Derby Information
As long as young men have been involved with Scouting, there have been derbies. In 1939 the Boy Scouts of America offered kits for model cars, boats, and airplanes, derbies were seen as a way for father and son to work together on a project.
Some early derbies included Kite Derbies and eventually it moved to Cubmobiles, Soap Box Derby type constructions. Pinewood derbies became known in the 1954 issue of Boys' Life magazine. Selling for $2.75 for a set of eight cars, over 15 million kits have been sold over the next twenty years.
Regattas began in 1958 and Space Derbies began in 1961, after the beginning of the space race.
Click here for a Grand Prix Derby PDF.