Pinewood Derby Tournament Manager

A free, simple, and powerful Google Sheets and Google Apps Script solution for running a Double-Elimination Pinewood Derby tournament.

What is this?

Running a Pinewood Derby can be chaotic. Tracking who races when, who has been eliminated, and who makes it to the finals is difficult to manage on paper.

This project provides a fully automated Double-Elimination Bracket system built directly into a Google Sheet. It handles:

• Check-in: Track which cars have passed inspection and are ready to race.
• Dynamic Heats: Automatically generates randomized heats based on the number of lanes on your track.
• Bracket Tracking: Automatically manages a "Main Bracket" (for undefeated cars) and a "Second Chance Bracket" (for cars with one loss).
• The Grand Final: Automatically triggers a final championship race when the field is narrowed down, culminating in an interactive Podium display.

This is designed to be completely free, requiring no special software downloads—just a Google account.

Features

• Free Pinewood Derby Software: No subscriptions, no software to install, runs entirely in the cloud.
• Automated Racing Bracket: Automatically generates random heats based on your specific track size (supports 2, 3, 4, 5, 6+ lanes).
• Double-Elimination System: Ensures fairness by giving every racer at least two chances to race before being eliminated.
• Live Check-in System: Built-in tools for tracking car inspection and registration on race day.
• Interactive Podium: Generates a visually appealing, auto-calculated final podium for your winners.
• Open Source: Built on Google Apps Script, meaning you can view, tweak, and customize the code to fit your exact pack or den rules.

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How It Works

This system uses a lives-based double elimination format:

1. Every car starts with 2 lives.
2. For each heat, you enter the finish positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.).
3. Based on your settings, a certain number of cars "advance" safely, while the bottom cars lose a life.
   • Example: On a 4-lane track, you might set it so the top 2 advance, and the bottom 2 lose a life.
4. If a car drops to 1 life, they move to the "Second Chance Bracket." If they hit 0 lives, they are eliminated.
5. The tournament continues generating rounds until only enough cars remain to fit in one final championship race.

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Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Part 1: Installing the Script

Because this relies on Google Apps Script, you need to attach the code to a new Google Sheet.

1. Create a new, blank Google Sheet at sheets.new.
2. Name the sheet something like "Pack 123 Pinewood Derby 2026".
3. In the top menu, click Extensions > Apps Script.
4. A new tab will open with the Apps Script editor. Delete any code currently in the Code.gs file.
5. Copy all the text from the Code.js file in this repository and paste it into the editor.
6. Click the Save icon (the floppy disk) at the top.
7. Close the Apps Script tab and return to your Google Sheet.
8. Refresh the Google Sheet page. After a few seconds, you should see a new menu item at the top called 🏁 Pinewood Admin.

Part 2: Initializing the Workbook

1. Click on the 🏁 Pinewood Admin menu.
2. Select 🛠️ Initialize Setup.
3. Note: The first time you run any script in a Google Sheet, Google will ask for permission to run it. Click "Continue", choose your Google account, click "Advanced", and click "Go to [Project Name] (unsafe)". Finally, click "Allow".
4. Run 🛠️ Initialize Setup one more time if it didn't complete.
5. The script will automatically build two new tabs at the bottom: Settings and Check-in.

Part 3: Configuration & Check-in

1. Go to the Settings tab.
   • Number of Lanes: Set this to match your physical track (e.g., 3, 4, 6).
   • Number to Advance: Set how many cars should not lose a life per heat. (If you have 4 lanes, a common setting is 2).
2. Go to the Check-in tab.
   • Enter the names and car numbers of all your racers.
   • As cars arrive and pass physical inspection on race day, check the box in the Passed Inspection column.
   • Only cars with a checked box will be included in the race!

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Running the Race

Once all cars are checked in and ready to go:

1. Click 🏁 Pinewood Admin > ▶ Run / Next Round.
2. You will be prompted to start a new tournament. Click Yes.
3. A new tab called Current Round will be created. This shows the randomized heats for Round 1.
4. Race! Run the cars down your physical track according to the schedule on the sheet.
5. Enter Results: After each heat, enter the finish positions (1, 2, 3, 4) in the light grey Pos boxes next to each car's name.
   • Do not leave these blank. Every car racing must have a position entered.
   • If a car has a "BYE", do not touch their position box.
6. Once every heat in the round has a result, click 🏁 Pinewood Admin > ▶ Run / Next Round.
7. The system will process the results, move eliminated cars out, shuffle the remaining cars, and generate the next round.
8. Repeat steps 4-7 until the CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND is generated.

The Podium

When the final round is run and the last positions are entered, clicking "Run / Next Round" will analyze the entire tournament history and pop up an interactive, celebratory Podium showing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place winners!

Resetting

If you make a terrible mistake or are just running a test simulation, you can click 🏁 Pinewood Admin > ❌ Reset Whole Tournament to wipe the slate clean and start over. (This will not delete your check-in list or settings).