One of the cool things, I’ve discovered, about having young children – and there are tons of cool things – is getting to reminisce about all the things you did when you were their age, then to actually get to do those things, once again, with them.

For example, this week, I found myself in at least half a dozen conversations about Pinewood Derby cars.

Pinewood Derby is a Cub Scout project where each scout is given a block of pine, four plastic wheels (each about the diameter of a quarter) and two axles (which would resemble two steel toothpicks) and is asked to go build a race car.

I remember my first car.

My dad and I took the block of wood to a friend who owned woodworking equipment and we shaped the wood, rough-cut, into the general shape of a racecar – a sloping hood, aerodynamically shaped rear deck, etc.

I painted the car white and used red printer’s tape to make a wide stripe down the topside, then painted the number 12 on the sides.

Still rough-cut, my car was, to a real Pinewood Derby racecar, what a Model-A pickup truck is to a Formula One racer.

I raced in three heats and lost all three.

But I learned, yes, I learned.

Pinewood Derby, aside from being a craft project for parents and kids, is something of a lesson in physics.

To understand a Pinewood Derby track, picture a 1- by 12-inch plank of wood, about 20 feet long, set flat on its wide side at a 30 to 45 degree angle, with two thin strips of wood, set parallel on top to keep two cars on the track as they race to the bottom.

It turns out, as I discovered, Pinewood Derby cars can be modified with additional weight, up to a total race weight of 5 ounces, to take advantage of gravity as it pulls them to the bottom of the track.

The next speed issue is aerodynamics. The more aerodynamic the car, the more speed it is able to achieve.

And then there is the matter of aligning the axles and wheels so the car rolls straight down the track. Otherwise, as it veers against the thin strips of wood underneath it, the friction created causes a reduction in speed.

With these lessons, I built a new car; actually I guess I rebuilt the white one. I sanded it in the shape of a bottom-heavy torpedo, smooth this time, and painted it silver. I gave it a black stripe and the number 12 in honor of my favorite pro football team and player – the Oakland Raiders and quarterback Kenny Stabler. I also added lead to get it to race weight.

It was a mean machine.

I went back to the mall, where the big city-wide races were held, and I won a few heats.

Success.

Months ago I found my oldest son with my third and favorite Pinewood Derby car, racing it down our hardwood hallway against some Tonka contraption that didn’t stand a chance, not against my sleek maroon racing machine.

I’d kept the car all these years and stored it low on a shelf, probably secretly hoping he’d find it and take it out for a spin. Very cool, I thought; very cool, indeed.

Todd Carpenter is publisher of The Democrat. You can reach him by calling 445-3618 or by e-mail at todd.carpenter@ natchezdemocrat.com.