This car is the reason I didn't send anything to the last race. I missed racing with y'all, but helping a friend in need was worth it for sure. I helped my wife's friend who had a race at her work. She is a black belt and an Alias fan, so that is where the Mountaineer and karate silhouette come into play.
I was hoping to get your guys' feelings on how race day went down. She was given the box rules, so we built the car to those specifications. This car was originally built as a street stock, but as we looked at the rules closer we decided to run three wheels so we could add a little more weight in the back, plus with the amount of bend in the DFW we barely did not meet the 1 3/4 rule. It was easier to remove the front fender and wheel than adjust the width between the wheels. I'll quote a series of text messages on race day to get your opinions. We will call my wife's friend Mountaineer and my wife Squirrel.
Mountaineer:
"Hi guys! I have an update for you about our car! I checked her in at registration and she weighed in right on the money at exactly 5 ounces! (Thanks for factoring in scale differences.) Some of the guys were concerned about there only being three wheels, but the officials confirmed it was okay for a stock car to run on three. So we're golden! And, I was assigned #10-- which has always been my lucky number! I'm feeling good!!
Squirrel:
Sweet! Victory may just be waiting in the wings!! Have people shown fear when your car was unveiled??
Mountaineer:
Yes! People are impressed from the get-go with the paint job. The official was really awed by the undercarriage and kept showing it to people because how everything was so cool to him. One guy told me he thought I could win. !!
Squirrel:
Sweet!! That is awesome! I am rubbing my hands together and laughing in a slightly mischievous and victorious muwah-ha-ha type of way!!
Mountaineer:
Apparently they are still confirming if the three wheels are BSA-approved. It's currently categorized as stock, but one of the officials said they hadn't "conferred as a committee." Weird.
Squirrel:
Picky, picky. The rules in the box don't say anything about how many wheels. Jason would've left the fourth one on, but the space between the two front wheels would've been too narrow. I hope they don't DQ you for this. Even if you have to race in the other category, you'll still fly!!
Mountaineer:
Yeah, It'll be GREAT either way!!I like that he left it off. It plays into the double agent Mountaineer factor!
Squirrel:
Plus the guide pin adds to the intimidating look--like Captain Hook or the villain with the missing finger! /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
Mountaineer:
Are you sick of my updates? They moved our little beauty over to the modifed devision due to violation of rule "The car must have 1 3/4" clearance between the wheels". They said since there wasn't a fourth wheel, they couldn't measure distance between wheels.
I'm pretty sure it will dominate!!
Squirrel:
That is so dumb! Grrrrrr! I wanted you to win the prize money!!!!!
Mountaineer:
They just ran my car against the winner of the stock and I beat him by .20. Look at that time!!! 2.866!!!!!
Squirrel:
That is awesome, though, and clearly proves you're the true winner!! I'm so sorry they DQ'd you. I don't think it was fair. /images/boards/smilies/frown.gif
Mountaineer:
We won first place in modified!! And it was the fastest car on the track out of both categories!!! I got a medal! It was the envy of the derby by all the engineers!
Squirrel:
I knew you'd win!!! Congrats!! Sorry again for the DQ drama! Hope you still had fun. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
Mountaineer:
I did! Again, thank you both so much! It's better this way because all the guys would have hated being beat by a girl. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
Squirrel:
Just got home- Jason has been at school all day without his phone. I just read him our string of texts. He is so glad you won, but is also sorry about the DQ. It is just all about rule interpretation. /images/boards/smilies/frown.gif
Skippy Kicky (me):
Hi Mountaineer. That is an awesome video. It looks like you had the next closest by a car length. That's huge in pinewood derby. I have grown to hate those box rules! I feel horrible that you were disqualified. I think we stuck to the rules because it says "width between wheels - 1 3/4". The "between" is the key phrase. The rear wheels met this and the rules did not specify an amount of wheels required. If there is not another wheel, then the "between" part is not applicable. The box rules also state that "after final approval, cars will not be reinspected unless the car is damaged in handling or in a race". It sounds like they messed up there also. I hope you had fun still. That's a fast car. If they do it next year I'll help you make a car that is faster. They shall feel my wrath!!!
