NYC race

Those rules are terrible. And you are right, the rules don't say anything about bent axles being illegal. The FAQ is wrong. Just more evidence that this NYC race is a joke. People have offered to help, they haven't listened. So, if you want to fix it ... DON'T GO.

Instead, if you want to go to a scout-centric pinewood derby race, with THE Best Scouting Rules and run by guys who actually know what they are doing, then go to the Northern Star Council race.

http://www.northernstarbsa.org/2018-council-pinewood-derby
Hello @LightninBoy. My son Marciano and I are considering taking a road trip to the NSC race. I read the rules and listed a few items that seemed to be allowed. Can you confirm?

Allowed:
Fenders
Air Shields
No minimum weight for wheels
Oil (OMG)

Best,
Alphonso ‘The Fonze’ Peluso
Team Marciano
 
Hello @LightninBoy. My son Marciano and I are considering taking a road trip to the NSC race. I read the rules and listed a few items that seemed to be allowed. Can you confirm?

Allowed:
Fenders
Air Shields
No minimum weight for wheels
Oil (OMG)

Fenders - yes.
Air shields - only if they are clear (see next line)
No minimum wheel weight - lightened wheels are not allowed, but there's no minimum weight cause that can't be enforced without teardown. The inspectors (actually a member here named Twisted Iron - you do NOT want to mess with him) looks inside the wheel for evidence of material removal, which is why the covers must be clear. Many of the vendors sell wheels cut specifically for the NSC.
Oil - Yes. And in fact the rules *encourage* the use use of oil.

Hope that helps!
 
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Fenders - yes.
Air shields - only if they are clear (see next line)
No minimum wheel weight - lightened wheels are not allowed, but there's no minimum weight cause that can't be enforced without teardown. The inspectors (actually a member here named Twisted Iron - you do NOT want to mess with him) looks inside the wheel for evidence of material removal, which is why the covers must be clear. Many of the vendors sell wheels cut specifically for the NSC.
Oil - Yes. And in fact the rules *encourage* the use use of oil.

Hope that helps!
Yes it does. Thanks for the follow up!
 
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Without pulling an axle, how can they determine if an axle is drilled canted or bent?
 
All we went to the race last year and you are correct that in the finals the cars only ran once in a "randomly" selected lane. They however did all run on the same track. As for the rules I suggest reviewing them yourself as some of the above information does not seem to be in line with the rules.
 
That is what I thought just didn't want someone to see those comments and think that they apply to the NYC race.
 
I just hope they put the stop section together and check it with a couple of test cars this year. The stop section for the first group to race on the pro-stock side last year wasn't pretty.
 
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All we went to the race last year and you are correct that in the finals the cars only ran once in a "randomly" selected lane. They however did all run on the same track. As for the rules I suggest reviewing them yourself as some of the above information does not seem to be in line with the rules.

Looks like this year they will have two tracks ...

raceformat.JPG
 
This isn't even the worst of it. Take a look at their racing format, particularly how they run their final round. First they run the top 15 cars on two tracks just once on random lanes. Doing one run on random lanes is bad enough, but then they take the fastest 8 cars based on the times from BOTH TRACKS - so your car is subject to lane and *track* variations. This is "galactically stupid".
When did they start that?
In 2016, the Fast 15 was run down to the Final 4. Cut the field in half each time.
Looks like this year they will have two tracks ...

View attachment 1014
They always have two tracks. Stock runs on one and Pro Stock runs on the other.
The runoff of the fast 15 cars is only for the bragging rights trophy at the end of the day.

World championship trophy for each individual class has already been determined at that point.

And remember, these are not pro cars for the most part. Nobody is going to lose out on that final trophy because they didn't run in one particular Lane.
 
Still ! ! !

If a track of the same length can vary up to 0.25 seconds, cars on the slower track are at a disadvantage...

Okay... so maybe they get the tracks closer, say within 0.005-0.01.... would you want your boy on that slower track?

That is just nuts


Okay... I am done giving my opinion... NYC Council doesn't want to hear opinions or ideas from racers... so I will go back to my first stance....

Cub: "Hey Mojo, can you coach me on building a car for the race in Times Square?"
Me: "Sorry son, if you want to race a real race, sit this one out, and talk to me at the end of this year so we can talk options for next year."
 
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I don't disagree, but it only matters to the top 15. It cuts to 8 after that and they all run on one track. If you don't make the top 8, you weren't going to win it anyway. The cars simply aren't that close in times. The first 7 that got put out were not close and it wouldn't have mattered if they figured out which lanes were fastest and put them all in it...they were still going out in the first heat.

They did it this way in 2016 and the fastest 4 cars were the last 4. So it worked out. Maybe it won't one year and they will readdress that. You guys are thinking of this in league racer's terms, and it would definitely matter in that arena....but it really doesn't in this one.

And again....that is only for the "fastest car" bragging rights after the real race has been run. Except instead of taking the fastest Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Weeble 1 and 2 cars and doing a run off, they use the top 15. Again, not that big a deal because the WC times are all done on the same track...one is for Stock, one is for Pro Stock.
 
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Not so sure they will be able to enforce a no bent axle rule. The rules don’t say anything about bent axles , not specifically anyhow... it only appears under the frequently asked questions page which is separate from the official rules page. I am willing to push the issue and I’m sure others will also!

Which FAQ? Never read them. It's the rules that count don't they?
 
I wouldn't worry about the no bent axle rules too much. They say you can run them canted. That means the only one you worry about is the steering wheel, or the Dominant Front Wheel. (note: People always seem to write "Dominate"...it's DominANT"...sorry, pet peeve)

If anyone questions just say it's canted AND toed for steer. They can't tell. And doubt they'll care.

Good news is, they don't require axles 'viewing' holes now. Still requiring graphite, although I'd wager that many of the winners have been skirting that rule. Still no air shields. Sorry 'bout that. We ran them in 2016 and the inspector complained that he couldn't see the inside of the wheel (even though they were clear and I offered to pull one). Head guy said let it go. They changed it the next year, I think. A few others might have had them as well.

Don't like the no aftermarket axle rule for Pro Stock. Maybe for stock, sure. Pro Stock should be a lot more than just extended wheelbase.

Given the venue, it could really be a great event if they'd get the rules right.

Totally agree here, although with the non after market axles they should have a good test to make sure those axles are really BSA axles (which you can still buy modded but at least are BSA diameter). Personally I think after market axles should be allowed in the Pro-Stock, but since they are not they should make sure no one runs axles with larger diameter. I think the only way to do that is pull the axles after the race. If they don't do that, we might be looking for stainless steel with magnetic properties, (as will many others).

Regarding the oil, they say they will put graphite on the cars that have no graphite visible? Visible where? On the axle and wheel bore? They gonna use a magnifying glass to check this? On the car? I don't want to have any inferior graphite in our wheels, do we have to smear some graphite on the car? (good idea if you plan to cheat and run oil?) Maybe they should just put graphite on every car just to make sure no one slips through the cracks of the inspections. We plan to follow the rules, as always but no doubt plenty of people can find holes in this inspection process.
 
This is the response I just received explaining why the rules are the way they are. I'm pretty pissed because my sons car had a real chance at winning this year. Now we can't run it.

I am still oblivious to the bent axle rule, it is not in the rules section. For me canting is bending.
 
Without pulling an axle, how can they determine if an axle is drilled canted or bent?
Maybe they take X-Rays? With a particular good X-ray machine and a good tech you could maybe even see if the axles are stock or not.
 
When did they start that?
In 2016, the Fast 15 was run down to the Final 4. Cut the field in half each time.

They always have two tracks. Stock runs on one and Pro Stock runs on the other.
The runoff of the fast 15 cars is only for the bragging rights trophy at the end of the day.

World championship trophy for each individual class has already been determined at that point.

And remember, these are not pro cars for the most part. Nobody is going to lose out on that final trophy because they didn't run in one particular Lane.

It might not make a difference for the 1st place overall. But it all depends how close the cars are. Last year the overall winner was quite a bit faster, however other cars were closer in times. If there is a bigger variation this year between the tracks, which is very well possible then you could see more cars from 1 track advancing over the other. For most scouts it still makes a difference if they were 1-8th overall or 9-16th overall. At least it did for mine.
 
Regardless of how stupid these rules are. Rules are rules if the inspectors get a bug up their ass on the no bent axle rule and really look hard. I would really hate for them to question my son's car. The DFW is clearly bent and you can see the bending groove. I'm thinking of using an axle with no groove and less bend. Maybe it won't be as obvious. Or like Lightnin Boy said just don't go.
 
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