Building a top notch PWD track that will last for many years requires alot of attention to detail.  When our President Vince Wanamaker decided to build a Pinewood derby track Northwest Scouters was not even a thought.  It all started with the desire to have a "top-notch" track available to Cub Scout packs in the local area to use since the only ones available were quite old and had seen much better days.

Building a track is not a small task.  When Vince started he had a couple of goals that he wanted to accomplish with the design of the track.  First and formost the track must require very little upkeep.  Second it had to be "very" easy to setup, and most importantly it had to withstand 20 years of use without showing any major wear.

Completed in the spring of 2003 the popularity of the track has been so great that we had over 20 races run on it during the first year of operation.  The performance of the track has been excellent without any major problems with the track or the electronic's performance.  The track has required very little upkeep.  Some minor improvements have been made but it's really been more "fine-tuning" so the track can be absolutely perfect.

We have broken down the construction into a number of areas so you can focus your needs.  Please let us know if there is something that we have not covered well enough or if you have a question we will be glad to add it to the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section.

• Track Overview
• Racing Surface
• Track Alignment
• Track Framework
• Track Supports
• Start Gate
• Laser Start Line
• Finish Line
• Software
• Storage Case
• Track Setup
• Assembly Costs
• Track Upgrades
• Suppliers
• FAQ's

TRACK OVERVIEW:
The track is based on the Challenger 450 plans with some modifications to ensure longer durability of the track.  The goals when building the track was to make it a 20+ year track that would not require anything but "minor" upkeep.

A primary design change was to move the side rails supports from under the edge of the track to beside the track so the track surface is recessed below the top of the side rails.  This accomplishes two things, first if the track is set upside down on any surface the aluminum racing surface will not have contact with anything. Secondly it also provides a safety facter if a Pinewood Derby car jumps a lane it works as a guard rails to the car does not fall off the track and onto the floor.

Racing Surface:
The race surface is is extruded aluminum, made by Beta-Craft located in Cranbery, NJ.  This in our opinion is the only way to go.  Each of the four lanes are within .02 (two hundreths) of a second of each other in overall times.  With the accuracy of the aluminum and with the design changes the track can be set up in multiple race lengths.  The typical configuration is 37' start to finish and is used for pack level competition.  The longer configuration is 44'9" and is used for District level competitions.  This is done because at the pack level we find that we must occasionally give a few cars a nudge to cross the finish line.  At the district races the packs are sending the fastest cars so they don't typically need any extra nudges.

Track Alignment:
Each section of track is aligned with (8) 1/8" pins (2 on each lane) and draw pulls are used to hold the track sections firmly together.  This hardware is supplied by Beta Crafts when you purchase the aluminum track sections.  We purchased stainless steel material to make better pins to replace the aluminum ones that were supplied in the kit.  The aluminum material is fine for use a few times a year but we assemble the track about 30-40 times a year and the stainless steel pins will not cause problems in the long run.  Along with the pins there are aluminum alignment plates that help in the vertical alignment of the track.

Track Framework:
The track was crafted from Ash and cabinet grade birch plywood.  The curved section has been strip laminated so there is no joints in the middle of the curve.  This allows for a much stronger curved section and it is much lighter since there is no butt joint in the middle of the curve to re-inforce.

Track Supports:
To provide a better viewing experience for the kids and adults the track is elevated 12" above the floor.  In addition to better viewing it also deters people from stepping over the track.  Each of the 12" supports are identical and fit in any track section. The curved section takes two supports and is the first section assembled and placed in position for the rest of the track.

Start Gate:
The starting gate has been extensively modified from the original plans.  The track kit that was purchased from Beta Craft included all the basic hardware but with the side rails now doubling as guard rails the overall width of the track increased so we had to make a new starting gate pivot bar.  All of the steel starting pins were replaced with nylon so someone couldn't place a magnet in the front of the car to get an extra boost as the gates were dropped.  Electronic activation of the gates has been accomplished using a solenoid controlled by a wireless remote switch that can be activated up to 100 feet away.  (This is great for letting the Cub Scouts start the races.)

Laser Start Line:
A MicroWizard laser start line begin's the timing of the race.  The start laser mounting system supplied had a magnetic mounting system that would not work with the redesign of the side rails so we had to mount it within the side rails.  The laser is mounted on a plate that is fully adjustable by the three screws.

Finish Line:
The finish line is also created by MicroWizard and is one excellently designed piece of equipment.  The finish line is accurate to within .001 seconds.  Even with this accuracy we do occasionally have tie's between cars.

Software:
The start/finish line system is hooked via serial connection to a laptop running GrandPrix Race Manager V3.0 software.  This software has made racing so much easier and faster.  Occasionally we hookup a Viewsonic projector to the laptop for displaying race results on the bigscreen.

Storage Case:
The single biggest problem with any Pinewood Derby Track is storage.  Proper storage is vital to keeping a track in "Top-Running" condition.  Everything to conduct a race is contained in this storage case.  The case is made from cabinet grade birch plywood.  The case has heavy duty casters that allow it to be easily moved about.  Each section of track has it's own location so we dont' run the risk of having anything dammage the aluminum racing surface.  The case also has room for scales, printer, extra parts, tools, extension cords and of course the Pinewood Derby Hat.  Two people can load this in the back of a pickup.

Track Setup:
In building the track, one of the goals was that the track must be easy to setup and teardown.  One experienced person can setup the track and be race ready in less than 20 minutes.  Below are pictures of the Northwest Scouters Team setting up the track in a local mall.

Assembly Costs:
We have invested about $2,000 in the materials to build the track along with countless hours.  In a single year we rent the track out over 30 times and more than pay for the contruction costs and upgrades every year.  We are now considering building a second track for backup and have just completed a portable stage that we take to district races. 

Track Upgrades:
Even though the track is based on the challenger 450 plans and built from a kit supplied from Beta Crafts we have made a number of upgrades during the construction of the track that have already been discussed.  Here is a few additional upgrades that we are considering.

Draw Latches:
The draw latches supplied by Beta Crafts are a fairly inexpensive latch and occasionally require minor adjustments to keep the track locked together tightly.  While researching other latches for the storage case I found a few others that are much better, but much more expensive.

Start Line Christmas Tree:
We have discussed this a number of times but have not made up our minds on upgrading the electronic start to include a 4 second delay of lights that would be similar to what is used in drag racing.

Suppliers:
We would like to thank all the great suppliers that have helped us out with equipment, parts, wood, and time.

FAQ's: