501 Whitehouse Forks Rd, Swansboro, North Carolina

What a magnificent location for a Pinewood Derby race! In the center of the speedway, the building to the right housed the Pinewood Derby racetrack and the building to the left is a restaurant where snacks were available.

Owner, Bobby Watson, graciously opened up his

Speedway to Pack 446 for their 2014 Pinewood

Derby Race on Sunday afternoon, March 23. We

thank him for the wonderful location and experience

for all our scouts, leaders, siblings and parents.

Pack 446 Holds Their 2014 Pinewood Derby at Carteret County Speedway Tiger Cub Alex Kies was the First Place winner of this year's Pack 446 Pinewood Derby held 2-5pm Sunday, March 23, at the Carteret County Speedway, three miles north of Cape Carteret on Rt. 58, Swansboro. Tiger Den Leaders and Pinewood Derby organizers Dave & Darlene McCubbin along with Cubmaster Denise Sanchez congratulated all the Scouts for a well-run competition.

This year’s location at a real-life raceway certainly added to the excitement felt by scouts, leaders and family members. Two official race cars – one 550 horsepower and the other, a modified 800 horsepower capable of reaching 135 mph - were on hand and revved up their engines full throttle as part of the opening ceremony before taking a lap around the track. Scouts and family members covered their ears as they experienced the chest-pounding engine roar.

A prayer was offered by Troop 446 Chaplain Joe O’Brien: “We give thanks for the fun we will have at our Pinewood Derby. Help us to remember to “Do Our Best!” Help us to cope with disappointment if our car does not go fast. Help us to be thoughtful of the feelings of others if our car should win. May we act in a manner that we remember that the winner is not just the one who crosses the finish line first, but everyone who crosses the finish line.”

Next was a salute to the flag, the singing of the National Anthem, and the invitation to “Let the races begin!”

How did Pack 446 end up with such a perfect location for the Pinewood Derby? Dave McCubbin, already familiar with the Carteret County Speedway from working jobs in the vicinity, dropped in to the racetrack one afternoon and spoke with owner Bobby Watson to see if he might be willing to let the Pack 446 host their Pinewood Derby at the Speedway. He received a more than gracious welcome and a big green light. “The Scouts can use this anytime they want, at no charge,” Watson offered.

“I liked the whole atmosphere at the raceway along with the actual race cars,” Darlene McCubbin recalled. “I think everyone enjoyed that part of it. I think they were pleasantly surprised that we also had food available.” Boy Scouts from Troop 446 helped man the snack window and served close to 125 hotdogs along with chips and soda.

Dave’s mother, Jane (Seymour) Stanton and her boyfriend Larry Ainslie helped with the details of registration and measuring the Pinewood Derby cars. “She absolutely loved the entire afternoon,” Darlene added, “the kids racing their cars, seeing those full-size race cars and especially the expressions on all their faces.”

Also helping with the registration process were Lori Odell who created the final roster, issued “Pitt Passes”, green “Participant” ribbons and mini-checkered flags, as well as decals, tattoos and coloring pages. Duncan Ross was at the official weigh-in station ensuring no car was over the 5.0 ounce maximum weight allowed in the Pinewood Derby rules. Duncan was also the official starter, turning the switch to send the derby cars down the three-lane 42 foot-long aluminum track. “I was Duncan’s Cubmaster in Pack 334, Morehead City, and his Scoutmaster in Troop 61, Newport,” Dave McCubbin said with pride. Duncan went on to earn his Eagle Scout rank in 2012.

The wooden trophies – some with actual car pistons – were designed to showcase each winner’s derby car. The wood was donated by Ace Hardware, Emerald Isle, and the pistons came from Kitrell’s Machine Shop, Morehead City. “The trophies were assembled by the parents of Tiger Cub Den 3,” Dave explained. “It was a group effort.” Two

official race cars on hand for the afternoon were arranged by Roger Burns of Racing Realty of Swansboro.

With proceeds from their fall popcorn fundraising project, Pack 446 was able to replace their old unusable track with a new state-of-the-art three track 42 foot-long aluminum Pinewood Derby racetrack from BestTrack.com. “To make sure he had all the pieces, Dave set up the entire racetrack in our house ahead of time,” Darlene McCubbin explained. “I came home one afternoon and discovered the racetrack laid out starting in the hallway, and going through the den, kitchen, dining room and into the bedroom. It reminded us of that comedy ‘Down and Derby’ [2005, 90 minutes] and we had a good laugh over it. When our son, Chance, saw the racetrack set up in the house, he was ready to race!,” Darlene pointed out.

When the race results were tallied, there were trophy presentations for these first, second and third place winners in each of four categories: Overall Speed: 1st Alex Kies, 2nd Jonah Layton, 3rd Ty Nickson Craftsmanship: 1st Dante DePaoli, 2nd Hunter Cousins, 3rd Jason Starns Originality: 1st Cole Fitzpatrick, 2nd Luca Ventresca, 3rd Tyler Biedenbach Best Paint: 1st Colin Pendergast, 2nd William Odell, 3rd Connor Faulkenberry

Bobby Watson is owner of Carteret County Speedway and Watson Land Clearing in Swansboro. A lap on the racetrack is just under ½ mile and is considered a “.4 Big”. Races are typically 100 laps long, although on special nights they have had 200 lap races.

Over the years, Carteret County Speedway was famous for their go-kart races. “We were one of the very first WKA (World Kart Association) sanctioned go-kart tracks,” Watson said proudly.

“We’ve had a lot of good sponsors in the past, and we are planning on having two races scheduled for later this year. We’ll start advertising in the next 90 days.”

Watson has plans to schedule 12 races in 2015 and eventually pave the track. “This is one of the nicest Saturday night racetracks in the area,” Watson said.

Having the scouts use the speedway is a way to foster good publicity. “I like to help kids and keep them off the streets,” he explained. “This is a way to give them an alternative.”

Bobby Watson’s love of car racing was in high gear when he worked for 13 years with NASCAR legend Robert Glenn “Junior” Johnson who had tremendous success both as a driver and a car owner. In 2010 Junior Johnson was the first inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, in Charlotte with 50 race wins as a driver, a 1960 Daytona 500 win and 6-time Cup owners champion.

“NASCAR came from moonshining,” Watson explained. “And so our racetrack restaurant, “Moonshiners Café” is dedicated to Junior Johnson.”

Johnson won the second annual Daytona 500 in 1960 and in the process, became credited with the discovery of "drafting" on the massive superspeedways.

He won 50 races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series then surprised many people by retiring from driving to become an owner.

"The Last American Hero” [1973, 95 minutes] romanticized Johnson’s moonshine-running roots and glorified his accomplishments in NASCAR. Both aims were true, creating a larger-than-life caricature of a colorful man.

Named one of NASCAR’s "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998, Johnson resides in Wilkesboro, N.C., and has a house locally on Emerald Isle.

Tiger Cub Trevor O’Brien was one of the very first to check out the race cars on display during the Pinewood Derby.

Scouts were eager to peer into an actual race car and see the various safety measures in place. They were surprised to learn that because there isn’t a door, the racing steering wheel is usually not in place until after the driver squirms into the cockpit through the window opening.

Hot dogs, drinks and chips were available opposite the race area. Among several Scouts taking turns manning the snack window was Troop 446 Scout Jonathan O’Brien who is also a Den Chief for Tiger Den 3.

In the center of the Carteret County Speedway, amidst several actual race cars, were picnic tables for scouts and their families to enjoy some refreshments as they awaited the start of the Pinewood Derby race.

Assistant Cubmaster David Poe enjoyed a hot dog along with several Cub Scouts, siblings and parents.

After an opportunity for snacks, the two race cars in the gathering area were fired up for the Scouts to hear just how loud they could roar. The chest-pounding engine noise had everyone scrambling to cover their ears.

Pack 446 Cubmaster Denise Sanchez (right) joined in the Pinewood Derby opening ceremony which included a prayer, salute to the flag and the singing of the National Anthem. There was also a very heartfelt thank-you to our host for the day: Bobby Watson, owner of the Cape Carteret Speedway and Watson Land Clearing.

The Pinewood Derby Registration table included “Pitt Pass” cards which each Scout who had a derby car entry wore around their neck. They also received a green “Participant” ribbon, a racing decal, tattoo, coloring page and mini-checkered flag. As Scouts successfully passed each check-in station (registration/roster, weight, measurements) they received an additional sticker to add onto their “Pitt Pass”.

Wolf Den 1 Leader, Lori Odell, helped at the Registration table, issuing “Pitt Cards”, Participant ribbons and mini-raceway flags to scouts who entered their derby cars. The award/trophies (right) designed to accommodate the winning derby cars were assembled by Tiger Den 3 parents. The automobile pistons were donated by Kitrell Machine Shop, Morehead City, and the wood was provided by Ace Hardware, Emerald Isle.

Duncan Ross weighed each derby car to ensure no one was over the 5.0 ounce weigh limit. Duncan earned his Eagle Scout rank in 2012 as a member of Troop 61, Newport.

Cubmaster Denise Sanchez (left) and her son, Tiger Cub Cameron Sanchez have their blue derby car examined by Larry Ainslie to make sure it measures up to the specifications in the Pinewood Derby rules.

(left to right) Jim Harris and his son, Wolf Scout Evan Harris, have their yellow derby car entry qualified by Larry Ainslie and his girlfriend, Jane (Seymour) Stanton who is also Dave McCubbin’s mother. Larry and Jane (right) make sure each registered car is properly entered and parked in their designated Pitt area.

These 41 Pinewood derby car entries were color-coded by their owner’s rank and each assigned a specific Pitt #.

These Pinewood Derby cars show the creativity, ingenuity and imagination of the Scouts. At the end of the day, there were awards in the following four categories: Overall Speed: 1st Alex Kies, 2nd Jonah Layton, 3rd Ty Nickson Craftsmanship: 1st Dante DePaoli, 2nd Hunter Cousins, 3rd Jason Starns Originality: 1st Cole Fitzpatrick, 2nd Luca Ventresca, 3rd Tyler Biedenbach Best Paint: 1st Colin Pendergast, 2nd William Odell, 3rd Connor Faulkenberry

As the Pinewood Derby race results showed, despite engineering sense, past experience or just pure intuition, it’s always hard to know which shape, design, or placement of weights will ensure the fastest car.

Tiger Den 3 Leader Dave McCubbin (in blue) and Bear Den 2 Leader Josh Faulkenberry look over the Pinewood derby cars in the “Pitt” area. These cars have each been weighed, measured and approved for race day.

The digital display at the end of the 25 foot track stands primed to register the winners in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

This panorama view shows the excited Scouts, siblings and parents all taking part in the 2014 Pinewood Derby.

Eagle Scout Duncan Ross (left) with his hand on the release lever waits for the familiar “On your mark, get set, GO!”

Tiger Cubs Trevor O’Brien with the orange car and Riley Fahey with the green car place their entries on the aluminum race track with help from Eagle Scout Duncan Ross and Darlene McCubbin as Dave McCubbin consults his clipboard and prepares to announce this next elimination heat.

Overall Pinewood Derby Champion with the fastest race car, Tiger Cub Alex Kies was presented the Piston Award by (left to right) Tiger Den 5 Leaders Dave & Darlene McCubbin and Cubmaster Denise Sanchez.

Pictured here are twenty-two of the Pinewood Derby racers out of the total of 41 entries on raceday. The wooden trophies were designed with an angled top section to display the actual Pinewood Derby cars.