The cars hurtled down a steep slope towards sure oblivion. Some of the cars even lost wheels and fell off of the track. When they finally finished the course, if they made it that far, they braked impossibly fast. In the end, there was only one victor.

To be fair, the cars were made of blocks of wood, measured about 2 inches by 6 inches, and were racing down a 4-foot-tall track in the University Center Connan Room. But that didn't stop anyone from having a good time at the ASME Pinewood Derby on Friday, February 24. Held as part of the National Engineers Week, this event promoted the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and its Carnegie Mellon chapter to members of the campus community. The race was organized by ASME members and CIT seniors Sara Rockwell and Linda Williams.

About 20 students registered and purchased pinewood car kits for $5 each from ASME, but despite a few work sessions that ASME held to let students work on their cars, only 10 were able to complete their cars by race time. Of course, lack of preparation didn't stop some students: for example, CIT senior Connor O'Malley simply attached the axles and wheels to the wood block in his kit, wrote "CONTROL" on the car in black marker, and entered it in the race. He didn't do so well.

Pinewood Derby rules state that the cars must weigh less than 5 ounces; a scale was present for weigh-in at the event. Many students made last-minute adjustments, adding  weights to get as close to the 5-ounce limit as possible, fixing wheels, and making sure their cars would roll down the track smoothly. Some students voiced concerns about the half-hour delay ("Can we start? I'm ready!" exclaimed O'Malley), but it was necessary to help many students get their cars ready. Most of the cars were somewhat low-tech; most didn't use graphite lubricant or anything more expensive than a few quarters used as weights. However, one car, made by CIT senior David Rollinson, was made mostly of aluminum; it looked to be a pre-race favorite.

Tensions were high as the first cars made their way to the starting line on the professional aluminum Pinewood Derby track from pinewoodderbytracks.com. The first few races knocked a few cars out of the running (including one that looked like a buggy, but unfortunately fell apart), but by the later races, they got very close. In a photo finish in the final race, CIT sophomore Phil Godbout's car with the fraternity Sigma Nu's letters and a few coins as weights edged out CIT junior Thornell Hudson's black car for first place. Stuart MacGregor's submission, a mostly-plastic car with a "Spyder" logo on it, took third. Rollinson's aluminum car failed to place.

But a Pinewood Derby isn't just a pure speed competition. CIT first-year Nora McDaniel's ladybug car took the prize for Best Paint, CIT senior Eddie Lu won Most Realistic for his black car, and CIT senior Miles Thompson won Best of Show. As he explained it, his car, with a big back section, was supposed to be a van, then a truck, but ended up as a police van with "Policia" written on the side.

Overall, the event served as a great way for ASME to get their name out on campus, as well as a way for engineers to try their hand at the traditional Boy Scout competition. For more information, check out the Carnegie Mellon ASME chapter's website.

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