The smartest car at the derby - Albert Einstein is in the driver's seat of a car shaped like a piece of pie (no, it did not finish in 3.14 seconds!). Photo by Robert Orlando, Nexus Media. — The smartest car at the Pinewood Derby – Albert Einstein is in the driver’s seat of a car shaped like a piece of pie (no, it did not finish in 3.14 seconds!). Photo: Robert Orlando, Nexus Media.

The Need for Speed - (l-r) Speed winners Charles Luo (1st place), Zachary Okoye (2nd place), and Crispin Yoo (3rd place) burned up the Pinewood Derby track with their zippy creations. Photo by Robert Orlando, Nexus Media. — The Need for Speed (l-r) – Speed winners Charles Luo (1st), Zachary Okoye (2nd), and Crispin Yoo (3rd) burned up the track with their zippy creations. Photo: Robert Orlando, Nexus Media.

The Cub Scouts carried on a 6-decade tradition yesterday as they showed off their clever and speedy car creations at the annual Princeton Pack 43 Pinewood Derby at Littlebrook Elementary School. The derby is one of the most celebrated, national Cub Scout traditions. Kids build car creations from a block of wood and then race them on a Cub Scout Pinewood Derby track against other pack members in a fun-filled competition. Awards are given for the fastest cars and for most imaginative vehicle designs. The derby is designed and cherished as a parent-scout activity in which they work together to design, carve, paint, and fine tune their custom made creation.

Showing Off Their Imaginations (l-r) - Derby design winners Elijah Rand (1st for banana car), Dante Orlando (2nd for car modeled after Chess game King piece), Matthew Tolin (3rd place for R2D2 driven futuristic race car). — Showing Off Their Imaginations (l-r) – Design winners Elijah Rand (1st, banana car), Dante Orlando (2nd, Chess game King piece car), Matthew Tolin (3rd, R2D2 driven race car).Photo: Robert Orlando, Nexus Media.

Adult Fun - This year’s event even featured an adult competition. Gearing up their inner child were Pack 43 Cubmaster Bill French and Troop 43 asst. scoutmaster Adrienne Rubin, who raced their own creations. — Adult Fun – This year’s event featured an adult competition. Gearing up their inner child were Pack 43 Cubmaster Bill French and Troop 43 asst. scoutmaster Adrienne Rubin. Photo: Robert Orlando, Nexus Media.

Mesmerized by the Racing Action (l-r): Nicholas Niforatos, Anderson Chiang, Matthew Tolin and Alexander Sass, members of the Pack’s youngest rank, the Tigers, enjoy watching the race. Photo: Robert Orlando, Nexus Media. — Mesmerized by the Action (l-r): Nicholas Niforatos, Anderson Chiang, Matthew Tolin and Alexander Sass, members of the Pack’s youngest rank, the Tigers, watch a race. Photo: Robert Orlando, Nexus Media.

Krystal Knapp

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.