I still remember the day I fell in love with NASCAR.
It was April 15, 2007, and I was 9 years old. I clicked on the TV and stumbled across NASCAR’s finest racing around the Texas Motorspeedway. Immediately, I was intrigued by the colorful cars and drivers reaching speeds of 200 mph.
The only downside was I didn’t finish the race due to my afternoon Little League practice, but from that point on I tuned in every Sunday or Saturday to watch the world’s best.
My love for NASCAR followed me into Mrs. Schmidt’s fourth-grade classroom, my least-favorite class ever. It probably was because I talked too much, and had to “pull a stick” in front of my peers.
Anyway, I needed a way to keep myself preoccupied in class. The simple multiplication and division was not doing it for me… Or was it addition and subtraction — whatever, you get the point.
I had a passion for diecast cars, but knew it would be impossible to purchase every driver’s paint scheme with my minimal allowance. So while Mrs. Schmidt droned on, I thought “what if I could just make them.” Exactly!
The project changed my entire outlook on school. Heading into class each morning, I brought sheets of printer paper to help me with my creations. In fact, it is actually very simple to create these paper masterpieces.
So for my contribution to the many children bored out of their minds because of the pandemic, I’m willing to share my secret of how to construct a paper race car. After all, it’s vital to keep your brains ticking creatively.
All you need is a sheet of paper, coloring utensils, scissors, and tape. I broke the car down into two sides, the aerial view of the car, and two tires.
Simply create the design on the sheet of paper, and then fill in with the color of your choice. It can be your own paint scheme, or your favorite driver, or maybe you decide to create a full 40-car field. For me, I made countless models.
When all the designing is done, cut out each individual piece, and then set them aside. Grab the main body of the car (aerial view) and slightly fold the edges except the hood.
After that is complete, place a piece of tape on each end of the side pieces of the car, and then connect them to the ends of the aerial view that were folded in the previous step. Then, place each tire in their correct spots… and VOILA! You have yourself a homemade race car.
If you know of a kid looking for an activity — well here you go. To make things interesting, I want to see what can be created.
Send me a picture of your creation by either Twitter @iolasports or email, [email protected] and I’ll be the judge. The winner gets three tickets to the Humboldt Speedway.
