shocked as anyone that I won this race and finally got my revenge after 30 years! I just want to say thank you to all the people who helped me reach my goal! Now time to celebrate!
I can't believe I won the Indiana State Museum Race!
- Thread starter Wombatchewed
- Start date
"You know, it’s very strange. I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it’s over, I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life." - Inigo Montoya
Congratulations, Wombat!
Congratulations, Wombat!
The Princess Bride reference is too funny and true. I guess I need a new avatar and name since I'm out of the revenge business.
This sounds so much like the plot to Down and Derby. The funny thing is I think most of us got into PWD with similar stories. I thought Down and Derby was hilarious the first time I saw it. Who would really build a track in their bedroom just so the neighbors don't see it? In fact, who would build a PWD track at all? True story, last month I hid my PWD mess when the neighbors visited, just so they wouldn't think I'm obsessing over winning the scout derby. And then just this week I measured my living room to see how big a track I could fit.
Wombatchewed said:
Congratulations!
So what wheel and fender combination did you end up racing? How did the car handle the stop section? How close was 2nd place? Photo of the car?
How awesome, this looks like a cool race to enter!
Yes. Luckily I had a spare set of wheels and axles prepped and ready to go. I used the light in the window sill for a straight line to set my steer. The last run tied my best all day of 4.500.
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