OVANDO- How much fun can you have with a piece of pine, two axles and four wheels? This is what volunteer firefighter Andy Whitehead hopes to find out next week.
The Ovando Fire Department is hosting the inaugural Pinewood Derby Classic on the Fourth of July. The race will be a fundraiser for the volunteer fire department but more importantly it is designed to create community participation.
“Everyone in the community puts in $10 and comes together for an event,” Whitehead said. “It’s really created some interesting energy and participation in people in the community who don’t normally participate.”
Nearly 100 cars are anticipated to be entered in the races that will determine the fastest derby car in Ovando. Each car will race once in each of the six lanes of the gravity track. The total race time will be recorded as a score, with the three lowest scores winning prizes.
Official Derby Kits can be purchased from the Blackfoot Commercial Co. for a $10 donation. Other kits may be used but must follow Ovando Pinewood Derby Classic rules. Cars may not weight more than five ounces, may not be longer than seven inches, or taller than three inches. Full instructions and rules are included in each kit.
Racers must register and weigh-in their cars the morning of July 4 between 8-11 a.m. for a donation. Free kits will be given to participants 12 and younger and 80 and over and local fire departments also received cars.
Whitehead thought that the best indicator of how successful the event will be how many of the 80-and-older crowd participates He said that since this demographic doesn’t get out as much, it will show the true ability to get people to be a part of the event, which was his initial goal.
“My number one objective was not to raise funds,” said Whitehead. “The idea is to make a connection in somebody’s head between ‘I’m going to support the fire department with a $10 donation and I’m going to participate in building the energy with that organization.”
The Derby races start at noon with four racing categories—12 and under, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Open Field and the Ovando Grand Prix.
Prizes in each category will be awarded for the top three places as well as Best Paint, Best Design and Best of Show. There will also be prizes given out for the fastest car in the 70-80 and 80 and above age brackets.
Whitehead said that there aren’t many opportunities these days to create this kind of community participation for $10.
“Everybody starts with the same block of wood,” said Whitehead. “When you get there and you see all different creative ideas and you see how a machinist does his axles differently than you do, there’s a lot of magic that comes and a lot of energy.”
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