Because it looked like this (first pic)... The second pic is after the race. The car over shot the end of the track and hit a chair leg and broke of the right wheel. They let the car run and it was able to finish 3rd. The judge insisted the car was not legal, was not made from a BSA approved kit, and that we didn't use the pre-cut axle grooves (after he conceded that it was a BSA kit made by Revell). As I was arguing my case, holding up the start of the race, my wife overheard and got fired up. She demanded to see in writing, the rule that says the grooves have to be used. There was no mention, only that the wheel base distance may not be changed, the axles may not be altered except for polishing, maximum ride height, length of car body, and width of car with wheels attached. When placed side by side and on top of other cars, our car had exactly the same dimensions. We just didn't shape it like a real car, or tank, or whatever. We had maybe an hour of actual work on the car. Body was cut out at our pack meeting's "wood work day" because there was a band saw available for the parents to cut the car shapes. If not for that saw, our car would probably be a wedge, which we built last year and won 1st place in the regional event. We learned a lot from last year, mainly, keep it simple, use the fundamentals of physics to build a fast car.