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LEGO® Brick Derby™ Car by Pinewood Pro

Give your LEGO® car a winning edge at your next Brick Derby™. This article covers advanced building techniques like weight distribution and aerodynamics. Engineer the perfect LEGO® racer with tips from the experts.

Joe Gargiulo
November 12, 2017
LEGO® Brick Derby™ Car by Pinewood Pro

Build and Race Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks

Use PRO Brick Wheels and Zinc Brick Weights

How to build a fast Brick Derby™ Car using the PRO Brick Wheel Assembly with nickel plated axles and Zinc Brick weights to race cars down a pinewood derby track

About the Author: , Pinewood Pro Founder

Derby Car made from LEGO® Bricks
Cool Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks and the PRO Brick Car Chassis

PRO Brick Derby™ is a new, cool way to race cars made from LEGO® Bricks!

Build a car made from LEGO® bricks and race it down a pinewood derby track.

You get all the fun of pinewood derby racing without the extensive time it takes to make a car from wood.

Just snap together brick parts and make a car, right?

Not so fast!

derby cars made from LEGO® bricks race cars on pinewood derby track
Brick Derby™ Cars at top of pinewood derby track


Brick Derby™ race cars made from LEGO® Bricks on plastic track

There are a few problems to solve.

  1. Commercial brick wheels and axles do not work on a pinewood derby track.
  2. You need the perfect wheel spacing so your car fits the lanes on a pinewood derby track.
  3. You need the correct track clearance.
  4. You want your Derby Race Car made from LEGO® Bricks to be fast!



Commercial brick parts are not made for racing like pinewood derby car parts, so a car built with commercial brick parts will be slow. The plastic axles are slow. The rubber wheels are slow.

Lastly, if you've raced pinewood derby cars, you know that you need to add weight to your car to reach maximum velocity.

  • So, how do you add weight to a derby car built with brick parts?
  • How do you make a derby car made from LEGO® bricks fast like a pinewood derby car?
  • How can you build a derby car made from LEGO® bricks fit on a pinewood derby track?

The secret is Pinewood Pro's new PRO Brick Wheel Assembly and PRO Brick Chassis engineered for racing derby cars made from LEGO® Bricks.:

  • Perfect wheel spacing - so wheels don't bind or wobble
  • Perfect track clearance - so your car doesn't bind on the center guide rail
  • Ultra-Lite Wheel/Axle assembly that is only .11oz - means your car will have a fast start and fast finish
  • Super-fast Nickel Plated Speed Axles - we appied our proven pinewood derby winning axles to PRO Brick Derby™ Car racing

...all of these feartures were designed for speed so your Cars made from LEGO® Bricks is as fast as a pinewood derby car.

To add weight, snap on a Zinc Brick. (See the silver colored Zinc Bricks on the back of the Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks in the image above.)

Pinewood Pro used their engineering skills and 20+ years of pinewood derby racing expertise to design the perfect parts to bring the fun of pinewood derby car racing to Derby car racing using cars made from LEGO® Bricks!

derby cars made from LEGO® bricks on pinewood derby track


Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks on Pinewood Derby track

PRO brick wheel assembly to race cars made with LEGO bricks
Cars made from LEGO® Bricks using PRO Brick chassis
LEGO Brick Car

PRO Brick Wheel Assembly - PRO Brick Derby™ Chassis

The PRO Brick Wheel Assembly is Pinewood Pro's custom designed part that supports a Speed Axle and Ultra-Lite Wheel designed for speed. The PRO Brick, Speed Axle and Ultra-Lite Wheel are pre-assembled to give the perfect pinewood derby track clearance and the Wheel is preset with the perfect gap to minimize wobble and friction.

Each PRO Wheel Assembly weighs only .11oz (3.15g) so your car starts fast, accelerates fast and allows you to place more weight on the car body giving your car more inertia through to the finish line. Individual wheel assemblies gives more flexibility to move wheels. More flexibility means more creativity.

Just snap the PRO Brick Wheel Assembly into any derby car made from LEGO® Bricks and you're off to the races.

Brick Derby™ zinc 2x2 weight snaps onto any LEGO® brick

Zinc Brick Weights for derby cars made from LEGO® bricks

We designed these parts for speed so your your Derby Car made from LEGO® Bricks will be fast.

A fast car needs fast wheels and fast axles . The PRO Derby Wheel is Ultra Light, yet sturdy. The axles are nickle-plated comparable to our best pinewood derby speed axle. This new Wheel-Axle combination will make your Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks zoom down the track comparable to the fastest pinewood derby cars.

Lastly, you need weight, since your car flys down the track from the force of gravity. Just like pinewood derby cars, you want your Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks to have the maxiumum weight allowed in your race rules so your car has the inertia to speed to the finish line.

The easiest way to add weight to your car is with our new 2x2 Zinc Brick. Just snap this zinc weight anywhere on your car just like any other brick. Each brick weighs .44oz. You can easily move this weight to adjust the center of gravity for optimal performance.

For more speed tips, the Winning Pinewoood Derby Secrets also applies to Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks.

How to build a Pinewood Derby Car made from LEGO® Bricks

If you want to build a Pinewood Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks, you need to build your car on top of the "pine wood" derby wooden block that comes with your official pinewood derby kit. In addition, you need to use the axles and wheels that come with your official kit.

All pinewood derby races require using the parts that come with your car kit. Your kit could be the BSA kit for Cub Scouts or the Awana Grand Prix car kit or other similar derby car kit.

Read our free Guide How to Build a Pinewood Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks in 6 Steps that tells you how to build an official pinewood derby car base and then add brick parts on top.



Race derby cars made from LEGO® Bricks for your Pack, Summer Camp, School, Church or fund raiser event!

trucker Brick Derby™ car image

PRO Brick Wheel Assembly
or Zinc Brick Weights

Shop Now


Race Cars made from LEGO® Bricks for Cub Scout Recruitment

Derby Car racing using LEGO® Bricks is great idea for Cub Scout Recruitement night. It's fast, it's fun and kids get a feel for the excitement of a fun scouting event building and racing cars. Best of all, adults and siblings can build and race cars too.


Race Derby Cars made from LEGO® Bricks Cars at Summer Camp

Run a derby made entirely of cars made of LEGO® Bricks race to teach Engineering and the Physics of motion for a STEM summer camp.
I taught and demonstrated the principles of Friction, Inertia, Center of Gravity and Velocity in a fun way.

STEM Summer Camp - using Derby Racing Cars made from LEGO® Bricks to teach physics, while having fun.

How to run a Derby Race using Cars made from LEGO® Bricks

racing derby cars made from LEGO® bricks

Read our new guide:
How to run a race with derby cars made from LEGO® bricks

LEGO® is a registered trademark of LEGO Juris A/S. The LEGO Group does not endorse or sponsor Pinewood Pro or its products, and is not affiliated in any way with Pinewood Pro.

PINEWOOD PRO

Winning Tips and Hints

Pinewood Derby
Tips & Hints

If you are using 3/8" round weights, drill your 3/8" weight holes before cutting out the rest of the car because it is easier to hold the full block. Always use a clamp to hold your block before drilling or cutting. Safety First!

Pinewood Derby
Wheels Tip

Lighter wheels turn easier (they require less inertia). Lighten your wheels, as much as your Rules allow, which will give you a fast start out of the gate and faster speed down the track.

Pinewood Derby
Winning Hint

Winning Pinewood Derby Secrets contains all the tips you need to win your race. Updated annually with the latest tips and speed products, our book has proven results with 1000's of winners... but don't take our word for it! Read over 90 Customer Reviews and check out our Winners Gallery!

Essential Pinewood Derby PRO Tools for Your Car | Pinewood Pro
Essential Tips to Start Pinewood Derby Racing by Pinewood Pro