Sons, fathers design miniature cars to race in Bethel Park
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Brian, left, and Brody Beinhauer of Peters Township had the fastest car.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Holden, left, and Owen Taylor
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Linus Rizer, left, and Joey Moeslein
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Jack Scureman of Upper St. Clair
Harry Funk/The Almanac
The coolest car, by Carter and Chris Kashak
The Chule car race is catching on big among South Hills boys and their dads.
This year’s competition on March 23 at the Spencer Family YMCA in Bethel Park drew 180 entries, 35 or so more than ever before.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Chris, left, and Carter Kashak of Upper St. Clair had the coolest car.
An activity of the Y’s Guides and Princess Program, the Chule event is the male counterpart to the Princess Cup sailboat races held earlier in the month for girls in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Although it sounds like something you might find on a Mexican restaurant’s menu, “Chule” actually is a word created just for the event, according to Andrew Pricener, director of youth and family programming for the YMCA. Fathers and sons work together on designing their cars.
“It’s a little block of wood with two axles and two wheels,” Pricener said. “They turn that into a lean, mean racing machine.”
Race day features a series of competitions among six cars whizzing down a metal track, with an electronic display revealing the relative positions at the finish. When all was said and done, Brody Beinhauer of Peters Township and his dad, Brian, took the first-place trophy.
On the design side, Upper St. Clair son and father Carter and Chris Kashak came up with what was voted as the coolest car.
The Guides program is intended for fathers to be able to spend time with their sons during a variety of scheduled activities. Some 15 of the fathers spend a considerable amount of time preparing for the Chule race the day before and conducting the event.
“The project can’t run without the help of the dads,” Pricener said.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
An electronic display shows the relative positions of cars as the cross the finish line.