Dammit! I was gonna post that exact same video. For those who don’t recognize the name, he’s the porch pirate glitter bomb guy.
Apparently not. Rober’s model in his video has four wheels, but one raised so that it is cosmetic only.
Most districts require all four wheels to be present, but not necessarily touching the racing surface.
Here is our rule, as an example: “Each car must include 4 “approved” wheels (wheels that meet the above criteria) and placed in the“normal” wheel position for a car. “Normal” position is 2 mounted on each side of the car and parallel to each other. Wheels may be staggered on each side of the car (See image 9). At least three (3) wheels must remain in contact with the track at all times. Although the 4th wheel does not need to contact the track, it must act as a guide to keep the car on the track against the center rail. Use of any other type of guide pin, fin or any other device is prohibited. No 3-wheeled cars.”
Miniature warp drive, then. See if you can punch holes in that suggestion. 
My rules of thumb were:
Add weight up to the maximum allowed. This was by far the best thing.
Do a lot of test runs to make sure the wheels are aligned.
Use sewing machine oil. Graphite is for losers.
Also consider the long-term social status benefit of having the coolest car going down the track, rather than the fastest. Look into flashing LED’s, smoke effects, perhaps dipping the car in butane and lighting it before launching down the track…no one will be talking about the fastest car afterward 
At my pinewood derby way back in the day, my slow-ass Snoopy Joe Cool racer with obnoxious tail fins, flame decals, and muffler kit (a kazoo glued to the top, it didn’t produce as near a cool as sound as hoped for) and a grimacing rubber Snoopy in the cockpit got me far more street cred than the fastest kid’s car.
Hijack but is a race between Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars a replacement for the old pinewood derby race held by the Boy Scouts? Because as I remember, building a pinewood derby car required the kid or parent to do some carpentry and lots of families aren’t set up to do that stuff.
It may be worth doing trial runs on a bare slope, not an actual track. That would make it obvious if the wheels are misaligned (i.e. car won’t go perfectly straight).
I don’t think so. Pinewood derby races are still pretty big. I figured this was just something they had at the camp we’re going to.
The plan I have is to have one fast one and one that we just pick because it’s cool.
But also from misalignment of the wheels, and alignment does change with the weight of the cars – at least it does on corners and at run-outs.
I think we have just seen the elusive double Whoosh with Czarcasm’s responses to Kayaker
I used to have a nitrous oxide-equipped car. The nitrous system can be hidden. The internal combustion engine that burns the nitrous would be hard to hide, especially on a little pinewood derby car.
That would certainly make the race more fun, but getting stoned would not improve the performance of your car.
You won’t care.
For once, a general question that I am a semi-expert at. As a Dad, I am a successful veteran of 5 Pinewood Derbies and one Lego Derby. I also run dozens of Hot Wheel races per week as part of my job.
With Pinewood Derby/Lego Derby races, the Mark Rober model works (as heavy as allowed, low profile, weight in the back, sanded axles with graphite). I had three kids go through Cubbies and we got a few trophies, always in the top 5.
I work with kids. When they do well, they can play in my office with a toy of their choosing. I have a Hot Wheels track that unfolds to make a four lane race track. I have a bin full of cars. Kids bring in their own cars to challenge my cars. I race a lot.
My observations: In general, cars that say “Made for track” or mention that they are meant for usage on a track are going to win. In general, these cars follow the Mark Rober model- heavy, low, with weight on the back. Look at the cars that are included with race tracks to get a general feel of what track cars look like.
That being said, not all these cars are always the fastest. There are some cars that are consistently fast that don’t follow the above model at all. In general, cars get slower the more you use them. Not all cars are consistent day to day. On some days they run fast, and on some days they are a step slower. However, in general, your top five cars stay your top five cars.
My recommendation is to buy 10 cars, test them out, and see which one wins the most.
Imagine being this person.
Back on topic. Hot Wheels and Matchbox!
This is definitely cheating! https://www.racehotwheels.com/2017/09/are-you-ready-to-make-your-car-faster.html
As I posted earlier, the easiest and quickest way to make your Hot Wheel faster is to align the tires. If you look at the car from below, even right out of the package, the tires aren’t perfectly in line with each other and straight. Just like your real car, misaligned tires will cause it to drift right or left. This is critical for Hot Wheels because every time they touch the side of the track they slow down. Johnny Lightning cars were touted to be faster than Hot Wheels and most of them were. However, a least one model had little plastic headers that would touch the sides of the track and was slower than the Hot Wheels.
Proof that weight isn’t everything is that early Matchbox cars were generally heavier than Hot Wheels, but because of the different types of axles were slower than them. After all, that’s what Hot Wheels were all about, being faster than other diecast cars. The same marketing done for Johnny Lightning, faster than Hot Wheels.
And finally, what may be the definitive answer. Note that weight isn’t the only factor. http://www.racehotwheels.com/2016/02/five-fast-hot-wheels-cars-that-you-need.html
My memory is strong and my Google Fu even stronger!
Well obviously weight and alignment aren’t the ONLY factors. You also need flame decals on the sides. Everyone knows those make a car go faster.
That is the main reason such a setup would be so pricey. Hard enough to scale a Nitrous Oxide system to that size, but masking it so the judges won’t notice is VERY pricey!
We experimented with Pinewood derby cars. Once you cut down air resistance, the heavier the faster. No doubt.
which was?