Racing Cars in Pacific Palisades the Cub Scout Way

Palisades Cub Pack 223 held its 2017 Pinewood Derby on March 19 in the St. Matthew’s gym.

Thirty-five seasoned racers from first, second and third grade put their cars at the top of the three-lane track and let them speed down to the bottom of the ramp.

Winning cars made it into additional rounds, with Florino Spadavecchia of Kenter Canyon Elementary taking first, with no losses.

Second went to Village School’s Devan Gunsager, while Zac Biniak of Seven Arrows took third.

In designing a car, each entrant receives a pine block racing car kit. The boys work to make their car unique, and the final weight cannot exceed five ounces.

There is also judging for best design and other non-racing categories. In the best design class, Luke DePastino from Kenter Canyon took first, while his brother Jude won for most colorful entry. The car judged most unique belonged to Maximus Morritt from Corpus Christi School.

“The annual Pinewood Derby is a fun Palisades tradition that Cub families have been enjoying for decades,” said resident Nancy Niles, who watched her grandson Joey Curtis, a second grader at Corpus Christi, race his car.