Saturday was a great (albeit long) day of racing. Four packs showed up at the school and there were over 275 cars total! The Suzhou pack has historically not done well, so this year there was a sense of teamwork in helping the boys develop the fastest cars. This is different from the U.S. in that most dads hold information tightly to their chests hoping to seek out every little advantage over their peers. I am, of course, one of those dads.
Where this made the biggest difference was at the weigh in where the pack had a box of thumb tacks to be handed out to ensure EVERYONE's car was up to the absolute maximum allowable weight. Note that this is the single biggest differentiator in the U.S. In my short time on the racing circuit I have found that nearly half of the cars entered aren't up to the max weight. Anyway, this took away the biggest advantage we had in the last derby!
So, the day began with Riley's group (Tigers) combined with the next grade up. Riley won first place! He advanced to the pack finals, where he finished 6th overall. Reid was next and was disappointed when he finished in the middle of his den. It's interesting because he has typically finished high in the space and pine wood derbys. I'm pretty sure he had laid down a bed of trash talking that he had to go lie in, so he wasn't happy. Maybe this will motivate him to put more effort in next year (Riley spent about twice as much time as Reid "breaking in" his car).
Rowan "blew away" the open class with his entry. The fastest track time until his car ran was 3.08 seconds. The fan car averaged 2.43!!! We were all laughing at how fast it went compared to the other grossly overweight cars, crossing the finish line while the other cars were about halfway down the flat section of the track. Rowan got a certificate and really wanted a medal like his brothers both got (for participation). Instead, our Scout Master had an extra misspelled trophy that he let Rowan have. Rowan carried it around all weekend in the box. He would then carefully remove it from the box, show people, then put it immediately back in.
Overall, even though we were a little disappointed in the results, we had a great time! We also took back some learnings for next year, the main one being that most people out here are type "A"s and so we will need to bear down and reevaluate how we do the cars. It's a good opportunity to introduce such concepts as "reflective dialogue", which I've been itching to try!
Girls love a man in uniform. Especially when that uniform has beads on it!
Riley waiting patiently for the first race of the day, which featured his car. He won it by a car length!
The Tiger and Wolves accepting their trophies.
Rowan showing off his trophy.
I don't know why Rebecca took this picture prior to the open competition: these boy scouts (mostly older brothers of the cub scouts, also know as "lambs for the fan car slaughter") were so full of hope and life before the first heat. Looking back, it just seems cruel now...
Everyone eagerly anticipating the results.
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