Okay, admit it. When you were a kid you paged through the Guinness Book of World Records and found one or two records that you thought you could beat. The attraction was that it seemed simple and it would make you world famous. After a few tries and coming up woefully short, you went back to doing regular kid things like playing catch or jumping rope. You quickly learned that breaking a world record was no simple feat.
Almost any evening this spring the whirring, banging, and buzzing sounds of nail guns, drills, and table saws emanates out of a Grayslake garage. Half a dozen volunteers are inside working on a world record they intend to share with many. Theyre building the worlds longest pinewood derby track sponsored by The Home Depot in celebration of Scoutings 100th Anniversary. The track will be debuted at an event called A Race Through Time on June 5, 2010 at Northeast Illinois Council-owned Camp Crown in Trevor, WI.
The completed track will be more than 250 feet long and 12 lanes wide thats more than 3000 feet of racing per heat. For many of the volunteers it has been a labor of love. Grayslake resident Michael Fries and Track Engineering and Construction Team lead says A lot of the track is based upon my design ideas it has been exciting to see the design come together in its physical form. Lake Villa resident, Mark Balinski adds, It really is cool to see a major project go from a multitude of engineering drawings and ideas to Home Depots incredible involvement to finally building the actual track.
A big hurdle was figuring out the proper slope for the track to account for the variability in the cars that will run on it. Some cars run faster than others and we want as many cars to finish as possible notes Rich Przybylski, a resident of Grayslake and part of the construction team. After identifying the slope, the team went about to find the ideal building location at Camp Crown for the record-breaking track.
Setting a Guinness World Record is no small feat. It starts with contacting Guinness in the UK and then a long process of determining the current record, followed by paperwork, contracts and finally documentation. What I’ve found to be the most surprising in the process is how much effort it takes to properly document the record attempt said Przybylski the team Guinness liaison. On June 5th Im very confident that we will have established a new Guinness World Record.
The sawdust flies as sections of track continue to be built every night in that Grayslake garage. Each section is 8 feet long by 4 feet wide and features 12 colored track lanes each individually tacked into place. Mike Knill of Round Lake Beach counts the completed sections that lean on a back wall, eight, nine, ten. Nearly three dozen A-frame trusses that will support the track off the ground and maintain the proper slope stand in another part of the garage. There is also a starting stand to construct and a large media area and picture taking platform. Balinski says when finally constructed this track will run nearly 1,700 cars that day. Thats a total distance of around 82 miles.
Much of the Scouting program is planned and executed by trained volunteers. The Northeast Illinois Council has more than 4,000 active adult volunteers giving thousands of hours of their time each year. This Pinewood Derby event is no different. Fries estimates hell put in more than 250 hours on this event and he is just one of many to put in 150 hours or more. He says its all worth it, Whenever you lead a volunteer effort, you have the pleasure to meet wonderful people. We have some real talented and dedicated Scouting volunteers working on the project.
When the sun sets on June 5 and a Guinness World Record is in hand, the principles that highlight Scoutings core values will continue to shine as they have for 100 years. All of the lumber and building materials used to construct the 250+ ft long track will be given to a local charity that provides re-used lumber and building materials to low-income families. Reusing the materials help someone else in need echoes the Scouting traditions of service and sustainability
In the end its all about supporting the Scouting program. Scouting is important to me because it is a great experience for the boys. The program provides a framework to build core values and these values are built through fun and exciting activities says Przybylski. Fries offered a slightly different reason When I was a young boy, Scouting taught me the values of leadership and service. I believe it is very important to pass along the Scouting Tradition to young men. This pinewood derby track is meant to inspire them to become the next generation of leaders for our Country.
The event is open to Cub Scouts, their siblings, former and present Scouts and Scout leaders. They can bring their cars for spin on the record-breaking track by going to: www.neic.org/racethroughtime to sign up. To join Scouting call 847-433-1813
