Do you have a dusty old Pinewood Derby car that brought home a few trophy’s back in your illustrious Cub Scout racing days?  Maybe your kids have been building and racing up a storm in their pack and you think you can flex a little ‘Dad Muscle’ and show them a thing or two about how it’s done?  Regardless of where you fall in this category… even if you’ve never heard of the Pinewood Derby before – you’re going to want to participate in this event.

Municipal Brew Works in Hamilton, Ohio has managed to create one of the coolest events I’ve heard about for a long time, and they’re calling it the Municipal 500.  Here’s how it works:

The Details

Here’s how it goes… you build a car with the kits that you can purchase at Municipal Brew Works (or you enter a comparable car from another pinewood derby car kit).  The cars will be divided into both an open division and a brewery car division (yes… breweries will be racing against each other for this event). A series of racing heats will take place to determine what car is the fastest… and awards will be given out to the champions.

The best part is that the event will use a chunk of its proceeds to give back to the Hamilton Fraternal Order of Police 38 Christmas Caravan Fund.  This way, you can pretend your entry into the race is for a good cause – not for the eternal bragging rights that come along with it.

If this sounds like an amazing time, it will be – and you should go ahead and make a note now that you need to get a car ready.  It’s all going to go down on September 22nd at 4pm in the Municipal Brew Works taproom which is located in beautiful downtown Hamilton.

The Rules and Regulations

If you’ve ever entered a Pinewood Derby, you know that much like Stock Car racing, it’s the little things that can really make the difference for a car to win or just be average.  Milliseconds count in this world.  You’ve gotta be not just familiar with all the rules and regulations involved – but you have to know how to push them right to their limit.  That being said, if you show up and you can’t race because your car doesn’t meet the regulations… you’re going to be sad.

  • Width of your car must not exceed 2 3/4 inches.
  • Length of your car must not exceed 7 inches
  • Your car’s weight must fall below 5 ounces.
  • Axles, Wheels, and body must be from the materials provided in the kit, or comparable to the kits sold at MBW.
  • Additional wheels can be purchased separately.
  • Wheel bearings, washers and bushing are prohibited
  • No lubricating oil may be used.  Axles may be lubricated with powdered graphite or silicone.
  • The car shall not ride on any kind of spring.
  • The car must be free-wheeling, with no starting devices.
  • No loose materials of any kind are allowed in the car.
  • Cars will be subject to a pre-race inspection.
  • Rulings from the staff at Municipal Brew Works are final.

This one is going to be an event for the record books… I love the creativity and ability to tap into something that a lot of us former Boy Scouts hold deeply in our hearts.  I can’t wait to see what cars people bring out to this!!!

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