'Reddy' was racy
There are no trophies to show from our first Pinewood Derby this weekend. But that takes nothing away from our debut performance on the mighty incline track at our school gym.
"Reddy," as our ride was so appropriately dubbed, won its first heat race -- in fairly convincing fashion, no less.
"Where'd THAT come from?" I exclaimed. Meant to keep it inside, but it just tumbled right out.
I was honestly surprised how quickly the car glided down the track. I was even more surprised, though, how excited our 6-year-old was about the whole affair.
A month ago, he wasn't even sure he wanted to participate. But as we moved through the design phase, to the roughed-out chassis, to the refining strokes of ever-finer sandpaper, and eventually to painting, ornamentation and wheel attachment, he got a little jazzed.
We ended up 2-2 in our four heat races, and just missed qualifying for the finals. But we were competitive in all four heats, with our two defeats coming by less than a car-length.
And we won an award, too, for best paint job. Works for me. Reddy just had two coats of latex enamel, applied with a sponge brush, and a coat of car wax. But I think it came out pretty well.
(Like those stick-on metal bits? Makes 'er look all Formula One, eh? And yes, I know they're technically in the wrong places. Daddy design flaw.)
I think there are a few ideas brewing for next year's car, too.
I'll admit, I'm recalling my own Derby history fondly. Didn't win in those years, either, but it was fun building the cars.
Here's hoping we can build a few of those same favorable memories. I'm betting we can, too -- especially if we don't postpone the build until the week before the race.