Scouts put their cars to the test

Port Washington Scouts lined the race track to watch the action during Cub Scout Pack 3837’s Pinewood Derby in the Thomas Jefferson Middle School cafeteria Saturday. Overseeing the racing was PJ Egan (left), who traded his Scout leader uniform for a custom Pinewood Derby jumpsuit that made him look like he was working in the pits at the Daytona 500. The basic principal of the Pinewood Derby hasn’t changed since the first one was held in 1953. Scouts receive a block of pine, axles and wheels and have to use their woodworking skills and creativity to turn the materials into race cars, often with the help of a parent or grandparent. But technology has changed the racing. The track on Saturday was lined with cameras and had sensors that recorded the finish times of cars, which were almost instantly displayed on a large screen for race fans to see.    Photos by Bill Schanen IV