Pinewood Derby Rabbit Style - Rabbit's Used Cars 

Hey Rob, im a full time single dad of 2 & i just wanted to thank you for inspiring me to get back into the used car market, for 4 years now ive been raising my kids alone and that made it hard to manage a 9-5 so i was on welfare for quite a while, you and your videos inspired me to get back on the saddle i am two months in and have flipped 5 vehicles through private sale and made a nifty lil profit, my friends and family say our voice is alot alike and call me the east coast rabbit, just wanted to thank you , your videos changed my children and mines lives.

Sounds like y'all shoulda won the Smokey Yunick merit badge 😁

I was more concerned with making mine look cool. I didn’t think about tricking it out for speed until my final year. One car I even made full length fenders and running boards from Bondo. My dad was assistant scout leader and really went all out planning the derbies. Bought checkered flags to outline the racing area from the spectating area and the pits. Got racing themed table cloths, and busted out his collection of actual Penske racing team button up shirts for himself, my brother and me, and several other kids to wear. He even announced it like it was a NASCAR race.

Brings back memories. My Grandson and I built a pinewood derby car three years in a row. The first two looked good but weren't fast. The last year I asked him if he wanted another good looking car or a fast one. He said he wanted to win. You have to realize I am a old drag racer and auto tech. So I get on the internet and start looking for "legal" Pinewood Derby parts. We bought axles, wheels and a alignment tool. Then built the car. It wasn't pretty but it was very fast. In his troop they weighed the cars and then impounded them. You could add lube to the wheels between rounds but then had to have the car weighed again. He won first place. There was another Dad there who had 3 boys and had won for the last several years. We raced all of his kids cars and won every round. He protested and said we were cheating, like he wasn't! The car was inspected and declared to be legal. It met every rule to the letter.

3yrs ago I heard my first rabbit story, and been hooked ever since ❤️

And fondly remember the pinewood derby, my old man built my car, it was designed like an old school racecar from the 30's he carved and sanded that thing to perfection and then painted it British racing green ,it was beautiful, did it win?, no, but without question was the best looking car there and my event was also held at a church!

Oh this brings back hilarious memories. I used to ship my woodblock off to Massachusetts and have my master craftsman Grandfather have a crack at it....it would come back a month later with a note saying "don't let anyone touch it". Regulation weight, regulation wheels.....smoked everyone by at least a length anyway.

1977 I didn't have my Dad around because my Mom left him back up in Indiana and ran off with an army guy, so since me and Dad had done pinewood derby cars from 1973 on,,, I had experience building them. When it came time for my 7th grade effort,,, I built it as the 'Cherry Bomb' custom car that Tom Daniel created back in the late 60's sanded and painted several coats to get it slick. Got 3rd in speed, but 1st in appearance. This made my day to hear about Rob being 'That Dad" even if he was actually the step-dad. I absolutely had a blast to meet you guys a while back at the warehouse! I'm the guy with the SuperBird from Indiana.... Thanks for your hospitality Rob. And be sure to hit me up when you're up here if you're still interested in checking out the homebase of the Cummins B diesel!! You guys rock!

This was one of the funniest vids, the church location made it!

“You sir, are dangerous” 😂 got me rolling over here

Love the shirt! We need those guys badly right now

Best… story… EVER!!! Gonna have to store this in the memory bank since my son turns 4 in a couple weeks lol!!

Me: I remember my first.. Rob: tells story that makes metal of honor winner look like some kid playing army in their back yard.

I have fond memories of my Step-dad building PWD cars with me. We did the same thing, but not to this extent. I miss him, and stories like this remind me how he stepped up.

Just for sheets and giggles I recreated my derby car from when I was 10 y/o on Christmas 2023. I found a pic of a cool hot rod in a magazine. Back then my buddies said 'You can never make that car" but I did. Came in second... Rats! This time I designed my PWD car in engineering CAD before I carved it. A chopped 32 Ford Deuce coupe silver on the side, white on top, with orange windows.

Rob over here being the Smokey Yunick of Pinewood Derby cars LOL

This had me cracked up! Top man, wishing you a good weekend from the UK!

I did that with my dad and he was the same way. We had weights that went in each corner… I won but the dismantled my car and took the win back. Now as a 10 year old boy, that crushed me, but the next year, I won again and again they tore apart my car and found nothing wrong… The rich dads didn’t like the poor dad out building them. My dad was a master craftsman. He could have beat them all without trying… Great story! It brought back great memories!

Aaahhhh yes I still have all my cars and trophies from that I was in it till I was 18 but never got my Eagle Scout. Huge regret! But amazing experience!

Great story. I too grew up in a racing family and we definitely explored all those grey areas in the rule book 😁 I won more races with my brain than the skill set I had naturally and all you’d get was you must have cheated. “Strongest muscle in the human body is the one between your ears so be sure to exercise it daily” my dad used to say. Smart guy my dad 😁

This story made my day rabbit, lol good work bud.

Rob Pitts story are the best have me cracking up man. great story!!

awesome Tee Shirt! won my pinewood derby, then citywide.1973. my car was OBVIOUSLY the one a kid build. not his dad, dads friends, NASA engineers, etc...

You’ve unlocked a memory with my father I forgot I still had

Digging that old shirt first President I voted for and first president I served under.

LOL Rob, I was thrown to the wolves at any early age. AND, I came back leading the PACK !!

We all cheat when it's 4 our loved 1s. Great story Rob!

Wow this story was giving me flashbacks. Good memories

I helped my nephew build his pinewood derby car. The body was widened like your nomad. Wheel wells, even bondo flares over the wheel arches. It was made to look like an '82 Z28 Camaro. It sat so low that we cut a groove front to back to sit over the raised center of the track. Painted it pearl blue with pearl white SS stripes and rocker moldings using Sikkins automotive Base - clearcoat... even buffed and waxed it. Best looking car by far...not even a contender speed wise...disappointment city for my nephew...but it was really cool. Thanks for the memory jog..

My dad and I figured out to angle the wheels and we made slick looking roadster. For weight we drilled 6 holes in the bottom and glued a .38 caliber lead bullet into each hole. My car was leading but right at the end another car hit a seam in the track, took a bad hop and took me and two other cars off the track.

Well worth the glory of the story....that kid got to be a winner 🏆. You should've told the scout master " there's no cheating in the grudge game"🤣🤣🤣

My pinewood derby car came in 2nd because my friend who got first bought his fancy pinewood derby car. I'll never forget that loss but he and I are still friends 35 years later. We're supposed to meet up this summer and eat some shrooms somewhere that has a lot of trees and no park rangers.

That was awesome Rob...

Best one yet!

As an Eagle Scout who didn’t get to run any derby’s but my little brother did and I know first hand the competitive nature of the parents and kids. There’s a Southpark episode that does a good job explaining. But when Rob said the main bearded scoutmaster said don’t bring that car back here it’s like deja vu, I know that scoutmaster and I’ve seen cheated up derby cars. Best story of the bunch boys.

Outstanding Rob

I dominated my local pinewood, but when we went to race the kids from surrounding cities I didn't stand a chance. Robs buddy must have been in town. 🤣

So ol Rabbit basically brought a nitro pro mod and a barrel of track tack to a street tire no prep meet. I salute you sir.

This is a great RUC story...

I never saw my car until the night of the derby and I smoked everyone. Pyrrhic victory

Oh man I remember trying to build the fastest honest car I could with my dad. Guess this is what I was racing against when I went to state lol

good on you for step dadding. that shit ain't easy

dudeeee i was laughing in bitsss the whole story man, ur freaking awesome!!!!!!

My son and I made 4 cars. The Screamin’ Chicken, Alpha Racer, F1 Bug, and the Alien. 3 of the 4 won the style trophies.

ROB IS AN OLD SCHOOL DAD! Rock on man, and keep up the great work!

Rob Pitts, you are the best and I love all of the YT vids. I built a pinewood derby car a few years back using some of the tactics you mentioned... yeah, we won the race.

Epic story Rabbit. Way to go.

Did the same exact thing with my step son . Bought Cheater parts , thinned out the nails , cut the wheels for weight , dads were asking telling us I guess you did your homework huh ? Got top three in the county . Good enough for us I didn’t want to go any further to the states and all that B.S. my son was happy , I was happy . I still have the touch . I can cheat and get away with it lol …. Thanks Rob

Never got to go to a race but me And my brother made some and added co2 cylinders to the back and raced each other along with bottle Rockets taped to hotwheels on the kitchen floor our parents was always gone or in there room so we had full run asling as we had the house clean if they only knew what went on those days 😂

This event was always the highlight of the cub scouting year. Each of my boys won a trophy but we also held a cheater race for anyone to enter. I started with a 1 1/2 lb forward control truck. And each year added weight. After the fifth year I had a semi weighing 7 1/2 lbs. undefeated every year. After we moved up to Boy Scouts they wouldn’t let me come back.

Howdy from Houston. Piped strait from hell hot, lol.

I remember taking my pinewood car had it painted by a body shop one time Candy apple red I just bought my body at the store fun times 👍

Hey, it's a "Toggle", damn it. lol

I came from a single parent household...In fact my Mom & Friends mom's were our Den Mothers....My car? well....I lived in Silicon Valley, CA....Back in the era where it was full of defense contractors like Locheed and Ford Areospace....My car was probably one of the few entirely constructed by a child....It was a TURD! But, as I grew older I then raced motorcycles and later cars....I have many Championship trophies I've collected over the years...Never got discouraged or gave up my pursuit of speed....I can also do a pretty decent home remodel thanks to drive & self determination.

It always surprises me when someone can make magic with one handy type area, but can’t do the others at all. Old farmers had many jobs and crafts to learn and if not master the thing they could do it well enough. I tried a few times to list all the things they had to do reasonably well, but it always ended up way to long while leaving out way too much.

Union Brewing does an adult pinewood derby race, To win beer. I'm also a member of two die cast clubs that race both stock and modified 1/64th scale cars, got wheels, matchbox, etc.

If your pinewood derby car don’t have negative camber, you don’t belong in my troop.

By a long shot , ✔️your best story ever. I can't stop laughing ‼️‼️‼️

First time someone said "pass tech" in reference to a pinewood derby

Rabbit turning into Smokey Yunick over here.

Mannnn I'm glad that Scout Leader was cool, had me worried. That's a badass story man!

You remind me of one of my buddies, his motto " I want to win even if its a s**t eating contest "

We have Cub scouts up here, so they were called Cub cars. As cool as those days were to be a part of they were nothing like watching Cale Yarborough take on the Allison brothers. For some strange reason that cemented my being a racing fan forever 👍 Best days to you and yours Rob !

Great t-shirt Rob !!! 🤩🤩🤩

When you said you were competitive I was not thinking you would go this extreme 😆. I must tell my peoples of this story. You are good at what you do !

One damn good story rob. Always glad to hear them

One time. Had a machinist friend modify the wheels and axles, son did the paint on body, basic wedge. He got in hurry and blistered the paint but his wedge "blistered" the field

I still remember carving mine into a shark looking thing, and stacked up all the weight I could in the tail. Only 3 wheels touched, polished my own nails. But the one wheel hiked up didn't turn out. When it got to speed it swapped lanes. Haven't thought about that in 20 years. Might build pne with my son just for fun.

Rob, We knew that, but that’s why we like you. This channel is your therapy. AW

Best Step-Dad ever! haha

Having just got our a55e5 kicked at our first pinewood derby. This is absolutely awesome!!

Absolutely hilarious thank you

Both of my sons are PWD champions. My oldest son set the record for a 35' track in the entire state of Nevada. 4 years later his younger brother broke that record setting the record for a 35' track in the entire nation. As much as I want to like this story, and I as well have a racing background and agree that if you aren't bending the rules you aren't trying - this negates the entire point of PWD. The whole purpose is to have a father and son experience the kid can look back on later. Doesn't sound like the kit was even involved in building the car. Also, you can't do this anymore because once the car passes tech inspection you aren't allowed to touch it until after the race is over. If anyone thinks they have a fast PWD car, I've got $1,000 that says I have an 8 year old that will fuck your world smooooooooth up.

Another awesome story! 👌💯

That's a great story you are a good dad I'd do the same thing I built a bad ass solar system that rotated for my son's science fair project painted planets as close as possible to NASA photos and he was ecstatic about it. One of the times I felt like the greatest dad . The smile on his face and showing it off to his friends it was great

You sir are dangerous. You are a legend 💯

Great story. Had me laughing.

Love the t-shirt!!!!

I won my pinewood derby on my own when I was like 7 the legal way

Happy Friday rob!

It was all about the wishbone design for me. Eliminating as much material and weight as possible so you could hollow out the body and pour lead in the right spots to get the momentum rolling down hill.

It's funny because the two friends my parents warned me about eventually became cops. Both were Eagle scouts. One of them went to war with me before that.

Smokie Yunick of the Pine Wood Derby. Lmao

"Cheater parts" somehow doesn't equal: Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent

This story kept getting better as I went on!!!!

LOVE THE SHIRT 🤓🇺🇸👍

Next year, my son will be old enough for Royal Rangers. I look forward to building a car with him then.

You’re some good ole salt of the earth Rabb. That boy will never forget that for as long as he lives. Ain’t nothing wrong with bending the rules until the rules change because of you. Great story bub. And remember, it’s not a bad influence if it taught a lesson and nobody got hurt. Love that T shirt btw! Haaaaa

Cool story... don't teach kids to cheat... I get the "cool stepdad" aspect, but really, ethics is way more important, especially for the scouts (I'm not one, never wanted to be one)... this one earned you the "Used Car Salesman" badge and I still love ya! :-)

LMMFAO that's awesome!!!!

That’s awesome 😎

Fuck ya! I have almost the exact same story. Good share bro.

Did derby for several years would always tweek one wheel so it wasn’t spinning, only 3 rolling wheels equals a little less drag and always made sure we weighed right at 5 ounces

Now when you weight your car they take it, so you aren't allowed to touch it till the racing is over. But there are still "cheater" parts. My son just won his derby, but it weighed 5 OZ exactly the entire race

Great story! But it looks like rabbit has been hitting the spray tan lately.

In racing: if you’re not doing something shady, you’re not really trying lol. I’m not competitive with a lot of things, but when it comes to any kind of racing… Look out. I actually hold the record for being the fastest, gimp-leg, blind, stroke victim in the south east. Thanks for the story.

this is awesome

You sir, are dangerous... LMAO...BAHAHA

I still have my pinewood derby car. Shaped like a midget racer, built it by myself at 9yrs old.....

There's a Jimmy Buffett song with the lyrics "we are the people our parents warned us about!" EDIT: LOVE THE SHIRT!!!