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.