Girl Scouts ready to race
By Ashley Shah
About 130 Girl Scouts across 24 troops in Scripps Ranch will be competing in the Powder Puff Derby with their pinewood cars on March 1 at Dingeman Elementary School.
“The Powder Puff Derby has been around for several decades. It was a competition started by the Boy Scouts (Pinewood Derby). … It’s an event that is unique to scouting,” Scripps Ranch 2025 Powder Puff derby co-chair Eric Caballero said. “I have two daughters who are Girl Scouts. This will be our fourth year competing in the event with my older daughter, and my youngest daughter’s first year competing.”
The pinewood cars are constructed from a kit. The kits are made and produced by the Boy Scouts of America.
“We purchase the kits from the Boy Scouts, and then distribute them to troops that want to participate. The kits are about $15 each,” Caballero said.
Each kit only includes a 2-inch by 6-inch piece of pinewood, four nails and four wheels.
“It is up to each scout to design and produce their own car to race down the track,” Caballero said. “Some of the scouts will look up videos online on platforms like YouTube to figure out how to make the fastest car. My daughter has watched videos each year to try to maximize the car’s speed.”
The scouts are able to produce their cars with the help of families in Scripps Ranch.
“The O’Days, who had children in Girl Scout troops within Scripps Ranch, ran the derby for the past seven years. This is the first year that they have not run it,” Caballero said. “Their garage has been set up for producing a pinewood car. Even though they are not running the derby this year, they still have volunteered their garage.”
There were three workshop days during the month of February in which groups of scouts could come to build their cars.
“These scouts put in hours of time cutting, sanding, polishing. They take time painting and decorating, weighing. It is an in-depth process of making these cars,” Caballero said.
The event will begin at noon. The Family and Friends group will be the first to compete, with 13 competitors.
“The goal is to give everyone an opportunity to race. Friends or family of a Girl Scout can purchase a kit, which gives an opportunity for a brother, close friend or parent to be involved. These guests compete in the Family and Friends group,” Caballero said.
Each group is split into heats of four in which the fastest two racers compete with the two fastest racers from another heat, until 10 final competitors are left from each group.
At 1 p.m. the group consisting of the Daisies and Brownies will compete. Daisies are scouts that are in kindergarten or first grade, and Brownies are scouts in the second or third grade. There will be around 75 competitors.
The next group will compete at 2 p.m., consisting of the Juniors, Cadets and Seniors. Juniors are scouts in fourth or fifth grade. Cadets are scouts in grades six to eight. Seniors are scouts in ninth or 10th grade. This group will have around 50 competitors.
The championship round will begin at 3 p.m. and will include the fastest 10 pinewood cars from each group, excluding the family and friends group.
After the championship round, awards will be distributed.
There will also be a concession stand with food and drink options. The concession stand is a fundraiser for some of the troops.
Caballero, alongside his co-chair Courtney Glavis-Bloom, have been planning this event since October 2024.
“I’m so happy to be a part of this. I know that there is incredible value in working with your hands and that is not something that is always taught within the schools,” Caballero said. “This is a great opportunity for us to teach girls how to engineer cars, make them fast and actually produce it in a setting that is really fun, but also competitive. This is such a valuable event.”