AWANA Grand Prix

Cooper participated in the AWANA Grand Prix for the second time.  Derek was out of town last year but was here to help out, get ready and be there to cheer him on this year.  They went to the church where the boys attend AWANA for a build day where there were power tools available to use.  They got Cooper's car shaped into what he'd picked out and Cooper sanded it down.

They brought it home and did some more work on it, adding weights and starting the paint.  Then took it back to make sure it weighed in under weight... or right at is this goal!

Cooper's idea was a WSU car.  So we just printed off Wichita State logos and glued them on.

It wasn't as fancy as if we'd have painted them on, but it worked!

And finally race day arrived!

We headed to the track. 

Cooper registered his car.

Made sure it fit in the box and was the right size.

And had it weighed.

Everything checked out okay, so they did a last minute axle lubricating and put Coop's car in the pit.

We found a seat with friends and waited for the races to begin.

After the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance AWANA pledge, things got started.

They boys watched cars zoom down the track.

Then Cooper's name was called and he headed to the pit to get ready. 

When it was his turn, he lined up his car.

But lost in a very close heat.

He was eliminated from that bracket but they do three to determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

So he got to race again later.

He'd lost two heats, but in the third bracket he won a few races in a row!

He was thrilled with a few wins, but was again eliminated near the end of the 3rd place bracket.

Still...  he had a great time racing! 

After it was over, Miles got to pick a car from the 'extras'...

And run it down the track a few times. 

Miles will be old enough to participate next year and the boys are already planning ahead!

(We all wore Shocker attire in support of Cooper's car!)