Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I came across this article. Pretty interesting, and would have to say I agree. Some kids do have that natural talent, but it's such a small percentage. The rest should take it easy and enjoy the ride. 16-18 should be the set age.

http://www.sprintcarinsider.com/news/old-old-enough/

maybe this will help...

http://www.examiner.com/article/judge-5-year-old-is-old-enough-to-be-sued

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

It's a great argument.

My opinion is 16. Sprint Car Racing in particular has taken enough of a beating in the media over the last 2 years, to risk having a 13 year old killed in one as well. The body and mind is not physically developed yet, and as stated in the article, "a hit hard enough to give a grown up a concussion, could be lights out for a child". They have plenty of years left, to wait until they are 16 to be in a sprint car. If something went wrong at that age, the media would have a field day. It borders on negliegence on all parties from parents, promotors, tracks and series.

I tend to agree with this.  Although some younger kids may be capapble of driving one how bad would it be if one did get severely hurt or killed!  I'm surprised most tracks and series don't have an age rule just for that reason.

16 for a 360, and 18 for a 410 always sounded good to me. 

If u can have a drivers license then u should b able to drive race car

I would say a 16 year old driver who is capable is safer in a sprint car with ,hans,correct seat and belts  than a passenger car especially if seat belt is not fastened.The two crashes of Kinser and Dollansky in Arizona were good examples.Many young people have started before they even went to school and have procressed thru quarters,outlawkarts,legends ,and  micro sprints which on a small track are very fast.Gordon and Larsen were exceptions .

I was told that as of this year all drivers at Knoxville must be 16 yrs old.  They did allow 15 year olds to run 305 but insurance company said no longer.  I think insurance companies will ban younger kids at all tracks in near future in full sized race cars.  If something bad happened to say a 13 year old kid the news media would go crazy.  There are other forms of racing that younger kids can race in.  What is the hurry?  Let a kid be a kid.

I firmly believe that 16 is too young. I also believe that parents today have lost their damn fool minds. Especially ones in my generation. Sprint Car racing is AWESOME, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing wrong with waiting. There actually are children getting hurt in these cars and you are not hearing about it daily,,,,,,,, yet! Like the 15 year old in Missouri a couple of years ago that damn near killed himself.

I am speaking from a position of experience on this topic. My daughter and I raced all over the country with Karts from 2001 through 2008. She won many feature events from road races to dirt ovals, in stock karts, open karts, and cage karts. She also collected few championships along the way. We raced 32 to 38 times a year from 2004 to 2008.

I mention all of this to make a point. I believe that there should be an age in which children should be allowed to race a full size car. That age should be their first official year as an adult. My daughter had more than enough "experience" behind the wheel to do the job, but we did not feel that she was old enough. We believe that 18 should be the right age. She raced her first Sprint Car in 2008 at the age of 18. She started (the engine) in her first Sprint Car at age 18. We did not light the world of fire in the Sprint Car, but we had a lot of fun in the 5 years that she raced and she may get back to it after she graduates from college. She is not now nor will she ever be a super star, but then again neither are more than three quarters of the 13 year olds that start that young, and most of them never become anything in the sport either.

Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson, and many others became great drivers, who would have been great drivers even if they had to wait. There is no benefit to having children risking thier lives in adult sports other than to allow thier parents to live through them for a little while. Not a single point here even approaches how unfair it is to an adult who might crash with a child and then have to deal with having possibly killed a kid. It is wrong for everyone involved.

Just my 2 cents. 

Never hit stationary objects!

What gives you or anyone else the right to choose what someone else's child does?! I know a 13 year old that is 6'1" and 215lbs and more mature than any 21 year old I know. Age is a number and nothing more. I also know 13 year Olds that are 4' tall and 75lbs. I have seen a 12 year old whip up on the "Men" and they thought he was great and praised him in every way! I come from a motocross background and I can tell you first hand i could take more hits at 13 than I could at 21. These arguments are a moot point usually started by someone who is jealous of someone else. 

You're right. There is no disqualification for age when it comes to that, however an adult can fully be held accountable for their actions when they do lose their cool, where a kid isn't. That's what I took from the article anyway.

 Another opinion There have always been exceptional human beings through time . Many of these have been child prodigy.To allow children to participate in a motorsport that is one that  requires a number of mature on going thought processes to ocurr while participating is not good & safe reasoning ,not only does this  put a child in harms way but it multiples the risk to others around them. Would you take a 12 year old & enter them  in any other form of auto racing with the best interest & safety of the child a primary consideration. Thats why most sports have progressive leagues so the cream can rise to the top .My personal opinion should be when someone wants to race a sprint car they should have a valid drivers permit. Also food for thought how many kids are racing in the upper Drag Race Classes , Road Racing , Ralley,Off Road  ETC ETC  ETC ????

Brad Sweet as a young teenager, maybe younger used to beat the men often in the Winged Outlaw Karts out in California, he was a sight to see, fast and fearless, always headed to the front, he was a machine at Cycleland.....

And it did not harm Brad one bit to be there. Most karting clubs start people out in the SR. division at 15 years old. Outlaw Karts are cool, but they are effectively Go Karts, which is a great place to learn how to race. Many kids walk all over the adults in Karts in the SR. divisions, that is not uncommon, but that is one of many places that they should be making a name for themselves. It should be pointed out that even Karting recognizes at the highest levels that 10 through 14 is too young to compete with the adults. I agree that the line blurs a little around the age of 16 at that level though.

Never hit stationary objects!

Here is a question? how many of these so called "too young" drivers are actually out there, and how many of these "too Young" drivers have hurt themselves or anyone else? or even torn up anyone's equipment for that matter? this is a big discussion on many forums and everyone feels SO STRONGLY that their opinion is the only opinion, but it actually affects so few directly I just don't get it!

Not replying to any post in particular but just weighing in on how I feel about the teen drivers.  When I started watching racing Jerry Richert Sr. and Scratch Daniels were the two best in our area.  They'd go out on their IMCA exploits but I'd seen them mainly on off weekends when they'd fill in their schedules with Supermodified races at our local track.  I was probaby a little bit younger than thirteen but not too far off.  Another driver I cheered for was a Floridian by the name of Buzz Barton who spent a few summers racing up here.  Anybody who was around in those days remembers how tough racing was and the kind of men that would drive those non-wing cageless beasts.  Many drivers of that era were WWII combat veterans so you get the picture, tough guys who were tough as nails driving cars that caused the demise of many brave men.  Notice I didn't mention women Sprint Car drivers.  Women and children the age of some of today's drivers weren't even allowed in the pits much less in the seat of a race car. 

My intent isn't to argue about equality and whether 13 and 14 year olds should be allowed to drive.  I'm just commenting on my perception of the whole thing.  Back when I was watching those drivers of the early 60's it happened to coincide with my reaching my 13th birthday.  I'll be the first to admit it, I wouldn't have been mature enough to handle a Sprint Car but that's a non issue because anytime I got close to one nobody said "hey kid, do you want to drive?"  Nope, to the contrary, they said "hey kid, stay away from those exhaust pipes".  Actually I couldn't even imagine a 13 or 14 year old handling one of those things. 

Likewise today at 63 years old, 50 years past that milestone 13th birthday.  At this age I still look up to the older drivers who have cut back or recently retired.  I have a great deal of respect for the adult Sprint Car drivers racing in the hotbed areas of the sport.  I've even gotten to know a few drivers who are household names through my years spend writing and taking photos.  Injury and insurance considerations aside at my age I just can't wrap my mind around anyone in the 13-15 (and even 16 & 17) age range driving these cars.  The article that is linked to here mentioned the perception of the sport as a "professional" sporting endevor and that is exactly what it boils down to for me.  By way of example there was a young kid from North Dakota that used to run 360's at our local track.  At first I have to admit because of his age and the fact that when he'd wad up a car the family would roll another one out of the trailer.  Yeah, I admit to having mixed feelings about Donnie Schatz but I have to admit that he has done alright once he matured and grew up a little.

But another thing I see today is some very talented veterans without rides.  Then a huge hauler will pull up and unload the best pieces that money can buy.  And the driver will emerge from the hauler and he or she is barely old enough to get on the rides at Disney World let alone drive a Sprint Car.  So yeah, I do see some young drivers from time to time but I'm not crazy about it and no way at 63 I'm going to look up to somebody's 14 year old kid as a hero.  I am a life long Sprint Car fan and when I see these young drivers to me it diminishes the professionalism of the sport.  If that's the effect it has on me I can imagine how the public would perceive it.  Another example, Minnesota is sometimes called the State of Hockey as we have one of the best youth and high school hockey programs in the country.  We also have a pro team, the Minnesota Wild.  I go to one hockey game a year and my choice is always the professional variety.  I could go to youth league every night of the week all winter but they play out in small arenas where most of the spectators are their parents.  Sprint Car drivers have that same effect on me, I feel like I'm spending my Saturday night watching some wealthy person's kid pursue an expensive hobby. 

Not saying that I'm right or wrong but given my background going back to the glory days that is the effect that today's youthful drivers have on me personally.

Stan Meissner

Just a couple corrections as I can't edit for some reason.

Sprint Car drivers have that effect in the second to last paragraph should have read 13-15 year old Sprint Car drivers.  Actually if it were up to me personally I would extend that "too young" age range up a ways to 17.  To wrap it up for me the potential for accidents and injury and the associated insurance and liability issues and the perception of the sport that child drivers gives to the public are the things that bother me.  I'm sure there are some reading my posts that are ready to jump on me and try to convince me otherwise.  Spare yourself a case of carpal tunnel, you aren't going to change my mind and if you were looking at this through my eyes and background you might agree or at the least be able to relate to why I feel the way I do about it.

Rather than argue my point I think over time if enough of the middle school drivers started competing at my local track I'd probably just lose interest.  Things change over the years and if Sprint Car racing ever got to the point where most of the drivers were school kids with wealthy parents I'd simply move onto other interests.  This trend doesn't motivate me to be drawn closer to the sport, to the contrary it's things like this that tend to slowly push me away further.

Stan Meissner

Wasn't Jeff Gordon and Sport Allen under 16 when they started?

Phil Taylor

home-theater-systems-advice.com

This is a touchy subject, much like drug testing is. Have we seen child prodigies come into the sport and excell at a very young age? Of course we have. Many have mentioned Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon and they're prime examples of kids who were able to make their mark at a ridiculously young age. In my opinion though, that doesn't justify allowing young kids to wheel these sometimes lethal machines. I understand there are young kids who are very mature and damned well may have more talent than 90% of the adults out there BUT how mature are they really? Maturity comes in far more forms than just using good manners, helping old ladies cross the street and not doing senseless and stupid shit that most of us as teenagers, probably did. There's one thing that comes with maturity that 99.9% of all teenagers and young adults don't have the capacity to understand and that is mortality itself. We have all heard about and some of us have even seen first hand the violence that can sometimes take place when things go wrong. Unfortunately, fatal accidents are a part of sprint car racing and while we all wish it weren't so, that's the reality of it. It does occur and most likely, it always will. Very few teenagers have the capacity to understand life and death and no matter how mature they are, they're still teenagers. No teenager I've ever met (myself included when I was younger) has a full understanding of this. I used to drive like an idiot, I don't now because I grew up and realized just what kind of a risk I was taking when I drove down a back road doing 90mph in the middle of the night. To me, that kind of shit was no big deal back then. Even though we have seen some incredibly talented youngsters strap into and win races in sprint cars, I think its best for everyone if we just wait until they're legal adults before they make that decision to put their life at risk in a dangerous race car. At 18 years old, they still have their whole life and careers ahead of them. Until then, there's micros, go karts etc. and even though they like any racing vehicle can result in serious injury, they still aren't near the animal that a full size sprint car is and in my opinion, if kids are going to race, those are the classes they should be doing it in.

WHY is it that no one has answered the question?

1. How many are trying?

2. How does it affect YOU?

3. Have these young drivers hurt themselves or anyone else?

4. What gives anyone the right to decide what or how a family chooses to spend their money or their time? (refer to #2)

I know of exactly 1 young man that has attempted the big sprints in the present or recent past, so why the outrage? (refer to #2 again)