Sports Report of the 2012 Pinewood Derby

After a crushing defeat in 2011, Will Hales vowed to come back with a vengeance in 2012.  Throwing out the usual plans of making a car that looked it had been made by a father who was trying to relive his Pinewood Derby dreams, Will designed a tough-looking armored vehicle intent on crushing anything in its way.  His thought process was simple: it needed to be aerodynamic, all black, and fast.  With their design in hand, Will and his father went to a friend's house to use their bandsaw and carve out the prototype.  To their excitement, it turned out perfect and they returned home where Will spent hours sanding it down to be as smooth as his little brother's bottom.  After sanding, Will painstakingly painted the car black while his father ground the axles smooth.  The wheels were applied, armor glued on, weight added, and the project was declared complete.  But the question in Will's mind remained...could he compete?

Will's father was absent at the weigh-in, but his car was nearly at weight.  With the addition of a nickel from Corrie Nichol, Will's car made weight.  He took it for a test run down the track and everything looked good.  That night he lay in bed dreaming of the derby the next day and telling himself that this was a new year, a new race, and a new car.

When the day of the race arrived, he dressed in his best (and only) cub scout shirt and grabbed his coat.  The whole family arrived and milled about excitedly as the preparations for the race were in their final stages.  Will took an early lead, winning his first two races.  In his third race, he lost in a rematch because the first race was too close to call.  His mother, who was a line judge, ruled against him in the close race despite repeated promises to keep his room clean.  She could not be bought off!  Will won his fourth race followed by a series of disappointing defeats.  Could this be the beginning of another 2011?  When all looked lost, he applied more graphite and came back to win his last race.  The judges began their tally....

The cubmaster stood to announce the winners.  The first place winner was announced, followed by a tie for second place and still no luck for Will.  Third place was then announced as another tie between two competitors.  The first of the third place winners was announced, and then, to his utter astonishment, Will Hales was announced as the other Third Place winner and the winner of the Toughest Car award.  He had done it!  He had beat the odds and returned from 2011 to be not only a competitor in 2012, but a force to be reckoned with.  In his winning speech to his family in the minivan on the way home he said, "I wanna thank my mamma for believing in me and Dale Earnhardt for watching over me from above."

However, 2013 portends to be an epic year as Will's little brother Matt will make his inaugural debut in the Pinewood Derby.  Will it be a match between friendly competitors or an epic civil war.  Time will tell...