It was a day at the races Sunday for the Cub Scouts of Pack 604, Port Carbon, during the annual Pinewood Derby held at Fairlane Village mall near Pottsville.
While registration began at 12:15 p.m., the races started at 1 p.m., featuring homemade cars racing down a sloped track with gravity serving as the only source of power.
Scouts designed and decorated the cars themselves, built from official kits with a block of wood, nails and wheels.
All cars had to adhere to derby rules issued by the Boy Scouts of America, including that the width of the car must not exceed 2 1/2 inches, length shall not exceed 7 inches and weight shall not exceed 5 ounces.
Each year Scouts must create a new car. They may not enter a car into the derby from previous years.
"The kids do love this and it is cool," said Joel Budwash, den leader. "They put a lot of work into them."
There were about 30 wooden cars entered into the derby.
The Scouts got creative with the car designs. Among the entries were two Batmobiles, hotdog, Despicable Me, The Punisher, and cheese cars.
The event began with the Scouts competing for first place in their den. The pack is divided into six dens - Lion, Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos I and II. The racers who finished first in the six dens then competed against each other for the pack championship and trophies were awarded to the top six racers.
During each race, the Scouts picked up their cars and handed them to Joseph Budwash of Boy Scout Troop 604, Port Carbon, who was the official starter. They then made their way to the end of the track to watch the race.
As the cars made their way down the track the young Scouts cheered and yelled in excitement.
"Great job guys," Joel Budwash said after each race.
In addition to the race winners, trophies were awarded in three special categories - most original, crowd favorite and Boy Scout favorite.
First-year participants received a pin, while ribbons were given to all repeat participants.
For more information on the Pinewood Derby and Pack 604, visit the pack's website at www.portcarbonscouts.com.