Cub Scouts Pack 251 rally for annual derby

By BRITTANY FHOLER 

Cove Leader-Press 

Cub Scout Pack 251 held its annual Pinewood Derby Race Saturday morning at the Copperas Cove VFW Post #8577. 

Dozens of scouts of all ages participated and watched with excitement as their cars raced down the track. 

The different packs (Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos and Arrows) competed among each other and then the winners from each pack competed for an overall winner.

Scouts spent time this month assembling their wooden cars, designing and painting them to fit their chosen themes. 

Jax Larson, 8, is in the Bears pack. He said it was exciting seeing the cars race against each other. 

He had a lot of fun making his car. He chose to paint his car a fire color and then use tape and more paint to make flames to decorate his car. 

Larson has been in Cub Scouts for three years now. He said his favorite part of the Pinewood Derby was seeing who wins. 

His mother, Anna Larson, said that Jax really did a lot of the work himself and added that she was super proud of him. 

“We love Scouts because it makes him do things he wouldn’t normally do, first of all, and then he’s created a great group of core friends that all kind of have the same values, that gets him outdoors,” Anna Larson said. “He had fun building his car, and it’s good for us because it’s a lot of parent/child interaction. Sometimes we’re missing out on that, so that’s been a lot of fun.”

For Tony Burt, 7, in the Tigers pack, this was his first time participating in the Pinewood Derby with Pack 251. He said he was feeling amazed after watching his car race. 

“I really loved making the car because it was my favorite thing,” Burt said. He chose Steve, his favorite character from Minecraft, as the theme of his car. 

Burt said he sanded and painted his car while his mom cut the materials. They used lucky pennies to add weight to the car and help make it go faster. 

“It made me feel happy,” Burt said about seeing car come down the race track. 

His mother, Stacey Burt, said they had just moved to Copperas Cove in September, but she was happy about his experience in the Cub Scout pack. 

“I’m super excited about it. It makes us and helps us feel a part of the community and definitely having that bond and that friendship and really being a part of the community, especially coming from out of state,” Stacey said. 

John Larson is the Cubmaster for Pack 251 and said that the Pinewood Derby is an annual Cub Scout tradition. 

“Scouts, whether it’s Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts, it’s a way for us to put in a bunch of values that are important to kids in the United States, and one of those values is good sportsmanship,” John said. “I think that the biggest thing for us as leaders is that these Scouts learn good sportsmanship because not every car can win. It’s hard to spend a lot of time to building a car that’s not the fastest car or some cars don’t even make it down the track.”

John said that the Pinewood Derby also offered an outlet for the Scouts during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It’s things like this, with COVID being such a big thing, there’s not a lot of chances – team sports are largely gone- and so opportunities for them to have a little competition, to hang out with their peers and their friends and to do something that’s overall kind of a fun thing to do, it just doesn’t happen,” John said. 

The Scouts worked hard on their cars and got to cheer on their fellow Scouts at the race. The top three winners from each pack were announced and then the top winners of each pack raced against each other for an overall winner. Winners received a trophy or a medal. 

There were 40 scouts’ cars and approximately 13 cars in the Siblings and Outlaw classes, for the siblings, and for cars that didn’t follow the criteria. 

“I think that this is a good opportunity for kids to be with their peers and to be with their friends and to be able to take something that they’ve made and have the pride of it racing,” John said. “Even if it doesn’t come in first place, it’s still exciting to watch your car zoom down.”

The overall pack average track speed was 4.10 seconds. The overall winner was Mason Juhan, with an average speed of 3.13 seconds. 

Second place overall was Abel Collins. Third place overall was Corson Allen. 

The first place winner for the Tigers (1st grade) was Tony Burt. Second place for the Tigers was Delilah Algarin. Third place for the Tigers was Michael Anastasio. 

First place for the Wolves (2nd grade) was Abel Collins. Connor Whitworth came in second place, and David Barraza came in third. 

First place for the Bears (3rd grade) went to Mason Juhan. Nathaniel Garner came in second place, and Charlie Verona came in third place. 

First place for the Webelos (4th grade) went to Dameyn Hassler. Josie Thielbar came in second place, and Dominic Barraza came in third place. 

First place for the Arrows (5th grade) went to Corson Allen. Jayliyah Davis came in second place, and Sydney Karl came in third place.