Meet the dads who can’t quit pinewood derby racing—even after their kids are over it
After his first race in an adult league, Dan Inman says, “I decided to roll up my sleeves and figure out how to be competitive.” (Heami Lee/)Popular Science’s Play issue is now available to everyone. Read it now, no app or credit card required.Dan Inman had anticipated this moment for months. It was the first Saturday of December 2018—tournament day—and he thought the cars he’d built could outperform anyone’s. They were compact. Sleek. Speedy. He watched anxiously as his pinewood derby racers took their spots at the top of a long, sloping aluminum track. When each heat began, they whizzed down the gleaming course. In the other lanes, the competition hopelessly gave chase. Inman’s entries finished at the front of the pack in two key rounds, and a thought slunk into his mind: He might just be the champion.Then officials brought out the scales. Pinewood derby competitions are organized by...