2014 Race Winners

It finally happened....after 17 years of trying, David finally placed FIRST in the Picollo Pete 500!  It almost didn't happen, but as with most races, luck was on his side.

First off - let me say that there was some trash talk going on between David and James. To them, it didn't matter as much where they placed in the race as long as it was in front of the other.

Qualifying started, and James' car went before David's.  It was a decent run (especially considering he has been away for two years serving a mission for the Mormon Church AND he didn't put his car together until yesterday morning.)  David's car was up next - AND IT DID NOT PASS JAMES!  In fact, the engine blew apart leaving it a couple of feet from where James had landed.  But all was not lost.  This is where David's luck began to kick in ---- he had made two cars.  They were of similar design with only a difference in the body (one was balsa and the other was styrofoam - I won't tell you which one ran better.)  David's 2nd car was on the line - it took off and passed James by at least two feet!  He had made it into the finals.

The final race was comprised of Thomas, Susan, Tom, Matt (a rookie) and David.  The cars are raced in the order of their qualifying run - with the first car out being the 5th qualifier.  That was David.  His luck continued with his decision to make a change to his engine design during the mandatory pit stop.   His engine was lit and he was off!  His car soon passed the 'spotters', raced past moms house, then the house next store. It came to rest at the back tire of a car parked on the street. Then the next bit of luck happened - someone parked their car behind the car where David's car stopped.  Now it would be near impossible to beat him.

David's luck continued as the others ran their cars - engines blew, cars flipped over - things were definitely looking up for David.   Then Tom's car was up, the biggest threat to David's win. Tom's car flew off the starting line and hit the rail - Tom's day was over.  David had won the race!!!  The crowd roared, fireworks went off, it was mass pandemonium!  OK, so maybe it wasn't so exciting for everyone else that he won - but it was for this writer (who happens to be married to him!).

Congratulations to David and everyone else who participated in the race or just joined in watching the fun.  I can't wait until next year!!!

DAVID'S WINNING RUN
http://youtu.be/Qw0EooxlnRI

SUSAN'S SECOND PLACE RUN
http://youtu.be/kTGP-XerflU

TOM'S THIRD PLACE RUN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La-Qqx29-a4

THOMAS' FOURTH PLACE RUN
http://youtu.be/ffZpDBJsPI8

MATT'S FIFTH PLACE RUN
http://youtu.be/k85RCaz_TlA

Watch for more videos and pictures to be posted over the coming week.

2013 Race is in the Books

It was a great day for racing!  For a moment I thought we were going to have a first time 1st place winner, but it was not to be.  'Always the bridesmaid, but never the bride Wagstaff' came in third - again.  He came in first during qualifying with a brilliant run - quite possibly the longest run in our 17 year history - but his car hit the wall in the finals and veered off the track, passed under a parked car finally coming to a rest on the curb.

Here are the winners (left to right):

Tom - 2nd place, Nick - 1st place, and David - 3rd place.

It was definitely a great day for racing.  Here is a link to David's first run.  I'll be updating the blog with more later.  Sign up for an email notification (in the upper left hand corner of this page) so you don't miss out on the fun.

David's Qualifying Run - 2013

2011 Videos - First Round of Racing

Here is David 'in the pits' before the race building an engine. Tom asked him to rewire one of the entries that was made out of plastic bottles. It started with a single Piccolo Pete sticking out of the end of each of the 3 bottles. The problem would be lighting it. David rewired it, which fixed the problem. This design was rather cool as it sported a smoke bomb taped to the front, which was lit at the same time as the engine - for dramatic affect! (Video pending)


We had 3 yellow buses entered this year, all by different contestants. They did remarkably well. Unfortunately, due to the small wheel base, they tend to get a little squirrly. (Video pending)

At our Christmas White Elephant gift exchange last December, this statue (Oscar) was one of the gifts. It was reworked into a car for the race! It didn't run well, but it was interesting to look at.


Here is my car. I call it the Hula Car.


Did you ever see the movie Wally? This car is a distant cousin.



Here is the runaway car... part one is it going astray... part 2 is it's reveal from under the car.

2010 Videos - Part 3 - Russ' Runs

Russ' car - good qualifying run. It got him into the final race!
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Here is Russ' winning run, in the final heat.

2011 Videos - Part 2

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One of Bubba's creations.


Not sure who's car this was, but it had a good run. Check out all of the names on the track so close to the starting line! Not a lot of good runs this year.

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So sad.... my car didn't make it very far.

2010 Videos - Part 1

Here are some short clips from the 2010 race! Can't wait for this year!!!
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This year the OLDER generation turned over the task of 'spotting' cars to the younger generation...for 'most' of the cars. James and Trayne did a good job.

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Even with a second engine - some of the cars didn't make it very far this year. I think that part of the problem is the firework makers not putting as much powder in the Piccolo Petes!

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This would have been a good year for the OLDER generation to keep running after the cars....like I said, some didn't go very far. 'Spotters' had an easy job!

2009 Videos

David shot video of the entire race, but I did not take as many video snipets as I usually do. I haven't had a chance to edit the full length video, but I hope you enjoy the 'snipets' I did manage to capture.
One of David's cars.
Missy's first time running in the race. At least she did better than Tammie!

It's hard to see, but this is Vickie's 'green' car. Made from cardboard reels that use to hold ribbon and some dowls, it didn't do too badly!

2008 QUALIFYING RUNS

Qualifying. Everyone runs in qualifying. The top 5 cars with the greatest distance, go on to the finals. Here are a few of the qualifying runs.


Here is the line up for 2008. Not quite as many cars as in past years, but a good showing all the same.


James' run - good, but not good enough. Maybe if you spent more time on your car than on your Anime costume James, you would have won!


This entry barely made it off the starting platform. The car owner was too embarrassed to claim the run for themselves. Better luck next time!


David's qualifying run was good enough to land him in the finals!


Anticipation was high when the Noodle took it's place on the starting line. Unfortunately, it proved to be a little slow on delivery. Better luck next time Tom!


Tammie gave it a good shot on her qualifying run. But it wasn't good enough to make it to the finals.


This 3 wheel design by David, needed a little more stabilty around the front wheel. David thought the extra piece of balsam wood on the drive shaft was all it needed. It helped, but it wasn't good enough.

Heard of train racing? This is the Piccolo Pete version of it. If one car is good, two has to be better right?

2008 Piccolo Pete 500 - Results

And the winner is....... 1st Place - Susan R. Watch Susan's winning run in the video below her picture.



2nd Place - Nick S. Nick's 2nd place run is below his picture.



3rd Place - David W. 3rd place is better than no place - see David's run below his picture.

2007 Videos

We had some interesting designs this year. Cars went further than they ever have and some of them were more squirrelly than they've ever been. We start off the video clips with a 'Short Run'.


There are only 2 video clips that I know the car owners. This is one of them - Vickie's car.


Here's a clip of one of the squirrelly cars. Not as bad as some, but it was the only one caught on tape.


This clip demonstrates how a car can also be mistaken for a hockey puck. But just like baseball, there is no crying in our race. If you don't want someone else to run with your car - then you can do it yourself.


We've saved the best for last. I think this is one of the furthest any of our cars have traveled. It was unique Team Ry design that did great during qualifying, however it came in third in the finals! We call it 'The Noodle'.

2006 Videos

Below is a sampling of videos from this year. We start off with a short "way to go" run!


How many runners does it take to keep a car on track? You count....


The competition continues. I think James is talking smack about David - although he's hard to hear. I guess he was mouthing off before his car ran.


After watching this run, no wonder James was speaking softly in the previous video!
You may be wondering about Tammie and the cane. James just got his drivers license and missed a question about what to do when you see a blind person on the corner, unfortunately his car never made it far enough down the road to see if his car knew what to do!

This run is slow and steady AND pretty straight!


Let's hear it for the crowd!


In the end, here is where the losers end up, and where the winners select new tires for next years race!

2005 The Competition

The competition between David and James continues. James vows to make a comeback in 2006. We'll see......

2004 Videos

James didn't win this year, but he doesn't seem to mind....


Not many video logs created this year. This one shows a short - non-eventful run.


Well, I said that we didn't get many short videos this year. This one was taken after a run....