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Topic: How old is old enough?
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Page 4 of 4 of 69 replies
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February 23, 2015 at
05:29:00 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: notyours on February 22 2015 at 01:21:41 PM
You are welcome to your opinion and obviosly this frost's your ass for some reason! Sounds like jealousy to me but I digress.
I would much rather see the younger generation take an interest in a great sport than a grumpy digruntled longtime fan. Do you think the new fans are going to go to the track because dad or grampa said Steve or Sammy are awesome or because that kid from their school is racing? No need to reply I've whipped this horse enough and it hasn't blinked  good day
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That always works. If you can't make a convincing argument or understand everything I have spelled out repeatedly in this thread then diss me as a grumpy jealous old man. You should be a politician.
Stan Meissner
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February 23, 2015 at
05:46:02 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: fiXXXer on February 23 2015 at 05:07:44 PM
I don't think it really matters what a lawyer says, what ever happened to common sense and the simple concept of right and wrong? Its wrong to willingly finance and allow for a CHILD to make a decision to risk their life when they don't even have the slightest understanding what life is let alone understanding the nature of their own mortality. Its just wrong. I don't care what the law says or the rulebook for this series or that series, it should be common sense for the parents who make these decisions to allow their CHILDREN to participate in and adult sport that just happens to be one of the most dangerous on earth. I'm sorry but these so called parents should have their heads examined. When I was 14 and someone asked me if I'd drive a sprint car, my answer was an abrupt “HELL YES" and I meant it. As an adult, my answer is “HELL NO" because I have a better understanding of what it takes to be a sprint car driver and I don't have it so I'll enjoy watching those who do. The fact is, I was rather mature for age but at 14, I still didn't know shit about shit and neither does any other 14 year old and that's where the parents are supposed to come in. Its up to them to steer and guide their kids through adolescence and into adulthood with their knowledge and experience that comes with being an adult and to any parent who thinks their kid is mature enough to make an educated decision to possibly be killed or permanently injured in a sprint car is delirious. Once again, I know there have been very young kids who jumped into sprint cars and have done very well, no doubt about that but where the problem will occur, is when things go wrong and I don't like the potential issues it could cause for our sport, when a child is killed in an accident. Look at the bad publicity sprint car racing got when adults were killed. I'm not interested in that one bit.
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Great points but you better be careful or they'll read between the lines and call you a grumpy jeaolous old man too. 
Still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be jealous of. If I'm jealous or grumpy about anything it would be the thinking of some people and how some no longer seem to respect the volatility of these cars. A couple of people I have known of the years have been bit by these things, most notably Billy Anderson who ended up confined to a wheel chair unable to speak until he passed away. Another guy who lives in my neighborhood, Brooke Tatnell, has been banged up in these cars as well. He had to have a rod put in his leg a few years ago and won the first night out six months after getting beat up by a driveshaft in PA. I was there taking victory lane photos the night he won that race and they had to help him out of the car in victory lane. Can't see a 13 or 14 year old dealing with those kinds of things but some posting on this board seem to think I'm the bad guy for thinking this way.
Like I said earlier in there threads, I came up in the early 60's watching guys who are tough as nails drive these cars. Many were WWII veterans and they work crew cuts and often had to fight their way to the pay window. Fast forward to today and I'm supposed to throw out all those years of experience and be in awe of seventh and eigth graders? That ain't happening for me no matter what names people call me on some message board thread. You either respect the history of this sport and the volatility of these cars or you don't. Aside from the legal issues this trend will take away from the professionalism and how the sport is perceived by the public. In other sports there are youth leagues and pro sports. We don't see any 13 or 14 year olds getting tackled by 350# NFL limemen. They'd think I was crazy if I even suggested that but on the other hand it's alright for kids to race Sprints? I'll never understand why anyone would want to do that to their child or to this sport.
Stan Meissner
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February 23, 2015 at
06:57:37 PM
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StanM, Awesome post. As always, you said it far better than I ever could. I'm only 29 so I haven't even seen a fraction of what you have but I can absolutely see where you're coming from. I saw pictures of the MEN who used to race back then. They were the types who walked around with a pack of smokes rolled up in a dirty white T-shirt and coming out of that T-shirt were arms the size of a telephone pole. They were real badasses.
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February 23, 2015 at
07:13:39 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: fiXXXer on February 23 2015 at 06:57:37 PM
StanM, Awesome post. As always, you said it far better than I ever could. I'm only 29 so I haven't even seen a fraction of what you have but I can absolutely see where you're coming from. I saw pictures of the MEN who used to race back then. They were the types who walked around with a pack of smokes rolled up in a dirty white T-shirt and coming out of that T-shirt were arms the size of a telephone pole. They were real badasses.
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Wow, someone actually got my point. Thanks, that is exactly what I was trying to get across. Those are the drivers I was in awe of at 13 & 14. Today we've got drivers from the midwest like Dollansky, McCarl, Lasoski, Tatnell, Balog, and I can look up to those guys. No disrespect to the youngsters, I'm sure they're going to be great drivers some day, but there is a time for everything. I waited to be old enough for many things in my lifetime. I worked on the flight deck launching aircraft worth millions not to mention the pilot's lives were in our hands but when I came home on leave at 20 I couldn't buy a beer. Sure I would have liked to and I felt like I was old enough but the law was 21 so I had to wait it out. Likewise joining the service, getting my driver's license, and many other things has minimum age requirements that I had to abide by. That's just a fact of live, waiting for another year or two always made me appreciate the things I had to wait for that much more when reached the required age. On behalf of the tracks it's concerns about injury and insurance but with the kids themselves having to work towards and wait on some things teaches valuable life lessons as well. Seems anymore that people don't respect the history, these cars or the attribute of patience.
Stan Meissner
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February 23, 2015 at
10:42:11 PM
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02/09/2015
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So sou should sit in the stands and complain or stay home whichever you choose.
I took time to do the due diligence to make a point and you heard non of it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and yours is right even if there are no facts and or statistics to back it up. I will be deleting my account. I have had enough of trying to have a discussion about something that is almost nonexistent but obviosly you sitting in the stands is somehow tramatized by someone not doing things your way.
GOODBYE SIRS.
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February 24, 2015 at
04:36:28 AM
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This message was edited on
February 24, 2015 at
04:52:13 AM by BIGFISH
Reply to:
Posted By: StanM on February 23 2015 at 07:13:39 PM
Wow, someone actually got my point. Thanks, that is exactly what I was trying to get across. Those are the drivers I was in awe of at 13 & 14. Today we've got drivers from the midwest like Dollansky, McCarl, Lasoski, Tatnell, Balog, and I can look up to those guys. No disrespect to the youngsters, I'm sure they're going to be great drivers some day, but there is a time for everything. I waited to be old enough for many things in my lifetime. I worked on the flight deck launching aircraft worth millions not to mention the pilot's lives were in our hands but when I came home on leave at 20 I couldn't buy a beer. Sure I would have liked to and I felt like I was old enough but the law was 21 so I had to wait it out. Likewise joining the service, getting my driver's license, and many other things has minimum age requirements that I had to abide by. That's just a fact of live, waiting for another year or two always made me appreciate the things I had to wait for that much more when reached the required age. On behalf of the tracks it's concerns about injury and insurance but with the kids themselves having to work towards and wait on some things teaches valuable life lessons as well. Seems anymore that people don't respect the history, these cars or the attribute of patience.
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Come on now Stan, you must have known I was right there with ya even though I did mention Troy Ruttman. My dad ran back in Indiana, Ohio and Penn before we moved to Torrance and he still had ties to the community when we moved to Torrance. So I grew up around some of the men that were racing at that time and there sure as hell wasn't a kid in the bunch, but you could question their sanity. Like you said and like my dad, a lot of the boy's that ran in the Golden era were tough Vets or just had what it took to laugh death in the face. May sound hokey, but more than a few of them did it just for the glory.
Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.
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February 24, 2015 at
04:48:04 AM
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This message was edited on
February 24, 2015 at
05:34:26 AM by BIGFISH
Reply to:
Posted By: notyours on February 23 2015 at 10:42:11 PM
So sou should sit in the stands and complain or stay home whichever you choose.
I took time to do the due diligence to make a point and you heard non of it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and yours is right even if there are no facts and or statistics to back it up. I will be deleting my account. I have had enough of trying to have a discussion about something that is almost nonexistent but obviosly you sitting in the stands is somehow tramatized by someone not doing things your way.
GOODBYE SIRS.
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You have 12 post's and there all on this subject, so you came here with a agenda. So now that we all don't roll over to your way of thinking, you're out of here? One thing, what brought you to this thread, a certain kid maybe?.... Are you stomping your feet? LOL
Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.
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February 24, 2015 at
05:21:41 AM
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5590
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Reply to:
Posted By: notyours on February 23 2015 at 10:42:11 PM
So sou should sit in the stands and complain or stay home whichever you choose.
I took time to do the due diligence to make a point and you heard non of it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and yours is right even if there are no facts and or statistics to back it up. I will be deleting my account. I have had enough of trying to have a discussion about something that is almost nonexistent but obviosly you sitting in the stands is somehow tramatized by someone not doing things your way.
GOODBYE SIRS.
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I haven't sat in the stands for years. Photographs, writing and interviewing have been my deal for quite a few seasons now. You can add opinionated writer to my list of faults.
Stan Meissner
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February 24, 2015 at
12:48:18 PM
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3943
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Stan is basically an unpaid volunteer for the most part who has dedicated hours and hours to a sport he loves and never asked for a thing, he is what this sport is all about on many levels. If Mr. I'm Taking My Ball and Go Home is upset I hope the door hits him in the @$$ on the way out. 12 and 13 year olds don't belong in this sport yet like I didn't belong in high school at 12. I was a bit traumatized lol, they could get more than a bit hurt and who's conscience is that on? The other driver, the track promoter/owner, Mom and Dad, lots of people get hurt in this deal, not just junior....
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February 24, 2015 at
05:15:40 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: MSPN on February 24 2015 at 12:48:18 PM
Stan is basically an unpaid volunteer for the most part who has dedicated hours and hours to a sport he loves and never asked for a thing, he is what this sport is all about on many levels. If Mr. I'm Taking My Ball and Go Home is upset I hope the door hits him in the @$$ on the way out. 12 and 13 year olds don't belong in this sport yet like I didn't belong in high school at 12. I was a bit traumatized lol, they could get more than a bit hurt and who's conscience is that on? The other driver, the track promoter/owner, Mom and Dad, lots of people get hurt in this deal, not just junior....
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That pretty much describes what I've been doing for the past sixteen seasons. Give til it hurt or should I say I gave until the non-race-fan wife looked at the family budget and threatened to put the hurt on me if I didn't cut down from 50 races to 5.
Stan Meissner
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