After winning the first race in the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup on Sunday, Martin Truex Jr. humbly answered a question regarding a comment that Furniture Row team owner Barney Visser made a few minutes earlier in the media center.
Visser was asked about the success the team is having in 2016 with three wins, six top-five’s and 13 top-ten finishes in 27 starts, and whether or not he was living a dream. “Yeah, I do feel like I'm living a dream. But that's why we do it,” Visser said. “Most of the other things that I've done in life have been a little bit like this, but nothing right to the very top of the best racing in the world here, very exciting.” Visser then made this statement. “I have to thank Toyota and Martin. Like I said, I think he's pure athlete. He drove for a little bit less this year than I think a lot of the drivers in his class have, and he did it because he wanted to be here. I can't thank him enough for all that.” When Truex took to the stage, Kenny Bruce of NASCAR.com asked Truex about Visser’s comment of driving for a little bit less this year. “It's not something I normally talk about. Since he brought it up...Barney has put a lot into his race team over the years obviously. Seeing Furniture Row on that racecar each and every year, that's Barney's racecar and Barney is the one funding it,” Truex explained. “He had to change some things in the way he was running his race team. He asked me if I would kind of not take the hit, but be the one that took a little bit of a hit for the team to make sure we could keep the competition up and make sure we could continue to get the things we needed to be competitive and win races and hopefully go after a championship. “There were other opportunities that were out there. I believe this is the best team I've ever had. This is my best opportunity to win races. We've proven that. It's my best opportunity, and really only my second opportunity, since last year, to go for a championship. That wasn't something I was willing to get rid of or throw away. I made the commitment to Barney we were going to do it, we were going to work together and make it work for everybody.” In an era where fans only read or hear about the money that an athlete makes, along with questioning their loyalty to a team, stories like Truex’s typically don’t make headlines. But they need to be told more and more. Martin Truex Jr.’s Cup career can easily be classified as a roller coaster ride. But now those twists and turns and slow uphill climbs are now smoothing out to a rocket ride to the top of the Chase ladder. And it’s not just what is happening on track but off the track as well as he continues to stand alongside his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex and her battle with ovarian cancer. What we all are seeing now is a driver who is well grounded in all aspects of his life allowing him to focus on nine more weeks to bring home a NASCAR Sprint Cup title for everyone that has made an impact on his life. Winning at Chicagoland Speedway is a good way to start that goal. September is both childhood cancer awareness month along with ovarian cancer awareness month. You can learn more by reading Sherry’s message at: http://www.sherrystrong.org/2016/09/i-need-you-this-september/
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Some of you are probably humming the famous Andy Williams or Johnny Mathis version of a famous holiday song in your head now. But, it is a great time of the year for auto racing.
From the local tracks deciding their championships, classic annual events to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, there is plenty to be happy about over the next few months. But first, auto racing needs to congratulate itself; we made it through the month of August where tensions usually tend to be high, people at their breaking point with the long season, etc. How many of you heard, “I am never coming back to this place ever again!!” only to see that person be the first one in line next week? We are at the point of the year where we transition from weekly racing to special events. Race teams are deciding where they want to run for the last part of the year and requests are being put in at workplaces for days off to attend multi-day events. What makes this time of the year different is that the focus is just on the event. The stress of looking at “Big Picture” racing is not really on anyone’s mind. Their focus is that event, that weekend. Some events will give teams multiple opportunities to race at a multi-day event. One example of this is at the Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin on October 6, 7, 8, and 9. They have 17 different divisions racing over four days. A young Super Late Model driver has the potential of racing all four days in three different divisions. On the first day, they could compete in the “The Futures” division which is designed for basically first time competitors at the event. They are under the age of 30 and never competed in NASCAR’s top three series or never started their main event on Sunday. The second day they can compete in the Dick Trickle 99 Super Late Model race. A unique race that is 99 laps but is broken into three 33-lap segments follows the basic format of the famous Milk Bowl (another great fall event on October 2) at ThunderRoad in Barre, Vermont. The third and fourth day is for qualifying to make the ARCA Midwest Tour Oktoberfest 200 finale. If you are in the Midwest, there is an opportunity to get the most racing you can before that white stuff fills up the ground. Some will go to the aforementioned Milk Bowl in Vermont and some will go to the Winchester 400 (October 9) in Winchester, Indiana. Many dirt competitors will go to the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway (November 6-8). As the weather gets colder in the upper part of the United States more teams will migrate down to New Smyrna Speedway for the Governor’s Cup 200 (November 13) and then the granddaddy of all end of season event’s, the Snowball Derby (December 1-4). Yes, there are many other events out there and some are near your backyard. But auto racing has become a year-round following rather than a seasonal following. The internet is helping all of us stay within the racing pulse all 12 months of the year. For those who cover racing, there is really no time to relax and recharge the batteries. Race teams really have no downtime at all. Many will spend a few days at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas from November 1-4 as well as the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Indianapolis on December 8-10. Promoters will head to Las Vegas for the Racing Promotion Monthly Workshops on November 13-15 as well as the Race Track Business Conference in Indianapolis on December 7th. So, some are wondering when will the 2017 racing season start for many? Don’t be surprised if New Smyrna Speedway in Florida schedules the Red Eye 100 on Saturday, January 7th. In essence, racing season isn’t winding down; it’s just going to get more fun and entertaining. You may want to review your work schedules and grab some time-off request forms now and be a part of it.
As soon as the checkered flag flew on Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, social media lit up with people quickly taking their sides as to whether or not John Hunter Nemechek was too rough to get the win.
Then it went really nuts when Cole Custer leaped over the pit wall and tackled Nemechek near the start/finish line. Since that time, many drivers and other have voiced their opinion if Nemechek was too rough on Custer. One of those was Kyle Larson, which is funny given how he won a Late Model race at the Battle of the Beach in 2013. We have seen it at the Cup level all the way down to our weekly street stock levels. How much is going too far in order to get a victory. Some people do look at the “big picture” in each situation. For the Nemechek/Custer situation, some are saying that Nemechek didn’t need to get that aggressive because he already has clinched a spot in the Chase while Custer was looking to lock up his spot with the win. Nemechek didn’t need to be that aggressive for that reason. We heard this last year when Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano got together in Kansas during the Chase. We saw the end result of that situation a few weeks later at Martinsville. Many even referenced in their social media post that Custer “owes” that to Nemechek now. Some would wonder why Nemechek was that aggressive given that situation. One thought would be that people within the Nemechek camp would tell you that they are an under budget team and victories could lead to sponsorship opportunities, thus their aggression to get the win. Custer going after Nemechek after the race, for many, was a surprise. But compare Custer to Kenseth, both took so much from other drivers that the patience gets to a point to where aggression takes over valor. This isn’t the first time that Custer was taken out of a victory. Gray Gaulding got aggressive on the final lap in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West finale in 2013 at Phoenix International Raceway. Even when you look back at the Battle of the Beach 2013 events, two of the three main event races had a “bump & run” pass for the win. Many would say that it makes for great television. It will definitely make the highlight reel on the news where the stick & ball sports anchor would usually leave it as the last thing, try to find humor from it or throw in the Benny Hill theme music. Aggressive driving is a staple in motorsports, and depending whose side you are on, your opinion will never be the same. Officials making decisions on whether or not a driver should be disqualified for aggressive driving will always be in a gray area. Each situation has been looked at on an individual basis. John Hunter Nemechek fans would tell you he did everything he could to win the race. He didn’t dump and run him and easily drive to the checkered flag, he dragged race him. Custer fans would say that he did a bump and run but went too far when he drove him into the wall and kept his steering wheel to the left. If the roles were reversed, Nemechek fans would probably be saying that he had to do what he had to do because they need the big paycheck to keep going and Custer has a solid sponsor, oh well. While we may never see this pattern of aggressive driving change, the attitude after could probably get better. If a driver purposely admitted to aggressively driving for a win, just admit it and if an apology is needed, apologize. But don’t do it a smart aleck, egotistical way. Be respectful and realize that you have one coming at you. Drivers expect some aggression when it comes to racing, and they realize there is a fine line to it. The argument comes in to how much is too far, and that is sometimes tough for officials to say as well. Officials do take into the background of the parties involved to make a decision. If both parties have a history of aggressive driving, the penalties will be higher than a first time offender. What’s funny is when someone is not too aggressive and gets questioned about it, for example, Kyle Larson racing Matt Kenseth at Dover a few months ago. Many said if Larson was a little more aggressive, like he was at the Battle of the Beach in 2013, he would have won that race. But, Kyle Larson taught something to everyone that day. He matured and looked at the big picture. He showed respect that day and when he won at Michigan a couple of weeks ago, just take a look at how many drivers came to congratulate him. Did his Battle at the Beach victory three years ago play a role to how he drove at Dover? Be an interesting question to ask him. How will John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer act going forward? Will Custer give him a payback and then be over or will Custer take a last stand and not retaliate but show Nemechek who wins more by being a respectful driver in future races? They both have our attention now; we just wait and see what each of them does next. It’s like that cliffhanger from the old Batman show, we have to wait until next week or the next race event. Each situation is unique and pretty tough to compare apples to apples. Aggressive driving, if done right, can make or break someone’s career. There is an art to it, and for many it takes years to master. Drivers expect to do it and be victims of it. In the end, the respect comes from how each driver handles themselves after the race. Take a moment and think about those finishes and how drivers handled themselves. One can guess where you notice a difference on your own opinion of each situation.
This is an unedited audio interview I did with Ken Squier in February, 2015 when I saw him at New Smyrna Speedway covering Speedweeks for Speed51.com. Some of the topics we talked about including broadcasting short track events, promotion and track announcers. He is not only a famous for his broadcasting background but also as a track/series promoter. I am very grateful for his time and his message is still worth listening too today.
With NASCAR promoting a Throwback Weekend with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, this writer thought it would be fun to share a few personal throwback memories.
There are a few memories worth sharing about Dick Trickle. His stories and thoughts will always stick in someone’s head. The first interview with him, he was asked about winning the first National Short Track Championship at Rockford Speedway in Illinois. Trickle said he remembered it very well, right down to the exact amount he won because Hugh Deery, Rockford Speedway Promoter at the time, paid him in $5 bills. The first time meeting Tony Stewart, to say you were nervous, would be an understatement. But, those nerves went away when Tony invited me into the motorhome and had a few minutes just to talk. Over the next five years, Stewart would visit Madison International Speedway with Matt Kenseth every year for a special race event. It’s cool to be part of a group of people who know who the real Tony Stewart is versus those who don’t know him. One of the great things about short track racing is that fans can watch drivers race at their local tracks one day and the next, they are watching them on television every weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In the 1990’s many of us in Wisconsin can say that with Matt Kenseth. We all would watch him race at Madison, Jefferson Speedway, Wisconsin International Raceway and La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. In 1993, he won the ARTGO main event at the famous Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Ten years later, we were watching him get crowned as the last NASCAR Winston Cup champion. In 2003, this writer had the opportunity to work with Roy Kenseth at Madison as the track’s public relations representative. Working side-by-side with Roy during the year was something that no one will ever forget. Here is a dad trying to promote a track while his son races week after week as the point leader. When Kenseth claimed the championship at Rockingham Speedway, they interviewed an emotional dad. Like many others, tears were being shed at home as well. The insight of watching a father seeing his son accomplish this goal was one of the more unique things in my career. Speaking of Oktoberfest, it was in 2006 where we all witnessed something could almost be compared to when Dale Earnhardt finally winning the Daytona 500. For many years, Steve Holzhausen always was looking to add his name to that list. That goal was finally realized in a 100-lap caution free race. Holzhausen was exhausted as he exited his car, but was relieved that his name was finally in the history books. The same feeling was felt for Nathan Haseleu in 2013. Haseleu took over the lead after Johnny Sauter was leading and got tangled up with his nephew Travis Sauter in the closing laps of the race. Haseleu came out of his car, after doing a burnout that he promised to his kids. He started talking about winning and it hit him and he went speechless. His name is forever etched in the history book along with being the first ever ARCA Midwest Tour champion in 2007. In October 2012, there was a phone call from Bob Dillner inviting me to help Speed51.com at the Snowball Derby. A day before the big event, Dillner knew my experience with running victory lane, kind of like what Bill Broderick used to do at Cup races. The challenge was given to me to do the same for the big Super Late Model event. It was that race that put Erik Jones in the spotlight as he made a late pass on Kyle Busch to win the 300-lap race. Before Erik got out of the car, Kyle came over and stood next to me and congratulated him. The next day, while on a plane from Pensacola to Atlanta, there was a passenger reading the newspaper. The passenger opens up the paper, and right there in full color is a photo Kyle and me standing next to Erik’s car. For the rest of that flight, I kept my eye on that paper. The passenger left the paper on the plane when he got off; I walked by and grabbed it. This is just a small sampling of some of my memories from covering auto racing events. Could this be expanded into a book? Probably, but still have some space left in my mental database to add some more before it is written. It’s For the Love of the Sport8/30/2016
A long time ago, a reporter went up to a short track driver/owner at a local short track and asked a simple, blunt question.
“What was the cost of your new motor?” When the driver/owner gave a five figure amount to the reporter, the reporter was quick to respond back with a follow-up question. “Why would you spend that much money on a motor when you are here to race an event that only pays $1,000 to win?” Without hesitation, the driver/owner looked that motor and made a simple comment. “This is my boat.” Many others in auto racing would say the same thing. They give that answer because, for many, auto racing is a hobby. It is their weekend golf outing, family time on the boat, fishing, playing a sport, etc. Some others see it as an opportunity to find a career in the sport. While the focus is always on young drivers trying to be the next big star in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, there are also many, many others trying to find their niche in this sport. There are many teenage pit crew members hoping to move up the ladder and get that golden opportunity to move to North Carolina and work on a NASCAR team. At the same time, there are many who want to work on the media side. Some hope they can start as a track announcer hoping that they can someday work for the Motor Racing Network or Performance Racing Network. If they can’t talk, they can write and many hope that their work can be seen by tracks, series, and media outlets hoping to give them that chance to make a living writing or talking about something they love to share with the world. Some will get on a fast track and within an instant; they are in North Carolina busting their butts while wearing a shirt that says Hendrick, Ganassi, Childress, Gibbs, and others on them. Many will write blogs or submit stories to editors hoping that it will land on a news website, magazine or newspaper, getting that validation that someone felt your storytelling was worth sharing to their mass of followers and subscribers. The sacrifice that many of these make to get somewhere is one of the most humbling experiences any human will ever imagine. Some will stay in their vehicle during multi-day shows or room in hotel rooms that receive negative stars. It becomes a “dog eats dog” world as one tries to outdo the other to get noticed and take another step up on the ladder. Emotions are felt and egos are bruised during this time. People will step over another in hopes of getting ahead. But there is one thing that they all have in common, their passion. It’s our passion and drive that keeps us going and showing up at the tracks. Either to get greasy and dirty working on the car or writing about those who risk their lives behind the wheel of a human built racecar. Do we wish we all made good money at what we did, oh heck yeah. Teams that help by buying pit passes and providing food and drink every week really makes a big difference to the loyalty of the people helping them out. Most of the time, the money reporters receive is just enough to cover travel expenses. The bottom line, we are all in the same boat. But, each day, we all wake up hoping for that phone call, email, letter or someone walking up to us at a track offering us that opportunity. For some, those opportunities work right away and for others, it may cause someone to take a step back and re-think their plan and try again. Working on a race team or with a media outlet is like a marriage or the longest team building exercise around. Things have to click; the doors have to remain open with ideas and positive influences. We need to continue to encourage everyone. Some would say we are immune to the negatives we see and hear in the sport. We are not, we take it all personally, but it just drives us to prove those negative people that they are wrong. It’s a great reminder of something we learn from the farmers…when you use manure properly, you will get a profitable yield of crop in the fall. We are trying just like everyone else to find our successful niche in the racing world. We don’t want to give up, and will find different ways to stay afloat, even if it means putting a “Donate” button on your personal website. We are not alone out there, and we do support one another. We hand out compliments more than complaints. We are trying to make ourselves better every time we are at the track. In the end, damn this is fun. We meet the best people in the world, make great contacts and build that rapport and relationships with as many as we can with the hope of reaching our personal goals someday. When we do, the hard work doesn’t slow down, because when we get to that point, we will be working our butts off to being a part of a winning team to sharing a great story. If our passion paid the bills, we all would be billionaires. Anyone remember back in January of this year (2016) when Ransomville Speedway in New York announced a new social media policy? Part of the policy read, “If we see any negative comments on social media outlets from Owners, Drivers or Crew Members, we will take action immediately.”
It wasn’t long after that a few other tracks started to adopt this policy as well. Some felt this is a violation of their freedom of speech, while some felt it was a sign that the track doesn’t have a good open line of communication between themselves and their participants. Some just thought it was a stupid policy. Why can’t we say what we want to say about something without getting into trouble? The simple answer is that it’s all about the image that the track/series wants portrayed to the public, and they expect their participants to adhere to that image if they want to participate in their particular sport. This is not something being singled out in short track racing, in fact, some feel that short track racing is catching up to everyone else. With today’s world allowing for more knee-jerk reactions and too quick to judge before getting the whole story society, social media and message boards have become a petri dish of what people are feeling about things. Sadly, many feel that those with a negative opinion speak up more than those with a positive opinion. Along with the fact that negative opinion/news gets more views than something that is positive being posted on the internet. This is something not just happening in auto racing, but also in other sports. The difference this time is that NASCAR and other sports are stepping up to react when comments are spoken or written, and most of the time what someone may see or read as a minor comment, the organizations/sanctioning bodies are not tolerating it. Hope Solo, the goalkeeper on USA’s Women’s soccer team, just was suspended for six months for comments she made on how Sweden played in their Olympic match, in which Team USA lost and were eliminated from the tournament. Granted, she was suspended for 30 days in 2015 for her conduct, U.S. Soccer wanted to send a message. “The comments by Hope Solo after the match against Sweden during the 2016 Olympics were unacceptable and do not meet the standard of conduct we require from our National Team players,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati in a press release. “Beyond the athletic arena, and beyond the results, the Olympics celebrate and represent the ideals of fair play and respect. We expect all of our representatives to honor those principles, with no exceptions.” It’s not just the Olympics that “celebrate and represent the ideals of fair play and respect,” it is all sports for that matter. Yes, Solo is an American citizen and does have first amendment rights, but basically those rights are given up when she chose to participate in U.S. Soccer matches and therefore must abide by their rules as a participant. This also includes adapting to the image that U.S. Soccer wants their teams to portray at all times. Darrell Wallace Jr. was reminded of the policy he must adhere to with NASCAR this past July for his comments after an Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway where he criticized officials on a call that was made at the end of the race. Wallace was fined $15,000 for his comments that was on his personal Twitter account. A few months before that, Tony Stewart was slapped with a $35,000 fine for his comments about lug nuts. The irony with his situation is that NASCAR made changes to their rules about it. But he was fined about how he addressed the matter in the public eye. It just doesn’t revolve around rules or criticism of how a team plays; it is also coming down to how one athlete doesn’t respect another athlete on the field of play. Richard Chaplow, a soccer player for the Orange County Blues FC was recently suspended two games and fined an undisclosed amount for calling gay epithets to gay soccer play Robbie Rogers. “The USL has a zero tolerance for this type of behavior,” Jake Edwards, President of the USL said in a press release. “We cannot, nor will we, condone any language that is counter to the values we have instilled throughout the USL.” The precedence is already out there, and now it is time to instill the same values at our short tracks. Promoters need to step up and start fining or suspending owners, drivers, and crew members more than just fighting in the pits or on the track. Promoters need to start penalizing for comments made to the media and on social media, and make sure the public is aware of it. The same values of competition that is shown in other sports, especially in light of the recent Olympics, need to be brought in at a higher degree in the short track community. The amount of respect needs to be brought up to a higher level. At the same time, those who are complaining about a call made by an official or anything similar needs to ask themselves this question…how often have you seen an umpire change his mind on a third call strike to a ball because you didn’t see it the same way? Taking a call made on the track to social media won’t change the call that was made. The milk has been spilt. There also has to be a call made to anyone who operates a short track racing message board. While you are providing an area for people to speak freely about any topic, those people should also have to identify who they are and not hide behind fake names and their keyboard just to stir up controversy for their own personal amusement. People are passionate about this sport and they will show it when someone is trolling around on a message board, hiding their true identity, trying to upset those who are not afraid to share their own identity. If there is something nice about Facebook, you can’t really hide who you are, and if you do, Facebook can shut you down. In fact, Twitter just banned a journalist who was trolling one of the regulars on Saturday Night Live. Message board owners need to step up and do the same. Either you make people fill out a legitimate profile and have a verification process or just shut down your message board. While you are offering a community for people to chat, a few are taking advantage and hurting that community. The spirit of competition can be seen in every sport. The values of fair play and respect have always been at the forefront of any sport. Those values get tarnished by a few who forget those values. Those who do forget, need to be reminded by penalties and, in the end, are examples for others within their sport. Nobody knows if they should be laughing or crying at what they read on the internet. Especially when rumors are posted on message boards and social media as facts allowing the thread of follow-up comments to be as worse than an old fashioned soap opera.
Over the last 10-12 years of seeing the invention and use of online message boards and social media, it has come basically into the same flow as the 24/7 news cycle. Let’s pump news out as fast as we can, then we can backtrack on the accuracy later on. Just like in racing, the key thing is to be the first to report and not be held accountable if correct or not because your identification on some is hidden. Some would say that these message boards and social media have put more hurt on short track racing than has helped build it up. Some would also say that it has opened Pandora’s box as to what is really happening and by doing so, some things have improved. Some would also say it has been a positive way of promoting upcoming events at practically no cost. This is now a regular form of communication. When message boards were created, it opened an avenue where people could post whatever they felt and be anonymous, ultimately not being held responsible for something that they post. Sadly, this allowed some to go out there and post things to fuel a fire for self-amusement. What is sadder, is that someone or something is hurt from a post that while they may have made up as a rumor, or heard from someone who heard it from someone else, is believed to be totally true and people react to it with their emotion as a fuel rather than their heads. Recently, there was a post about a driver separating from their car owner. This is something that typically happens anywhere from short tracks to the top levels, especially this time of the year as teams want to start looking ahead to 2017. Of course, people want to know why a driver and team parted ways. What was the real reason? Those who are looking for those answers do something silly. Instead of asking the parties involved directly, they go on a message board or social media and ask if anyone knows. This opens up the door for speculation, false reasons, or totally made up reasons that in some legal areas could lead to libel or defamation of character lawsuits. A recent situation of a driver/owner split discussion on one message board turned into a discussion that is totally not involved in racing, but of a personal matter. Almost to the point to where people were comparing laws in each State regarding the matter. So a person (this writer) decided to contact the person who was in the message board as being directly involved to the separation. It only took a few minutes and a couple of questions with the person directly involved to find out that the decision was totally based on performance and cohesion within the team. In fact, the personal matter that was discussed on the message board had no bearing whatsoever, and in fact, came as a surprise to this person who honestly didn’t know if that personal matter was happening or not, but clearly said it had absolutely no bearing on the end result. What is sad is that the driver is being dragged around on this message board on what could be considered a defamation of character. But, the person who initially wrote it, gets to hide in anonymity, watching what they posted go in so many different directions. We need to be careful with we post. We need to take a few moments and get the truth before we do post, especially if it’s involving someone’s overall character. Just think if a certain post can literally shut down someone’s career for false reasons. We need to be stepping up when rumors are posted on message boards or social media. We need to start being pro-active and question that person on how they found out and start naming names. If a post starts with, “I heard from”, “Someone said”, “I overheard”, etc. Question the validation before jumping on the bandwagon and making a bad rumor worse. No, these are not supposed to be posted to get the truth, it is to post the truth. Reporters cannot report on hearsay on the evening news, they have their sources and can back it up. Can you back up what you post? If you can’t do us all a favor and keep the fingers off of the keyboards or hitting the send button unless you know for sure what you are posting is the honest to God’s truth…and you are ready to back it up right away. Racing’s Version of “The Sandlot”8/16/2016  There is this picture on Derek Kraus Racing’s Facebook page. The old adage, "A picture says thousand words," and this photo could have words that include future, competition, and most of all friendship.
This photo reminds some of the movie “The Sandlot.” It’s a story about a kid who moves into a new neighborhood and becomes friends with a bunch of kids at the local baseball field. They all hang out together, support one another; go through tough times and more. But when you look at this photo, they are not wearing baseball uniforms, nor have a baseball glove in their hands. These kids are wearing racing suits. Some proudly displaying their car numbers to just a basic black & white color. Each one of them has a dream. Those dreams could be anywhere from being a doctor to being the next local driver to becoming a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. But this is where those dreams start. They start at the local short tracks. Some of these kids may have started racing go-karts or quarter midgets. They then graduate to bandoleros then to Legend cars. Some will take a path to racing a 4-cylinder car while some will race a full-bodied Super Late Model. But they start at the short track. They arrive each week with their family in tow to support them from the stands. The young drivers have their responsibilities once they get to their pit stalls from helping to unloading to wiping the dust off the car. It’s during that downtime it is where friendships are developed and respect is gained for the on track competition. It is where they learn from their mistakes on the track and apologizing if they are the ones at fault, as we all hope that parents teach them the true spirit of competition rather than this what you need to do to get even with them. Today, we are all seeing the results of what friendships like what we see in the picture is having on the higher levels of the sport. Many of the young drivers competing in NASCAR’s top three series grew up racing against each other in bandoleros, legends and micro sprints. Through social media, we can still see how strong those friendships are today. Whether it’s Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney riding together from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Blaney saying he made Chase Elliott dinner after getting him involved in an accident at a recent race. Oh yes, there will be rivalries. It is part of the human nature of competition. Rivalries bring out the best in competitors, but rivals can also be friends. When you look at that photo, sure one or two may be rivals on the track, but that is where they leave it. Some of these kids may not go further in their racing career, but may find success in other professions or sports. But the lessons they learned at the short track may become a huge value later in life. In 15-20 years from now, it would be cool to know what happened with each one of these individuals in the photo and see where they are today. That will show the true success of short track racing for today’s youth, and hopefully start a trend from one generation to the next. 14 Means 14 in the Racing World8/4/2016 Social media and news outlets have been buzzing over the news of two 13-year-old drivers being suspended from competing at NASCAR sanctioned tracks because they are not at the legal age of 14. Each has their own unique story, but the outcome is the same.
Andrew Molleur was parked after NASCAR investigated his actual age competing at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut. According to multiple reports, paperwork that was submitted to NASCAR said he was 15. Upon further investigation, NASCAR learned he was only 13-years-old and is now suspended indefinitely. Carson Hocevar, who races at Berlin Raceway in Michigan, also can’t compete at any NASCAR sanctioned events until he turns 14. In this case, according to the track and family they were very transparent about his age citing they have written proof that NASCAR approved him. But NASCAR recently ruled a different decision. "There was an unfortunate miscommunication in conversations between NASCAR and Berlin Raceway that recently came to light and has now been corrected. NASCAR regrets the misunderstanding, but also recognizes that this is an important matter for all involved. NASCAR is taking additional steps to insure that there is no ambiguity regarding age limits with any NASCAR Whelen All-American Series tracks moving forward,” NASCAR said in a statement relating to Hocevar. In both cases, each driver has shown they are talented behind the wheel, with each winning a feature race this season. But, it comes down to a simple rule that NASCAR has had in place for as long as I remember. In order to get a NASCAR license, a driver must be at least 14-years-old. That was the rule when I was working at Rockford Speedway, a longtime NASCAR sanctioned track in 2005-07. I recall Michael Bilderback wanting to race in their NASCAR Weekly Late Model division, but he had to wait until he was 14. So, why is there a push to get these kids in a full-bodied car as soon as it’s available? The answer is pretty simple, many look at it as part of the driver’s development to get up to the upper levels of racing, especially when NASCAR and ARCA is allowing drivers under 18 (usually ages 16-18) to compete at tracks less than a mile in length. Let’s be honest, the percentage of young drivers to be the next Erik Jones is very low. Not every driver moving up will be in the Cup Series before they are 21-years-old. There are some parents, I feel, who see their kids as a golden ticket and will try to push their child when they are not mentally or physically ready to move to the next level. This is in every sport, not just auto racing. For some parents, in my opinion, they see youth sports more as future business than fun for the kids. We all have been to the youth sporting events and have seen parents yell and scream at their kids because they made an error on the field or behind the wheel. Sometimes, it gets to a point to where the kid doesn’t want to play anymore. Rarely, do I see a parent ask their kid, win or lose, did you have fun out there today? Yes, we need to have the spirit of competition and the will to win. The will to win comes by rewarding trophies to those who won, not everyone. In auto racing, the will to win can start at an early age by racing legends, bandoleros, go-karts, micro sprints, quarter midgets, etc. There are great facilities that provide these unique opportunities for the kids. These opportunities also provide an environment for the entire family to be involved along with rules that provide the best safety for the kids. But sometimes the envy to get their child in a faster, bigger car skews the common sense decision making by the parents. Some will not properly fit their kids in the right safety equipment. A couple of years ago, I was watching a bandolero race when a kid rolled over and his helmet flew off. I have never been scared in my life at a racetrack when I saw that. I had to wonder, where was the responsibility to make sure that the helmet was strapped on correctly and wasn’t too big or loose for that to happen? Fortunately, he was in a full contained seat and was alright. So why does NASCAR or any insurance that covers a track say 14-years-old? Because insurance companies study the risk exposure at that age, is it safe for them to insure someone to compete at that age at a certain track without a high volume of loss. By loss, I am not meaning by death but by claim payout from injuries. It’s the same philosophy behind why your teenage driver is at a higher risk and has higher insurance rates when they get their driver’s license. Many insurance companies will insure younger drivers competing in cars that are more fitted for them to compete in a safe environment like quarter midgets, bandoleros, Legends, micro sprints, etc. But it comes down to patience and common sense. Parents shouldn’t push the rules, but respect the boundaries behind it and tracks/series shouldn’t give in to those boundaries because the kid is good and brings fans to the track. Many drivers have started racing at 14 and have gotten into Truck and ARCA rides at 16. Trying to push it at 13, what difference does it make? If they have the talent, it will show right away not in two or three years. Sadly, some do get those opportunities at the higher level at 16 based on how much money they put down versus talent. So, by allegedly providing incorrect paperwork to get a leg up on the competition won’t help in the long run. Was this a situation where one person’s doing hurts the rest of the class? It was more than likely the case for the other driver. At the end of the day, 14 means 14 like 21 means 21. This website is privately owned and updated by me. Any donations would be greatly appreciated to help maintain and make improvements. Thank you.
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July 2024
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