Should toddlers be allowed in the pits during racing activity?

ryoung99 · 9/9/09, 12:26 PM

This is a tough one to answer, and in CA we are seeing more and more tracks that allow kids in the pits. When they are allowed, our 7 year old does come in the pits with us. She is allowed to walk next to the trailer and RV, and be in the trailer. If she is walking with my wife or a crew member she may be allowed to go to the pit stands and/or snack shack. Most of the time if we have to move her in the pit we use the golf cart or our push vehicle (it is not a quad). She has to check in if she is leaving the RV or trailer so my wife and I both know where she is at all time. Has she pushed the limits, yep. But she was quickly corrected and punished so that she understands the severity of her actions.

In December we will be adding a new family member and the baby will come in the pits with us (or my wife will stay home). When we go to the races we take a 40' RV, so they have a place.

One thing I can tell you is that our 7 year old has more respect for the dangers of the pit than most adults that I have met.

It is dangerous, yes, but so is sitting in the stands (don't kid yourself on the fact that the stands are fool proof). The only way to protect them from the danger is to keep them at home, but then how would they learn to love racing as we do.

If I did not have a family I would say absolutely not, but now that I do, having the family together makes the event more enjoyable for all of us. She looks forward to being part of the action.

Kids in the pits is nothing new for many organizations, groups like the SCCA have allowed kids in the pits for years, as do most road racing organizations (although not in the hot pits, i.e. pit lane). When kids grow up around racing they learn to manage safely in the pits.

So in the end this is not a decision that public opinion will sway, we just have to hope that parents that do take their children into the pits are making a good decision and one they can live with.

SpRiNtBeBe · 9/9/09, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Kinser

Only drivers, team members, and track personel should be in the pits. If you go to the races to watch or hang out, just go to the stands.

I'm sorry I have a problem with this I have been going racing since my conception. My mother always made sure my sisters and I had all the protection need for our eye and ears. When I was old enough to walk I would follow my dad around all night in the pits in infield where ever he need to film from. Now I have never been hit or injured at a race track in the past 21 years. I understand what everyone is saying about the dangers but really you put your self there anytime you enter the pits and as long as you watch and follow your child I dont see anything wrong with children in the pits. I was force to spend most of my childhood without my dad since I was unable to be with him in the pits till I was older. Now I am due with my first child in January and come race season I do have every intention of bring my child with me in the pits. I have friends and family that will be in the pits and why should they have to leave the pits to see me and my child or why should I not get to see them just because some people cant raise there children.
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Haulerin2deep · 9/9/09, 1:58 PM

Let me say this, as a driver some of the most nervous times we have is pulling into the pits after our event is over. The amount of people walking all over through the fire lane and the pit lanes is astounding. other cars pulling out in front of us, all of this usually encompassed in a vail of dust from all of the other cars pulling in at the same time. It is amazing that someone is not hit nearly every night.

That being said, for the most part most of the people not paying attention are adults wondering to their trailers not looking before they step. It seems to me in all of my years of racing I can't remember any children in the way but can remember hundreds of adults being morons standing in the middle of pit lane. I think most parents do a good job with their children in the pits. I said MOST... Personally I do not bring my children in the pits until after the races but that is just a choice made by my wife and I. I don't see anything wrong with it however and hopefully as my boys get older they will be able to spend some QT with dad in the pits... JMO

illiNOISE · 9/9/09, 6:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Kinser

Only drivers, team members, and track personel should be in the pits. If you go to the races to watch or hang out, just go to the stands.

At some specials, there can sometimes only be a $5-10 difference between the price of a general admission ticket and a pit pass. Guess what, I'll gladly pay the five extra bucks to not have to watch the support classes wheel pack while waiting for hot laps to start.

illiNOISE · 9/9/09, 8:58 PM

Most racers are smart enough to watch their kids in the pits. They've seen folks get hurt at racetracks, so they know how dangerous a track can be. You want to see a place where the rugrats are in danger of getting run over because their parents aren't paying attention? Just check out the parking lot of any retail establishment in America. There you will see little ones running 50 feet or more ahead of their "parent(s)", often right out in front of cars in the crosswalk. All it takes is one person in a hurry, or on a cellphone, etc. who runs the stop sign in front of a store to end the life of a little kid who's folks weren't watching them.

9/9/09, 9:28 PM

No

9/10/09, 12:37 AM

I not real sure but i think in new jersey you gotta be 14 to get in the pits. But racing in new jersey is run by the state police !!!Randy Smith

airplanegeek · 9/10/09, 2:28 AM

Tristin has been in the pits with me every Saturday race night since he was in a carrier. If he can't go somewhere it ain't good enough for me either. This year he climbed into to a junior sprinter for the first time to compete. He turned six in April. He has learned to respect his elders and his peers. His heroes are people we can all be proud of. There are places far more dangerous these kids can be on Saturday night than the pits of a race track or the cockpit of a race car. I just hope that when I can't race anymore he will keep taking me with him.
Rick Fields

9/11/09, 1:01 AM

After reading all these posts I must admit I'm still on the fence. Growing up racing I always wanted to go into the pits but wasn't allowed to as the rules were 16 and up, as well as other rules that seemed to go down the drain - no open toe shoes, no tank tops, long pants must be worn (now that these aren't rules I do wear shorts but continue wearing sneakers and shirts with sleeves). Now that I'm older I understand why I wasn't allowed in the pits and admit it was smart that I wasn't. Was it a pain for my parents who had a very small operation and 2 kids, YES. My father was in the pits and my mom would go back and forth between the grandstands and pits depending on if we knew people in the stands. Of course sometimes they made the decision to leave us home with family and other times my mother would stay home with us.
I agree with some of the other posts that kids that grow up around racing tend to have a better appreciation of the dangers in the pits than many adults. Tamara, your son is extremely well behaved and an extremely smart kid! He definitely knows more than most adults in the pits!
However, I have seen many kids running around the pits and I worry about those kids. I think the age range I worry about the most is those around - 1 1/2 to 6 - those that can walk and dart easily, and tend to not pay attention.
It all comes down to being smart! Parents need to be smart. I hope for everyone's sake all the kids in the pits are safe but you never know! Take care!

c47 · 9/11/09, 10:34 AM

just like everything else, they must make the rules for the stupid among us.
my son has been going in the pits since he was 7 because he raced since he was 5 and learned how to safely navigate the pit area. he was always with me back then but by the time he was 10, i had no problem with him moving around by himself.

BUT....that was him and that was then.

NOW i have a 14 year old stepson who is banned from going in the pits cause he just doesnt pay attention.
one night, i caught him wandering down pit lane with his IPOD on and he didnt hear the modified coming up behind him....that was it....he was done......if he wants to go now, he has to sit in the stands.

the problem seems to be that too many parents cant be honest with themselves. be it in the pits, or thinking they have "the next jeff gordon".......and when something happens, they sue the track with the reasoning that the track should be responsible to protect themselves FROM themselves.

with that being said....im not sure if i have an answer. from experience, i have seen both sides of the issue and would probably lean towards NOT allowing kids in the pits. that way it would eliminate the problem and not allow it to be a decision of the parent.

9/9/09, 12:26 PM	#41 Re: Should toddlers be allowed in the pits during racing activity?
ryoung99 Member Race Count This Year: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 51	This is a tough one to answer, and in CA we are seeing more and more tracks that allow kids in the pits. When they are allowed, our 7 year old does come in the pits with us. She is allowed to walk next to the trailer and RV, and be in the trailer. If she is walking with my wife or a crew member she may be allowed to go to the pit stands and/or snack shack. Most of the time if we have to move her in the pit we use the golf cart or our push vehicle (it is not a quad). She has to check in if she is leaving the RV or trailer so my wife and I both know where she is at all time. Has she pushed the limits, yep. But she was quickly corrected and punished so that she understands the severity of her actions. In December we will be adding a new family member and the baby will come in the pits with us (or my wife will stay home). When we go to the races we take a 40' RV, so they have a place. One thing I can tell you is that our 7 year old has more respect for the dangers of the pit than most adults that I have met. It is dangerous, yes, but so is sitting in the stands (don't kid yourself on the fact that the stands are fool proof). The only way to protect them from the danger is to keep them at home, but then how would they learn to love racing as we do. If I did not have a family I would say absolutely not, but now that I do, having the family together makes the event more enjoyable for all of us. She looks forward to being part of the action. Kids in the pits is nothing new for many organizations, groups like the SCCA have allowed kids in the pits for years, as do most road racing organizations (although not in the hot pits, i.e. pit lane). When kids grow up around racing they learn to manage safely in the pits. So in the end this is not a decision that public opinion will sway, we just have to hope that parents that do take their children into the pits are making a good decision and one they can live with.

9/9/09, 9:28 PM	#46 Re: Should toddlers be allowed in the pits during racing activity?
DIRT-TRACK-JUNKIE Posts: n/a	No

9/10/09, 12:37 AM	#47 Re: Should toddlers be allowed in the pits during racing activity?
delaware Posts: n/a	I not real sure but i think in new jersey you gotta be 14 to get in the pits. But racing in new jersey is run by the state police !!!Randy Smith

9/11/09, 1:01 AM	#49 Re: Should toddlers be allowed in the pits during racing activity?
ked Posts: n/a	After reading all these posts I must admit I'm still on the fence. Growing up racing I always wanted to go into the pits but wasn't allowed to as the rules were 16 and up, as well as other rules that seemed to go down the drain - no open toe shoes, no tank tops, long pants must be worn (now that these aren't rules I do wear shorts but continue wearing sneakers and shirts with sleeves). Now that I'm older I understand why I wasn't allowed in the pits and admit it was smart that I wasn't. Was it a pain for my parents who had a very small operation and 2 kids, YES. My father was in the pits and my mom would go back and forth between the grandstands and pits depending on if we knew people in the stands. Of course sometimes they made the decision to leave us home with family and other times my mother would stay home with us. I agree with some of the other posts that kids that grow up around racing tend to have a better appreciation of the dangers in the pits than many adults. Tamara, your son is extremely well behaved and an extremely smart kid! He definitely knows more than most adults in the pits! However, I have seen many kids running around the pits and I worry about those kids. I think the age range I worry about the most is those around - 1 1/2 to 6 - those that can walk and dart easily, and tend to not pay attention. It all comes down to being smart! Parents need to be smart. I hope for everyone's sake all the kids in the pits are safe but you never know! Take care!

9/11/09, 10:34 AM	#50 Re: Should toddlers be allowed in the pits during racing activity?
c47 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 416	just like everything else, they must make the rules for the stupid among us. my son has been going in the pits since he was 7 because he raced since he was 5 and learned how to safely navigate the pit area. he was always with me back then but by the time he was 10, i had no problem with him moving around by himself. BUT....that was him and that was then. NOW i have a 14 year old stepson who is banned from going in the pits cause he just doesnt pay attention. one night, i caught him wandering down pit lane with his IPOD on and he didnt hear the modified coming up behind him....that was it....he was done......if he wants to go now, he has to sit in the stands. the problem seems to be that too many parents cant be honest with themselves. be it in the pits, or thinking they have "the next jeff gordon".......and when something happens, they sue the track with the reasoning that the track should be responsible to protect themselves FROM themselves. with that being said....im not sure if i have an answer. from experience, i have seen both sides of the issue and would probably lean towards NOT allowing kids in the pits. that way it would eliminate the problem and not allow it to be a decision of the parent.