From left, Alex Young a second grade student at Southwestern Elementary School, Landon Conti, a second grader at Sinclairville Elementary School and Michael Colburn, a fourth grader at Lincoln Elementary School are scouts who participated in Saturday’s pinewood derby race hosted by Pack 115, sponsored by Kidder Memorial Church, at the DoubleTree Hotel, pose for a picture next to the racetrack where they raced their individual, creative, wooden, pinewood derby race cars.

The racing Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel was outstanding – but it was only a small part of the annual Pinewood Derby race hosted by Jamestown Pack 115.

Courtney Housler, a fifth grade teacher at Washington Middle School, and parent of Brady Housler, a Pack 115 member, built their first car this year.

“This is his first year doing the scouts, so he built his car with his ‘Papa,'” she said.”He is really enjoying the events and the unique experiences he’s having … as compared to just playing a sport or taking a class.”

A Pinewood Derby is a wood car racing event of the Boy Scouts of America. The derby races are often run and regulated by the Cub Scouts of America program, one of the branches of the BSA. Scouts or pack members build their own unpowered, unmanned miniature wooden cars, usually from a kit and race them.

“This is a great event, we have 22 Cub Scouts who are racing and then we have some exhibition races for family members and siblings who want to compete and have some fun,” said Mike Conti, pack master for Pack 115. “We only have two packs in Jamestown, but we invite anyone interested to come to one of our meetings and see if this is something you and your child would like.”

While each derby has slightly different rules for making and racing their cars. For Pack 115, the rules are something they take seriously… sort of.

“Cars can only weigh 5 ounces, the cars must be at least 5 inches to be able to activate the sensors at the end of the track, participants are not allowed to machine out the wheels, use any liquid lubricants or use graphite powder,” said Conti. “However, this is really about the kids working on a project with their parents, guardians or friends and having fun.”

The top three finishers were Michael Colburn, Kian Drury and Jacob Weimer.

“I love being in the scouts,” said Landon Conti, a second grader at Sinclairville Elementary School. “This is my second Pinewood Derby race, and I placed second last year. I love being able to create and design a car, and I think I’m going to win this year.”

For more information about the Boy Scouts of America or Cub Scouts, visit scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts. For more information on Pack 115, visit the pack’s Facebook page under Pack 115 Jamestown, New York.