Submitted by Kathryn Rizzo
(March 10, 2023) — The morning of Saturday, February 25, 2023 broke cold and crisp as the Haddam Cub Scouts prepared for the races in their annual Pinewood Derby.
For those who aren’t familiar, the Pinewood Derby is an event to test your physics and engineering skills: to design a car within strict size and weight limitations, that will make it to the winner’s circle on race day . The cars get their power from a starting ramp and then muscle it out to the finish. It’s always a fun day filled with come-from-behind wins and surprises.
For the pack, third place went to Garren Allen (photo above, right) with an average MPH of 124.62, second place went to Robert Netupski (photo above, center) with an average MPH of 125.62, and first place went to Gavin Allen (photo above, left) with an average MPH of 128.59. Runners up included Declan Sikora, Cayden Carlson, Cooper McDonough and Christian Albert.
This year’s event was opened to outlaw entries to give all non-Cub Scouts the opportunity to try their car-building skills and put their builds to the test. We had a great turnout and a lot of fun and wacky outlaw cars.
As a special event at this year’s race, we had one outlaw registrant who went full-on You Tuber Mark Rober–style and designed a car with a spring-ratchet, that would self puncture a CO2 cartridge and rocket down the track. This car was so fast that even the track timer couldn’t register a time or speed. Check out the videos posted on our Facebook page, Haddam Cub Scouts – Pack 40.
Most important, this event wouldn’t be possible without our local sponsors:
Gold Sponsor Level
Nutmeg Pharmacy
Silver Sponsor Level
Hi-Way Package Store
Dino’s Pizza
Rechon CT
Pete’s Waste Removal
Tiny Clutch
Bronze Sponsor Level
Lancescaping, LLC
Lionheart Militaria
Thank you also to our volunteers who put in countless hours to make our Pack events like this one so fantastic: Jim Carlson, Rick Frank, Craig Sikora, Tyler Carlson.
If interested in learning more about our Pack, or for information about joining, please email our Pack at haddampack40@gmail.com.
Photos by Owen Rizzo
