I forgot to tell you how we did! This was our first year in the "derby" and not only did my son win his den, he took overall first place in the pack!

It was a double elimination tournament and he didn't loose a race all day! I knew we had a fast car, most of his races wasn't even close!

The key I believe was the weight placement and the speed wheels and polished speed axles I bought from you!

Thanks again for your help, we wouldn't have won without it! Randy

My son ended up winning not only the Wolf Division but also beat out the entire pack. He easily outdistanced the other Wolves. A number of dads asked me what my secret was. We showed the video of the race to both my family and my wife's family and they could not believe that he won. I read the testimonials about "the look on my son's face" and comments like that. Well, it is true. He was so incredibly happy. Feel free to use my comments on your web site.
I reviewed several pinewood derby web sites before I chose yours...my hunch was right. Thank you again.

Doug, Lee's Summit

Hey Joe,
This was our very first derby race and we spent many hours making our car and enjoying the time together.

At our practice races, his car lost every heat and the wheels that came with the kit even came loose during the race. I felt bad for him even though he was actually doing ok with how poorly our car was doing.

The car looked very cool but simply didn't run fast at all. I searched on Google and found your site then ordered your Pro Speed Wheels and Super Speed Axles along with a tube of your graphite with the hope that we would at least cross the finish line with some dignity. Well let me tell you, we crossed the finish line 12 times with a slightly different result.

We went undefeated in every race and took first place in the Tiger division!

This car simply could not be defeated. This was some of the best money I have ever spent with my son.

Seeing his eyes pop out of his head when his car kept winning was priceless!

Thank you for making this a fantastic experience for us.

We will be loyal customers as the years tick on...

Kyle and Wayne Sutton, DDS

Sonoma Smiles

We appreciate the speed tips you offered and although we had decided on the designs weeks earlier I was able to incorporate some of your tips. This year I had 3 sons participating in the derby. This was the first year for my youngest son Joshua (6.5 Years) in the derby. He won 1st place in the Tigers. He was so excited.
My middle son Johnny (a bear) won 1st place in his for the bears and Second place in the pack. He will compete in the county wide derby next month.My oldest son Jimmy a Weblos 2 was racing his last derby this year. He came in second in the Weblos 2 and 4th in the pack. His is the tank design was surprisingly fast.
Additionally, I was askd the night before the race to help a friend of Jimmy build his car because his dad has been away for some time. We were able to start and create a design that incorporated more of your tips and his car ended up taking 1st in the Weblos 2 and 1st in the pack. He was so happy, he has had a few rough months and I think this will be a positive memory for him to look back on.
I attribute their successes to the tips I was able use from your book.

Thank you.
Jim Teeter

Nick didn't win his Pinewood Derby Race, but he has something more to be proud of!
His father is leading a Boarder Patrol Team in Iraq.
To Nicholas and all our service men and woman overseas...
Good Luck and God Bless You!
3rd Brigade, Iraq

1st and 2nd place winners!

Thanks again, and we will be ordering some more parts soon to run a regional meet the end of Feb.
Your service and support are by far the best on the web! God Bless,
Brian, Ricky, Shane and Israel

Your pinewood derby car book was a great help. The look on my 6 year old's face was priceless when he picked up his first place trophy. We (I mean he) smoked them by 4 lengths in the finals!!!
Thanks again,
Chuck & Billy

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thanks. My sister is raising a young 7 year old boy whose parents abandoned him. As you can understand, his self-esteem isn't the greatest. He called and asked if I would help with his Pinewood Derby car project, because he is without a father. I agreed and downloaded your book.

I was only hoping to give him a chance of winning one or two races, just enough so he felt some accomplishment. I was happily surprised when he came in 1st place.

At the finals, all the boys in his pack were shouting his name and in the last race he was competing against boys in the 8th grade. (He was in 1st.) When his car won, all the people in the hall began to cheer for him. He had beaten everyone, including the older boys. I can only tell you he had his 15 minutes, and stood in the spotlight as proud as could be. I never saw him walk with his head held quite as high as that night leaving the hall, receiving congratulations from all the pack leaders and parents.

I wanted to tell you that for a young boy who has endured more pain and disappointment then probably both of us combined, it has truly made a difference.

Thank You !!!, from both of us.

Ed Card

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say, "We Won Again". Second year in a row!
Thanks for all your help. Edward Card

Hi Joe,
My Granson is a Tiger Cub Scout.
He and I decided to build a fast car for his first Pinewood Derby.

I knew that we needed some better wheels and axels after looking at the ones that came it the BSA kit. So we ordered them from you. Well Saturday was race day and his Firebird won his den heat and was the fastest car in the whole pack!

Next, we are off to the council race!

Thanks again for the excellent products.

My little Tiger Cub brother was so excited when he found out what a pinewood derby was. I was going to help him, but I had no idea how to go about building a pinewood derby car. I researched on the internet, that's when I found this website. It looked good so I ordered the book. It amazed me with all the speed tips it gave! We built a very good car and was ready for race day. It was amazing his little car was zooming! He wound up winning 2nd place, and his little face was grinning ear to ear. Nobody could believe a 17 year old girl and 6 year old boy could build such a fast car. We look forward to the next pinewood derby (he already has the design ready!). Thanks so much! Sarah

Thanks for the tips in the books. This was my 7 year old son's first Pinewood Derby race and I would have paid 100 times the price just to see the expression on his face when he took first place. For a first timer the information you provided was invaluable.
Thanks Again
Fred & Vincent

My son Frankie was so excited when he told me about the Pinewood Derby. He had thoughts, ideas, drawings and colors already picked out. I opened the box and can not describe how over whelmed I was. I had no idea how to help him transform this into something that would resemble a car- I didn't even own a saw. For a mom with no woodworking experience, no tools and not a clue on what to do, Pinewood Derby in Six Easy Steps helped my son and I with everything from getting organized to putting on the finishing touches. My son was proud of his dream car and we cherish the time that we shared building it together. He got first place in the first run, finished second in his den and ended up fourth in the entire pack!
Not bad for a first time Tiger Cub.
Kim and Frankie

I just wanted to thank you for the best information I've ever paid for. It was worth every penny! My son Ian and I raced today and he would have taken first (caught on the starting gate in one heat... caused him a trophy, but he took first by a large margin in all other heats) and I took first in the adult open class. Great speed tips that I NEVER would have come up with on my own!
More importantly though, we had a great time doing this together, and thanks to you, we were competitive too!

Chris and Ian Plasch

Joe-

It was my son's first Pinewood Derby, and my first since I was a kid.

We were able to finish second in the pack (about 80 entrants).
In the run-off, we even beat the father/son team that has won the pack/district derbies for the past 4 years!

My son wants more speed for the districts and I do too.
Thanks for the pointers. I will update you after the district.
Thanks for your fine shop and service...

God Bless you.

Rob
Cub Scout Pack 300

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! The look on my sons face was worth a million bucks.
He came in second overall and won a birth in the county finals.
Again your tips are the BEST. Any suggestions for a "TUNE UP" for the finals?

One ecstatic Father
Dr. Dan

I just wanted you to know that last Saturday, my daughter and I participated in the Awana Grand Prix Pinewood Derby and out of 21 girls she placed 2nd. I was amazed at how she kept winning each race! I had followed your Winning Derby Building Secrets and it sure paid off. It was worth the $6.00 to have some extra knowledge on how to build the car and deal with the wheels and weight placement. Some people actually thought we had some kind off rocket boosters that made it go so fast!!! Thanks again from Nikki and her Dad Judd

>Joe,

I purchased your Winning Speed Secrets book with less than a week to go.
Amazing - I wish I had known about this years ago!!!
Over the years my sons and I have built 10 cars with only one race won. That's right 1 race, never a trophy. This year we won third place for the pack against 32 other cars and will go on to district!!!! Thank you!!

Ken and Morgan

Recieved your book on Saturday, January 20, 2001 and had to have the car ready before 5:00 p.m. Wednesday.

Had the main car completed, but read your tips for alignment and wheels. Well the attachment should speak for itself.

Thanks, Steve 1st Place

Just wanted you to know that my son's car came in 1st in the Bear Cub Division and 2nd overall in the entire pack in this year's derby. We had never even come close in past races. We used your techniques and they obviously played a significant role in our success. My son was elated!
We now go on to the next level of competition. Thanks for the great tips!!!

GEJ

Joe,

This was our first Pinewood Derby for both my grandson and myself. There was so much to learn.

We purchased your "WINNING PINEWOOD DERBY SECRETS to figure out what we had to do to improve the speed of our 5 oz Pinewood Derby car.

Vince spent over three months making his car, cutting out, (grandpa helped in putting in the weights at the proper location) filing, sanding and painting for over a month.

Grandpa helped with the paint strip taping, and showed Vince how to paint without runs. Vince also painted my thumb green, so Grandma officially became known as "GREEN THUMB."

Well, with your Winning Secrets book and a few of your speed products, My grandson Vince won The Grand Champion award for Pact 349!

Again, THANKS JOE, for a book load of helpful tips, and excellent products.

Del and Vince
Grand Champions

We won! The competition wasn't even close. Everyone thought we padded the car with more weight, but we weighed it at the end of the race to prove the nay Sayers wrong. It was an awesome experience and my son still talks about it today. I've sworn him to secrecy and he hasn't told anyone our edge. You've developed a great book and I would have paid double for it. Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Kevin

Last year at his first Pinewood Derby, my son (and his dad and civil engineer grampa) tied for last place. This year with the help of your booklet, Alex won all of his heats, 19-0. Needless to say he was thrilled and so were we.

We also worked with another boy who had never raced and doesn't have a dad around at all. His car came in 5th out of about 20 cars, many built by more experienced "father/son" teams. He was equally pleased. Thanks for having enough interest and care for this kind of program to post your terrific web site. We have already recommended it to the competition.

Dona

We downloaded you book from the internet. We used your tips (especially those for friction reduction) and our son won first place in the AWANA Grand Prix this weekend. He was so excited!! Our first time to make a pinewood derby car and it came in first in all five heats!!! Thanks for the tips. We will recommend your book to others.

We will email you a picture of the first place trophy!!!!

LaNeicia Stone
Texas

I wanted to let you know how your Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets and tips worked for us. My son Dillon is 8 and it is his first year in scouting. We have never built a pinewood derby car so this was a first for both of us. I put your secrets to work and man did they work.

One boy had been first in the Pack for the last 3 years, he was considered unbeatable. We put our car on the track and won the Pack race!!!! We did not lose a single race.

Next we went to the District race. No one from our Pack had ever one 1st in the District. I told my son, "we have done better than we thought we would, just be glad we are here no matter what happens." We didn't know what to expect but the cars looked fast.

Our first race came up and we won. In fact we went on to win them all !!! That's right, our 1st car ever, with your secrets, led us to 1st place in Pack and in District without even losing a single race. The look on his(and mine) face was worth it all. Thanks for sharing your tips. Here is a picture of the car and trophy. You may use any of this letter, in whole or part on your web-page if you like.


Thanks again, God loves you, James and Dillon

My son won his first Tiger Cub pinewood derby! Although we didn't utilize every tip that was offered, because we downloaded the book about 24 hours before the race and because a few of the tips were expressly prohibited by local district rules, we were extremely happy with the results.
His first place win also guarantees him a spot at the District finals. Thanks for the insightful tips!

Kelly
TeamV, Pennsylvania

We won! In the Den championships we beat 24 other Bears and won every heat. In the pack championships, it was mighty close; the final race had the four fastest cars out of over 125 in the pack. All finishers were within a two-inch space, but we were there first! Thanks for the tips.

Kevin Koellner

Thanks for the tips. It is a lot of fun to see your son glowing with excitement as he enters the championship race. I feel giving him a realization that a little extra, maybe even tedious work, does lead to success is a nice lesson for life! He had invited two friends along to watch (non-scouts who had never seen a pinewood derby) and it was a lot of fun to be in the championship with them cheering him on! It was certainly worth the $5.95!

Bruce

AFTER 4 YEARS OF NOT WINNING, WE FINALLY DID IT!! WE CAME IN 2ND PLACE !! OUT OF APPROXIMATELY 30 CARS, ONLY ONE OTHER WAS FASTER THAN OURS !! MY SON WAS SPEECHLESS!! YOUR BOOK TRULY WORKED !! GOOD JOB, FLAMEO AND SON Wayne F. Bertholdt

It was a happy day in our house last Saturday (1/27/07). Not only was it their Dad's birthday but BOTH my boys won their Pinewood Derby! - and not by a little but a lot.
Nick won the Tiger Cub's going undefeated in 10 heats and set a track record. Patrick won the Wolf's by winning 9 out of 10 heats (second in the 10th heat).

What did we do different this year?

We used your axels.

I keep telling everyone its all in the wheels and axels. I think they are starting to believe me.

Thanks.
Joe

Your tips were great! This was the first time for my son and I at our church's Lutheran Pioneer Pinewood Car Derby. We raced against nearly 40 other participants and NEVER lost a single race. Everyone was stunned by a first-time entrant dominating the races. Now it's off to the 4-State District races and then to Nationals if we continue to win.

Thanks again! We couldn't have done it without your tips.

Travis (Son) and Stan (Dad) Hunt
Texas

I just wanted to say thanks a ton for the advice. My dad was having a heart attack about this car, and he really appreciates it.

Kyle Carrington

Just wanted to thank you for the great tips. My son's pack had their race last Saturday and he took 1st place! He won every one of his heats as well as beating the returning champion in the finals and we didn't even use all of the tips. His car will race against other pack winners at the Scout-O-Rama in May.

Once again, thank you! Jacob was so excited that he got the1st place trophy!!!!

Kevin, CA

I have three boys and two of them are really into soccer. They have won numerous trophies. However, I have a son with a serious medical condition and the doctors will not allow him to play sports. To make a long story short, his brothers have many trophies sitting in the trophy case and he had none. That has all changed! Thanks to your tips, my son "Luke" won three trophies this year at the Pinewood Derby. He won 2nd place for our den, 3rd place overall in our pack, and 3rd place at the district for Tiger Cubs.

Thanks for your help! Oh! Luke's 3rd place pack trophy is taller than all of his brother's trophies. God Bless!

A proud dad, "Win or Lose"

Thanks Joe,

Just a short note to say with the WOLF Car Design Plan we downloaded from your web site,
we made our first ever Pinewood Derby car and amazingly we were Pack Champions!
Thanks, can't wait till next year!

Luke Randle, Den 6, Pack 561 Fiona Randle, Mom & Consultant engineer!

My son and I are very greatful for your speed tips. After a dismal finish last year, last place in every race, we placed 1st in his den and 3rd overall in his troop. I can't even begin to discribe the joy I felt watching my sons face as his car crossed the finish line 1st six straight heats before heading to the finals. This was our 2nd derby and what a turnaround compared to last year. Your tips made the difference, " NO DOUBT ABOUT IT ".

Thanks,
Troy Noltkamper and son Keith Noltkamper

My son, Sam Miller won the 1st Place trophy for the Pack with his car The Velocazipper 286! He was thrilled. Now its on to "districts" in two weeks!

Thanks for the great tips!
Michael Miller

Hello my name is Kim Jones and I am a den leader in Lewisville, TX. This was my son's first derby. We downloaded your secrets and he did good. In the first four runs, his car was first and the last two he was second. I thank you for this book for us who have never done anything like this before. We had a blast and even if we don 't win a trophy or ribbon your book helped us out a lot because we didn't have a clue of what to do.

Thanks, Kim, den leader den 8

Hi, two weeks ago I purchased your tips guide and did get some good tips on building our car that we had not thought of.

Last night our pack had their race and my son won not only his den but the pack championship with his lowest winning time at 2.887. He narrowly won a couple of races (one race the margin was .005) but dominated in most. I have no doubt your tips helped give us that edge to take the trophy home, and now we get to race in the state championship's next month. This was the best money I've spent in a while, thanks.

Fred

Dear Joe,

Thank you for helping us with the cars!! I got third place 2 years in a row!!!!!
The cars looked really cool and I was very happy that we had a speedy car.

Thanks for the great tips.
From John
Age 8

I just wanted to thank you for the speed tips. My son Jesse, was the winner of the wolves with five-first place finishes and went on to become pack champion in the overall against 58 other cars! He undoubtedly had the fastest car on the track. This was a day he will never forget and neither will we.

Gary and Jesse
Louisiana

I just want to say thank you for the book! My son and I just raced our pinewood derby car today and won best of show/first in the Den and first in the pack. The car was the fastest by far. there was only one other car that gave us a fight. I think that he must have seen your book also. We are now on our way to the finals. Thanks again!!

Jim & Joey
WI

I would to start by saying thank you. My son Cody is seven years old and is in troop 283. After we received your books, we done what we could to follow your plan. On Saturday , the 15, of MARCH, we raced. We did not lose a race. Most of the races he won by at least 2 ft.The car was looked at again by the judges in the middle of the race, because some there thought it was illegal, but to their dismay, nothing was found. The car just got faster and faster.The 2nd place car lost a total or 4 races, making the competition not even close.

After the race I had several of the kids come up to me and wanted to know if next year I would help them build their cars. My son is on top of the world. We go to district April 5 so stay tuned. I would highly recommend your books to anyone that wants to build a fast pinewood derby car. Again, thank you very much.

Rudy

Thank you for your book!

I bought it on january 16, my son (Austin) raced on january 25 & won not only his wolf den but the entire pack! We were building his pinewood derby car in hopes of placing well enough in his den (10 cars) for a top 3 trophy, but ended up winning the entire pack race (40+ cars)!

Thanks again for all of your helpful info!

Brad

Thought you would want some appreciative follow-up. There were approximately 26 + cars. My 9 year old is- as of two hours ago, the 2003 Grand Champion of Cup Scout Pack 165, Haslett, Michigan with a car powered by your wheels! His car won every heat! Many thanks for the winning edge! Four years of racing and finally a win. I shall spread the word to future racers.

Frank Rosenbaum, M.D.

We won first place today at the race! My son is a first year Tiger Scout and was sooooo excited to win. Thanks for all of your great tips. Unfortunately we won't be recommending your site. LOL :-) We want to keep the tips to ourselves!

He won a trophy for best car as well. They made everything on the car except the driver and little plastic pieces on top. What a fun project for them!
Thanks again!
Rae

The axles and book were great. We won the derby. The only run-off was for second and third place. My car, I mean my son's car, won consistently without a loss. I am going to order more materials from you for next year.

Thank You.
Neil Hughes

Many thanks for your excellent guide to designing and completing a car for the Pinewood Derby. I have very little experience in woodworking, but was able to use your guide, along with my son and some help from our den, to come up with a great car. My son's car won first place for his den, for which he got a medal. Mark

Comments from my son:
"I got 1 trophy and 1 medal; you had great advice!". But it was a little bit hard cutting out the lines. Thanks again!!

Your axles have been ruled legal by our pack. We went undefeated last year all the way through the finals. We share all our "secrets" so don't be surprised if you don't get quite a few orders after the results of our experiments are through. By the way, Alex (my son) is an autistic savant. If your unaware of what that is, its an extremely rare form of autism, (fewer than 120 documented cases). His special gift seems to be in anything mechanical, along with quite a few other special talents, Although he is only eight I do very little help other than supervise. His accomplishments last year got a really nice write up in the Indianapolis News. After testing we intend to order some more wheels and axles if the test are favorable. Along with every other trick he and I have managed to come up with, possibly our biggest one is to build several cars, race them against each other several times then enter his best car.

God Bless you and yours, Alex & Neil

This is only our 2nd year to make a Pinewood Derby car. My husband followed the instructions exactly, I did the art work, and they came in 2nd place! They're headed to the district finals in Jackson, MS on April 2nd!

Thanks for all the great tips! My husband said that was the best $5.95 he ever spent!

Thanks again! Tracey

Dear Pinewood Pro,

Well, we downloaded Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets a couple of weeks ago and began reading and working. And, today, we won first place overall in our Pack!!!

Attached are pictures of our winnings and our car. We have raced in three previous Pinewood Derby's only to go home disappointed. After last year's race, I decided we were going to put out enough effort to at least get a trophy.

Well, we did get a trophy thanks to your advice. We had the fasted car in the Pack at 186.4 mph to scale. Three tenths off the track record of 186.7 mph.

Alex is a Webelos 2 this year, so it was our last chance and we won it all. Thanks!!!

Sincerely,
Wm. Brad

Alex has Hemophilia, which is a rare bleeding disorder. We live in a neighborhood where the boys all play tackle football in the park. This past Fall was particularly difficult for him, as he bruises very easily and cannot play with them. We saw lots of tears, and even cried as parents ourselves.


Needless to say, when you see any child suffering and their self esteem being shattered by things out of their control, it is painful. Helping Alex win the Pinewood Derby made him feel special at least for a short while. He felt proud and he walked a little taller that day, with his chest out and a smile that said things words could never express. I am thankful to God that he led us to your site and that my son was able to experience that day and those feelings of success.
And, his hemophilia didn't matter, maybe even for a few moments he forgot he even had a problem.

Thank you and May God Bless you and your work,
Wm. Brad

Dear Joe,

Pleased to report that your car (shape, axles and wheels) won Pack 367 Open Class race last Saturday. My son (aged 10) and I built by hand and tested two stock cars for the official race and he placed in the top 10 out of 40 cars. Not bad for our first Derby.

I assembled your car for my daughter (aged 7) to race in the non-official Open Class and she beat everyone including the 2007 cars and the district winner from 2006 which was built by a father who has not been beaten in either official or open class races in some 8 years.

Needless to say my daughter was ecstatic. I am also pleased to report that my son and I were good Scouts/sports and therefore gracious in our defeat to you and my daughter, your racer.

With best regards,
Drayton

The Uncle Scott helps nephew build a cool Shark Car...
This is the first year he and I worked on his car together.
The products from your web site have helped speed up the car and know we'll soon be winning trophies!

I'm sorry I don't know why I didn't think of this before but here are Austin's cars from last year and the year before.

I am a firefighter and Austin wanted a "chief's buggy", this is what we came up with; it is complete with working lights and siren.

I also ride Harleys, and again this was his idea, I just figured out how to get it done.

As a point of order, you might have thought he doesn't look well in the pictures, and your thoughts would have been correct. He is recovering from Brain tumor surgery.

William

Joe,

Here are the winning pictures from last year. I guess I never sent them to you. Elliott Gilmartin won the race and also won most creative design. He named it "The Pride of America." I do have a question. On the race kits with car and all, doe they just require painting and assembly? Last year we just bought a block and painted it ourselves. What suggestions do you have and what is your supply like?

bg

Dear Joe -

Well, add another happy customer to your long list of winners. My son raced this morning with your wheels and axles - he took first place in his Den and First place as the Pack Champion. He set a new track record with a time of 2.468. Of course, dad was very happy. Thank again, and I look forward to using your products again next year.

Mike

Joe,

I have made many cars over the past decade or so. They have been mediocre at best. I have tried applying teachings from my friends; but, found them to be unclear and inconsistent. This is the first time that the cars did well. Although we didn't win the race, we won in many other areas. This is Nich's last Derby as he will be moving on to Boy Scouts. I've seen him push back tears from races where the cars have done so poorly in the past. Not this year!

Nich was smiling all the way! He took 2nd and his brother Jeremy, took 3rd. They were all so excited. Thank you for all your support and for answering my many questions. Your "secrets" booklet and the graphite axels with lathed wheels were what it took. I know what I did wrong in the installation and am confident that next year will be even better. My only regret is that I didn't find you sooner. I have an oldest boy that built three cars with my help. Although he's done well in scouting and is now an Eagle Scout, the cars I helped him build were VERY slow! To sum it up...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

- Vance

Unbelievable. My 8 year old's pack (pack 212) had it's pinewood derby yesterday. This was my son's (and mine) first pinewood derby race. I had originally bought a kit with a pre-cut body but the grooves for the axles were too wide. The nails (axels) would not remain in the grooves. So, I went to Home Depot, bought a coping saw and shaped the original block of pine (that I received from the Den mother) like the pre-cut body that came in the kit.

I carefully read your "Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets" and employed not all but most of the tips provided. Long story short...not only did my son's car beat every other car in his den (my son is a wolf scout) but we beat everyone in his pack. We one First Prize (Fastest in Race) for Cub Scouts Pack 212. Unbelievable! My son and I were just happy to bring a car to the race but certainly did not dream we would win First Prize. Now it's off to the District Derby race sometime in March. This was the best $6 I ever spent. Thank you. I'm including some pictures as proof this is not just some tall tale. Thanks again.