Hey Dave,
You have really hit the nail on the head. We have been doing PWD cars for quite a few years. Let me tell you that I have read many PWD "Books" and viewed 5 or 6 videos/DVD's over the years. I've visited ALL of the derby web sites. You by far... hands down... have the best laid out, most informed book I have seen to date. You, my friend, have done your homework.

Dave:

I just wanted to let you know that my Tiger Cub, Cole, won his PWD! He took first place and didn't lose one race. It was absolutely fabulous to see some of the sick looks that came over many of the fathers' faces when my little boy blew the competition out of the water!

You are a genius!

I can't wait for the District Championship race coming up in March. Thanks so much for all of your tips. They really made the difference.

Thanks again!

---Amy

Update: We won third place at District! It was all thanks to your tips.

My name is Bob and I would like to thank Pinewood Car Derby Champ for the fantastic tips that I purchased from your site. I am an engineer and all of your suggestions are all theoretically correct and helped me and my son build a Championship Car that Won his Cub Scout Pack race. He received a very big trophy and the smile on his face was priceless. It was the best money that I have ever spent.

--Bob

Dave:

As I read the testimonials on your web site I thought wouldn't it be great to have a story like that. Well I do. My son Nathaniel(now a Senior Webloe) never finished higher than 4th in his dens over the past few years while his younger brother Nick got no better than a couple 3rd place finishes. He was feeling pretty "down in the dumps" about his chances to win in his final year of racing.

I decided to download your book and see if we could better our chances. We decided to use the 2 shapes outlined in your guide. The boys cut, sanded and painted their own cars and we followed your instructions. At the Friday night set up and practice we weighed in and Nathaniel's car weighed to much (the post office scale was off by .3 ounce). Nicks car was fine and he went out and started racing. His car was unbeatable! He never lost a practice race all night with his "Terrible Taser" car until we got Nathaniel's car fixed. They ran against each other a couple of times and Nathaniel's "Las Rocket" car won. Nathaniel was excited. The next day at the races Nick finished 1st in his den and finished 2nd overall in the Pack, losing only twice in the double elimination tournament finals too ... his brother Nathaniel, who never lost a race! He finished 1st in his den and 1st in the pack. That's a one-two finish for my sons. I wanted to say "thank you" for helping create a memory they will probably never forget!

Thanks again !

Robert, Nathaniel & Nick

My name is Anthony and I purchased your stuff a couple of weeks ago and just wanted to let you know that my son took first place in the PWD in Newport News VA for pack 358.I will let everyone I know about your site and products and just wanted to say thanks for the help and info.He is so proud and so am I.Thanks.

I just wanted to give you a big thank you for all of your advice. I had purchased a copy of your Ultimate Speed Secrets 2005 Edition to prepare for my first excursion into pinewood as the dad as opposed to being the son. You'll see, in the attached photos, one very proud little tiger cub holding two trophies. Den winner and Champion of Pack 137. Now I'm trying to reinforce the lesson that all of that tedious sanding and polishing he was doing was what led to his victory. Next year, I won't push. He puts in what he wants out. The red and black car is his. The black car is all mine. Yes, dad's car humbled him, but again, I was still polishing after he was done. Hopefully, lesson learned. Brent

Our Cub Scout pack had our PWD this evening. My stepson won that derby and I have you to thank for that.

This was my first year of building a derby car. I purchased your Ultimate Speed Secrets PDF several weeks ago, and built our car based on the tips in that document. I have a background in physics and while the tips made complete sense to me, without the information included in your document I am sure we would not have won. My stepson won his den races going away - he beat all the other cars by 2 lengths or more. But the race for the Pack championship was much closer. At the end, there was a 3-way tie for first so we had to have one final "sudden-death" run.

We won that final race by 1/2 length over the other two cars. I am convinced that all the extra work I did polishing axles, coning hubs, and so forth, made the difference. And I totally believe the fact we had one of the front wheels off the ground made the final difference.

I have to share this one moment with you. I am friends with the gentlemen who's son won the last two years. Before the races began, some of us were testing our cars on the track just to make sure things were running well. I put our car on the track with three others for a trial run. Our car won that race by 3 lengths (and we were still accelerating). My friend, who was the official starter, looked over at me with both a grin and look of concern, and said "uh oh".

I cannot thank you enough for the smile my stepson had on his face when he won the race. And I know it is a memory he will have the rest of his life. I want to share that with you as my way of saying thanks. The attached picture shows him with his den and pack trophies, along with his car.

The funny thing is, I used perhaps 70-80% of your suggestions. I know the car could have been even faster. I will be back next year to take those next steps.

-Ray Herold

David,

This was my son's first PWD and thanks to your speed tips book, no one in his Tiger pack even came close to beating him.

Thank You,

Steve

Dave,

We finally had our PWD this morning and my son's car won every race! He took first place in the entire pack. (Out of 42 other cars!!)

I have to admit that it was pretty fun watching a 6-year old Tiger Cub humble the more "confident" members of the pack.

Thanks.

Vince & Patrick

Thanks for the tips. My two boy's won their levels and then took 1 st and 2 nd in the overall.

--Chris

Just a quick note to say thanks for the tips. We had our PWD today and my boys got first place in each of their dens and first and second place in the pack overall. Their cars lost no race to another in the pack, my wolf's car only lost one heat to his older brother's car. Great time was had by all.

--Steve

David,

Just a quick note to let you know that your parts did it again. My son JJ has a grin from ear to ear, he took 1st in Tiger scouts and then went on to take grand champion of his pack. Thanks again I could not any prouder of my son as he did most of the work on his car.

--Eric & JJ

David,

I bought a copy of your PWD book. Well my son was the fastest wolf in his cub pack and last night we discovered that he was the Champion of the Pack. So you can chalk another win to your belt. The book was a great help and I didn't even get to try every recommendation so perhaps even faster next year !

--Mark

David,

I wanted to let you know that I down loaded your book, 'Ultimate Speed Secrets', and followed it almost to the letter. My son, Alex, won 1st place in the Wolf division at his Pack's PWD last Saturday, A few parents even commented to me that Alex's car seemed to get faster with each race. Your methods definitely had everything to do with his winning car. His car was automatically entered in the Blackhawk Area Council race in April. Thanks again for your fine book.

Regards,

Tom

Master Pinewood Dude,

This past weekend my two boys brought home four trophies which I have already thanked you for. Thanks again!!

--Karl

David, I wanted to let you know that my son & I had lots of fun building his pine wood derby using a lot of your techniques. This is his 1st year in scouts - he is in 1st grade. He won 1st place for his den and 2nd place grand champion - out of 49 total cars. We can't wait until next year to do it again and improve on our derby building skills. Thanks so much for your helpful advice.

--Jeanne

Thanks a million !

Today was race day and what a day it was. I've never seen both of my sons this happy before. Colt the oldest one is a bear cub scout. last year he did very poor in the race, but thanks to you this year he won ever race and is the grand champion over all and he received 3 trophy's this year. # 1 1st place championship heat # 2 1st place funniest & # 3 1st place bears. my other son hunter non-scout also won ever single race and took home the 1st place trophy. I can't wait till next year to order and build more winning cars.

Thanks again from a very proud and happy dad

--Alex

David,

thanks for the quick response. You exceeded my expectations in all aspects of my dealings with your company.

Thanks again.

--John

David ,

Great advice ....My son's 1st PWD , he took 1st in his rank (Tiger Cubs) and third overall . The 2 cars we finished behind had much the same design and had been regional contenders the year before . Needless to say , my son was very excited and proud that all the hard work and preparation paid off .

Thank again

--Shawn

Thanks,

Used your tips with my 2 sons. Both won first place in their dens, thenplaced 1st & 2nd in the championship for the whole pack

--Terry

Dave,

Well, it was our very first PWD experience. My son is a Tiger. We knew absolutely zero about the derby...until we found your site.

I purchased your guide and used every speed tip we could that did not violate the local rules. You're guide was very easy to follow and broke down the science into plain English. You search the internet and find lots of guides; I know because I bought three, including yours. "Ultimate Speed Secrets" is far and away the best there is, period! They say the "proof is in the pudding" right? Well, here's the pudding.

Not only did my son win the Tigers, he won the pack. Want more? He didn't lose a single heat the entire time. The closest car in any race was a length and a half back, lane assignments be damned (there were some nasty ones). It doesn't get any better than that. I think it was one of the happiest and proudest moments he had ever experienced. I can't even tell what that meant to me.

Thank you for an honest, well-written and illustrated guide. And thank you for reminding us, in the guide, what the derby is truly all about. These memories are precious and will never be forgotten. Can't wait to see what you add for next year.

Mike & Steve

P.S.

You know, in the end, winning was the icing on the cake but the time he and I spent together on the project was really quite amazing. He opened up and talked to me about things that I never realized he even knew about. At 7 years old, I thought I knew him. But I learned there was quite a bit more to know.

The best part is that I have two more boys behind him. That's, potentially, quite a few future derbies!!

Thanks again Dave!

It's on to the districts. It was obvious throughout the night that my Joseph had the fastest car in the building and his sister Molly outclassed the open division. Your info is pure Gold!

--David

Just competed in our very first PWD with my two sons. We followed your speed tips as closely as possible with the intent to just be competitive.

One son finished 1st in his den, the other 2nd - which was certainly more than we expected our first time out!

Thanks again...

--John

Hi Dave,

Just a quick note to say Thank You as our son David took 1st place at our Pack PWD race! This is of course due to your Ultimate Speed Secrets book. Know one even came close to beating him! We are on to the District Finals in a couple of weeks!

Thank You Again!

Bob

Danny had a good day today! My son Danny took first place among over 20 contestants in our small Pack. He used a block with the raised wheel. He designed it and painted it himself, but we also used the speed secrets, wheels and axles; all legal and official.

Thanks so much. We'll be in touch next year for his last year as a Webelos 2.

Rob

Thanks for your help Dave. This year using the local rules and your booklet including how to eat an elephant my son Jonathon won his weblos 1 class and then took first place overall. I can't thank you enough for your most informative step by step booklet. As you say in the book it's not one item, it's the whole elephant that makes the difference. I just hope the district races fair as well.

In conclusion,

thanks again,

Terry and Jonathon

Wanted to say thanks for the exception parts we are headed to the district run this weekend. We ran 4 heats and won all four. It is a three wheeler with the "Hole Shot front End".

Thanks,

Tom

David:

Just wanted to let you know that your book really worked for us this year. My son took second place in his pack derby race and was barely beat out for first. He later raced at the district derby and took first place there. Thanks for sharing your speed secrets.

P.S. I have included a picture of my son and his trophy at the district race.

Thanks,

Randy

Stephen Jr. (Stevie), Was UNDEFEATED In His 8 Heats, While Stephen Sr. (Dad), Was 4-1 In His 5 Races...His Lone Loss Was To Son Stevie In The Grand Champion Race, "To Be Honest I Was Proud My Son Beat Me, It Was HIS Night", I Said. "Stevie Was Winning By Such A Wide Margin It Wasn't Even Close. He Was 1 ½ To 2 ½ Car Length Ahead In EVERY Race, And Against The Defending "Back-To-Back" Champ...Stevie Blew His Doors Off!!

"Stevie's Car DOMINATED, His 20 Sec Wheel Spin Test Scores Were An Amazing, 31, 36, 37 SECONDS!!!"

"We Used DerbyChamp's ULTIMATE Car Design (Pg. 80 of your manual), Then We Simply Followed The ULTIMATE Car Check List (also in manual), And The Results Speak For Themselves.....

Pack #8 Final Race Standings:

Stephen Banks Jr.

GRAND CHAMPION WINNER (8-0 Record)

MOST ORIGINAL DESIGN WINNER (The Ultimate Car)

Stephen Banks Sr.

ADULT DIVISION WINNER (4-1 Record)

BEST IN SHOW WINNER (The Ultimate Car)

Stephen Jr Said, "Everybody Should Be Able To Be The Best At Something Once In Their Lives, It's Great!! Now Steve Is Off To The Regionals!!!

Thanks Dave, For Providing "Warp-Speed", AAA+ Support!!

--Stevie & Dad

David,

Just got back from our 2005 PWD. It was well worth the money for your book to see my son's face this afternoon as his car kept winning and winning. Last year was our first year. He won best over-all for design and finished in 25th place out of 64 kids. I purchased your book on-line after we got our cars in January and he said "I don't care what it looks like I want a winner".

Our Pack's procedure is every car gets to run 8 races and winners are determined by accumulated time. After his first 3 races, I noticed his car was a few thousands of a second slower than last years over-all pack and district winner. I didn't pay any attention to the times after that. On the 4th run they announced that last years winner broke his own track record. Then on my son's 6th, and 7th run his car ran the same identical times breaking the track record by 2 hundreths of a second. Then his last run of the day was 8 thousands of a second better. We knew he won the Bears division, but, when they announced last years winner getting 2nd place (Over-all), it was just wild to see him look at me and say "Dad, I think we might have won the whole thing."

To top it off, he broke the accumulated time record by 0.150 of a second.

He is pumped and can't wait to go to the district derby in March. Thanks, for putting this down on paper. In talking to the father of last years over-all winner and this years runner-up, he has purchased your book and we both agreed, my son won due to the "quick start" way of design. Their car didn't utilize that one speed tip. I'm sure that's where we beat them.

Thanks again.

--Ken C.

Thank you for the looks on these two faces. One, my son (left) and the other, a boy who's mother really needed some help. I used as many tips as were allowed by our packs rules. The boy and I spent many an hour in the shop carving, sanding, painting, adding lead, polishing, and more polishing and many other tips found in your book. ( 27 hours in all ) he was starting to get bored at all the work, but he is not complaining any longer.... As far as the mother whom needed the help. I was about to leave our " Test and Tune" night when my wife noticed a woman at a loss at what to do about her sons car that barely made it down the track. We went over to ask if we could help. Our Tiger Scout leader had carved, drilled , sanded,and mounted the wheels to get her started because she had no other means of starting, let alone finishing a car for the race day ahead. Within no more than 10 minutes, I applied four of the basic tips given in your book. And no joking, no lying, it was running just 2 tenths of a second behind my sons. We could not believe the outcome of little time spent could make such a difference. The boys eyes lit up like stars. As you can plainly see by the picture.

The boys thank you, and I thank you for the excellent info.

AUSTIN, DAD, & DENNIS

P.S. I forgot to mention my son Austin ( left ) won 1st Place in Tigers & 1st Place in Final Championship. And the other boy, Dennis ( right ) won 2nd Place in Tigers & 3rd Place in Final Championship. They both have some very proud and happy parents.

DAVID
I just wanted to thank you for all of your help and guidance. We just got back from our first Derby where my son walked away with 3 trophies including the championship...... And my daughters car won in the non-scout class race, just ahead of the one built.... . We all had a great time building the cars together and winning was just icing on the cake. Your book is solely responsible for our wins and is so great that I'm not going to tell anyone about it.....
Thanks Again

TW

Dave,

Our race was this past Saturday, and my son was the fastest Tiger in his Den! Big smile, big pride, big trophy.

-- Dominic

Dave,

I just wanted to let you know that our pack had their PWD race the other night and my two guys each won their category! Both were undefeated!

If we had a brother in the Tiger Scout category, we would have made a clean sweep of the whole event!

You should have seen the expression on the Pack Leaders face. He ran the final two cars (his son and my boy) three more times to try and get a best of out five victories. We won every time, thanks to your tips!

-- Joe

I thought you might like to know that becuase of your valuable suggestions, my child won first place in the pack and district derbies.
Thanks,

Stacy

Dave:

We just got back from Richmond , Indiana district races. I can't belive it but we won every race at this level. The competition was tougher but like I said before we ate the whole elephant instead of only part of it.
Respectfully,

Terry and Jonathon

Hi I purchased some of your products for my son to compete in the PWD.

I just wanted to let you know how pleased we were with your products & help. My son took first place in his den & in his pack & went on to get 2nd at the districts.

Thanks again for all your help & I look forward to buying more products for next years derby.

Sincerely,

Richard

Thank you! My son and I spent many an hour in the shop carving, sanding, painting, adding lead, polishing, and more polishing and many other tips found in your book. ( 27 hours in all ) he was starting to get bored at all the work, but he is not complaining any longer. I was also able to help another boy and his mother as well. I was about to leave our " Test and Tune" night when my wife noticed a woman at a loss at what to do about her sons car that barely made it down the track. We went over to ask if we could help. Our Tiger Scout leader had carved, drilled , sanded,and mounted the wheels to get her started because she had no other means of starting, let alone finishing a car for the race day ahead. Within no more than 10 minutes, I applied four of the basic tips given in your book. And no joking, no lying, it was running just 2 tenths of a second behind my sons. We could not believe the outcome of little time spent could make such a difference. The boys eyes lit up like stars.

The boys thank you, and I thank you for the excellent info. AUSTIN, DAD, & DENNIS P.S. I forgot to mention my son Austin ( left ) won 1st Place in Tigers & 1st Place in Final Championship. And the other boy, Dennis ( right ) won 2nd Place in Tigers & 3rd Place in Final Championship. They both have some very proud and happy parents....... Tammy

We just got home from our race. Thank you so much for pulling this information together. My Tiger and Bear Cub brought home 1st and 2nd place for the entire pack. 50+ cars in all! Four trophies in all came home with the boys! Also, I assisted another dad who had his dates wrong about the weigh-in date. We built a car for his son in under one hour just before weigh-in! His son brought home a second place trophy for his den race! My boys keep saying, "Dad, we will never forget this day for the rest of or lives."