Speed, smiles on display at Pinewood Derby

POLSON — Fast cars, photo finishes and exciting action highlighted the Silvertip District Pinewood Derby at the Polson LDS Church on Saturday, April 14.

Cub Scouts from Lake and Sanders counties competed to see who had the fastest car on the track and had a great time doing it.

As heat after heat raced, kids stared in awe and shrieked in delight as derby cars edged one another time and time again.

In the roughly hour-long event, Sam Wood captured first place in 215.2 scale miles per hour, a measure based on actual miles per hour converted to the scale of the derby cars versus an actual vehicle.

In second place was Blaise Burland, just behind Wood in 214.7 scale miles per hour. Gabe Moxness, in 214.1, finished third, while Wacey McClure was just six-tenths behind Moxness in 213.5.

Many scouts spent about a month preparing their car for the event, meeting strict specifications and maximizing its efficiency.

Gordon Terry, Bishop for the Polson Ward and former scoutmaster, was very happy with how the event turned out, especially considering it was Polson’s first time hosting the event.

“I thought it went very well,” Terry said. “We just purchased the track and I thought the track and computer system went very well. It’s a long term thing where we’re hoping to host this every third year.”

Nineteen Cub Scouts in all competed in the event, including two troops from Polson and one apiece from St. Ignatius, Ronan and Plains. Saturday’s Pinewood Derby precedes the 2012 State Pinewood Derby in Colstrip on Saturday, April 28, which is open to any of the participants.