I witnessed cars going 220 mph in Hartselle this past weekend.

You might think, “How is that possible? There’s no place in Hartselle that cars could go that fast.”

You’re right, as long as your talking about your traditional automobiles. There were no NASCAR racecars without restrictor plates in Hartselle this weekend.

However, local cub scouts are the ones to blame. They created wooden cars for their annual Pinewood Derby race. This year, it was held at Hartselle First United Methodist Church Saturday during the day.

The 37 cub scouts created cars of all shapes and sizes. Some looked like sports cars. Others looked like drag racers.

Some were themes such as Pokémon or the Green Lantern. One was even designed to look like the Mystery Machine on Scooby Doo.

I had a chance to cover the event like I have done in previous years. Each year, it keeps getting bigger and better.

The first time I cover it, the track was a two-lane wooden track that obviously had a faster lane than the other one.

Then, they borrowed a metal track. This year, they finally were able to purchase their own track to hold their own races.

They’ve gone from timing the races by hand having a sensor to tell which car crossed the finish line to having a computer determine the timing and average speed of the racecars.

Granted, most scouts want to have the fastest car, but Cub Scout Pack 92 always awards its largest trophy to the turtle race winner. That means some of the scouts try to build the slowest car possible.

In some ways, that’s the most exciting of all of the races. The only problem that most of those designers run into is the car must cross the finish line. Unfortunately, only one of the four cars crossed the finish line each of the four heats.

However, the Mystery Machine came within a couple of feet of crossing the finish line.

They did a great job. I loved the creativity and the engineering.

If you missed it, you’ll get another chance to witness it when they host the district races here in Hartselle. It’s always a lot of fun.

Brent Maze is the managing editor of the Hartselle Enquirer.