Tales of Cheating

[Bubblegum]

While getting ready for districts it has made me wonder just how much wonky is coming up. Heck there was an article about cheating so I went to Ebay and looked around what people can buy.

After 15 minutes of looking, if I did not know any better, I may have found the car that won our pack race for sale. The design, color, and finish were pretty close matches.

Obviously I have no proof and would not say anything but it does make sense on some level as to how the scout won.

So how would an inspector know a fully built car was purchased and run as one's own?

 

[DuckOfAllTrades]

While getting ready for districts it has made me wonder just how much wonky is coming up. Heck there was an article about cheating so I went to Ebay and looked around what people can buy.

After 15 minutes of looking, if I did not know any better, I may have found the car that won our pack race for sale. The design, color, and finish were pretty close matches.

Obviously I have no proof and would not say anything but it does make sense on some level as to how the scout won.

So how would an inspector know a fully built car was purchased and run as one's own?

Impossible to know, but positive that it goes on. It must raise red flags when the car has a perfect paint job and shape, flawless. They could quiz the scout on what they helped on of course, can’t imagine anything outside of that besides knowing the cars on eBay and being able to recognize them. But being a scout means being honest, so you must take there word for it and trust them. Of course it’s the parents that you really must worry about trusting.

I can’t fathom what happiness and fulfillment you could gain by purchasing and racing and eBay car. You could buy a nice trophy a lot cheaper! I can’t imagine dropping 100 plus dollars for my child to win a 5 dollar trophy and take it away from more deserving scouts, that’s for sure.

 

[Dldoug]

I know the eBay/internet bought cars happen unfortunately. I have coworker that his son belongs to a different pack then my kids and he said he bought his kids car off the internet and he won his pack (with a smirk). I feel bad for his son. I do believe if nothing else the scout misses out on the working together and learning. That stuff is not replaceable with trophies.

 

[e/o]

I lost to a pre-made car when I was a wolf scout. Came in second in the pack. The other scout was permitted to purchase the car because his father had recently passed away and his mother didn't know how to use tools. I thought it was totally unfair and outrageous at the time. Obviously feel like a dick in hindsight.

 

[flockshot]

My grandsons will get plenty of education in how to cheat in this world. They have business' and politicians and co-workers and all sorts of examples of how to cheat. What I want to give them is the notion, that if you are good enough at what you are doing, you can compete with the cheaters just fine, and when you win it is sweeet, silent, revenge. They will be trying to get there money back.
I am betting that I can make a better car than they can buy!! If I am correct my grandsons will learn a much more valuable lesson than just getting a trophy (and they will still get the trophy).

 

[Prozach2]

I know the eBay/internet bought cars happen unfortunately. I have coworker that his son belongs to a different pack then my kids and he said he bought his kids car off the internet and he won his pack (with a smirk). I feel bad for his son. I do believe if nothing else the scout misses out on the working together and learning. That stuff is not replaceable with trophies.

For me, the whole point of this was for my son to see how to approach a task; any task. Whether it’s a pinewood derby, egg drop, paper airplane contest, etc. I want him to understand what it means to do your best. I want him to learn the importance of properly researching things, taking pride in your work, and that working smart and hard is fun and pays off. That’s how I try to approach my job, parenting, etc. and I hope my children learn that through example. I cringe to imagine what my son would think was acceptable at school, at work, in his marriage, etc. if he not only knew I cheated, but that I won by cheating.

 

[Wolfram Racing]

I am betting that I can make a better car than they can buy!!

To me, PWD is like baking a cake. You can follow the recipe and get pretty close, but a real baker knows what to look for to get the cake just right. How does someone go from following a recipe to becoming a baker? Experience and learning from other bakers. Go live race at leagues...seriously. You'll pick up more in one trip than your first 10 builds.

 

[Prozach2]

My son told me after the race that one of the kids was claiming he cheated by putting something on the front of his car. My son pointed it out to me. It looked like a strip of putty. I assumed his dad put it there to add weight to get the car to balance correctly. The car was pretty fast, but not top three. I saw a video by John stating that said something about people putting a sticky substance on the front of the car will cause the starting mechanism to tug the car forward at the start of the race.

 

[flockshot]

I was looking at the Box Stock division in NPWDRL thinking that it may be an entry level racing experience. However, if you can't break 3.0, you may as well not show up. I don't know how people make a sub 3.0 car from the box unless they have a unlimited supply of wheels, axles, etc. to choose from. It's certainly not something I can expect to compete in. The BSAX class could be possible, but without precision equipment, I would need to buy aftermarket car parts.

I am still at the 'annual' Scout Car builder level, but looking to do more, and pursuing it year round.

In the short time I have been on this forum I have been able to improve my car building ability. I now have the Silver Bullet Xtreme to replace my beat up drill press and give me the best drills ever. I will use my Dremel, rather than my drill press to polish nails, and I will remove much less material in doing so. I will use the DD4H polishing and prepping products, as opposed to polishing my hubs with toothpaste and Qtips.(don't laugh too much, I am not the only one).

I am still very non precise in many ways, but moving forward one step at a time.

I really do enjoy PWD, and I am 2 for 2 in being Crew Chief for Pack Champions, and now I feel confident we can do quite a bit better.

I may not be ready for the Pro's yet, but if you are a 6 year old cub scout, looking for a crew chief, I am your guy.

 

[Jimmy & his 2 Kids]

I may not be ready for the Pro's yet, but if you are a 6 year old cub scout, looking for a crew chief, I am your guy.

I’d like to say this... the best and fastest way to get ready for the pro’s is to race with them. Seriously... it’s like are you ever ready to get that dog, or have a child or ready to take any major step... no, you just do it. If you wait till yer ready you never will be. Big thing is you will never learn enough and develops the proper skills for league racing trying to go it alone and just asking advice. The pros will be much better able to help you along when you actually join them. I race over at APR and the guys actually see my car up close, can check it out and see it race and offer up advice and they all help out. The leagues are full of guys like that. Then you also see how you really stack up and can start to race yourself and set realistic speed goals. THEN you will will start to get faster and closer to that league level.
You have a good foundation of knowledge now... let the pros and league racing help you build on that foundation.
Oh and you think you love PWD now, just wait till you start racing pro... the addiction is real dude.
You’ve been warned.