PARSIPPANY — Pack 142 held the Pinewood Derby races on Friday, January 25 at the Littleton Elementary School.
Cub Scouts have been building and racing Pinewood Derby® cars since 1953. Partnered with a parent or adult mentor, Cub Scouts work together, strengthening bonds and building confidence – and their own custom race cars.
This year’s race, the winners in the Grand Finals are: First Place: Aidan Kane, Time 2.6506, 186.49 MPH – Webelos; Second Place, Bryce Tizzoni, Time 2.6562, 186.10 MPH, Lion and Third Place Brendan Frade, Time 2.6665, 185.38 MPH, Bears. These finalists will move on to the finals. Aidan came in third place last year when he was just a Bear.
Webelo is a Fourth Grade student; A 10 year old or boy or girl in the fourth grade joins Cub Scouting as a Webelo.
They begin by choosing a car design, then carve it out and detail it with paint, decals and other accessories, and perfect strategies to compete in their pack’s own Pinewood Derby. It’s a wonderful learning experience centered on teamwork, ingenuity and sportsmanship – all for the thrill of the race and a lifetime of great memories to share with fellow racers young and old.
The first race was the Lions. Members of the Lions are Brennan Beadle, Rowen Dunn, Nicholas Ferrante, Matthew Freund, Sambhav Kumar, Bryce Tizzoni, Oliver Troup and Luke Winner.
The winner in the Lion’s race was: First Place: Bryce Tizzoni; Second Place: Matthew Freund and Third Place: Luke Winner.
The second race was the Tigers. Members of the Tigers are Padraig Beadle, Graeson Bonugli, Hanna Chazen, Jonah Hsu, Christian Lanni, Ayush Ravikoti and Gavin Sims.
The winner in the Tiger’s race was: First Place: Graeson Bonugli; Second Place: Hanna Chazen and Third Place: Jonah Hsu.
The third race was the Wolf. Member of the Wolfs are Aneesh Bhupathi, Jack Chazen, Landon Drozdienski, Benjamin Ferrante, Christopher Freund, Aditya Navin and Ronav Sinha.
The winner in the Wolves race was: First Place: Jack Chazen; Second Place: Ronav Sinha and Third Place: Christopher Freund.
The fourth race was the Siblings. The winner in the Siblings race was: First Place: Riley Mazur; Second Place: Jacob Nicholas and Third Place: Dan Martinez.
The fifth race was the Bear. Member of the Wolfs are Thomas Burkart, Joseph Cappuccino, Anthony Cirelli, Michael Corbett, Gregory Ferrante, Brendan Frade, Matteo Lagas, Max Mazur, Charles Rojas, Aarnav Sinha, Neal Spickert-Fulton and Spencer Tizzoni.
The winner in the Bears race was: First Place: Brendan Frade; Second Place: Max Mazur and Third Place was Aarnay Sinha.
The sixth race was the Webelo. Member of the Webelos are Chris Janevski, Stratton Jelley, Aidan Kane, Sarthak Kumar, Connor Lomax, Matthew Martinez, Justin Nguyen, Denis Pokryshka, Michael Schletter, Trevor Sims, Dylan Stevens and Oscar Vidal.
The winner in the Webelo race was: First Place: Aidan Kane; Second Place: Denis Pokryshka and Third Place was Stratton Jelley.
The final race was the Arrow of Light. Member of the Arrow of Light are Ethan Adams, Andrei Filipescu, Anthony Mitrakos, Andrew Nicholas, Shrikar Subramanian and Colin Tiso.
The winner in the Arrow of Light race was: First Place: Andrew Nicholas; Second Place: Shrikar Subramanian and Third Place wasAnthony Mitrakos.
The first Pinewood Derby® was run in Southern California in 1953 by Cub Scout Pack 280C at the Manhattan Beach Scout House, where Cubmaster Don Murphy introduced the idea to his pack. The derby was publicized in Boys’ Life magazine in October 1954 and was an instant hit. The rules set out for the very first race still stand today: “The derby is run in heats – two to four cars starting by gravity from a standstill on a track and run down a ramp to a finish line unaided. The track is an inclined ramp with wood strips down the center to guide the cars.”
Summing it up nicely, the Pinewood Derby’s creator Cubmaster Donald Murphy said, “I wanted to devise a wholesome constructive activity that would foster a closer father-son relationship and promote craftsmanship and good sportsmanship through competition.” Today the Pinewood Derby® stays close to its roots, giving Cub Scouts an excellent way to learn about craftsmanship, sportsmanship and respect for others through friendly competition.
