Originally Posted by illinisprintfan:
I see it another way. How many of these dads have a background in racing? If I bought a sprint car for my teenager tommorrow, I would not have a clue how to make it fast. If I worked on the car, he would not succeed. I would have to hire a crew that knew what the heck they were doing. Now I've spent money for a car and a crew. I imagine that's alot more money than hooking up with an established team. I can't blame a dad for spending money to advance a kid's racing career. Look at the stick and ball sports. Expensive skills clinics and training camps are the norm for athletes looking to go to college and the pros.
I agree.
If I had a kid that was
ready to move up into sprint cars(he would be atleast 16), I would not spend the large amount of money just to have him running a halfway decent setup car. I would spend my money to make sure he has the best chance possible, and that would be either rent a ride for a season with a good team or hire an established crew chief or ex-driver to run my operation.
I have been working on these cars for awhile now and could do decent, yet there are a lot of people with much more experience who would put my son in a better situation.
Sure, if I took a few years, maybe I could get him where he needs to be...but if it was financially possible, I wouldn't waste my $$$ on those few years if it was possible for him to do in 1 year with someone else what he could do in 2 with me.
But, I would not let my son be one of those guys who get out of the car, sit in the air conditioned trailer, and only come out when its time to drive. It would be a hands on deal, I'd make him scrape mud while I sit in the air conditioning! LOL
*** All this dependent on him being ready or capable of running sprint cars. In no way would I let him drive like a nutcase, it would be parked and he could play video games for awhile.
****If the opportunity presented itself to have people like the Briscoe's tutor my son over me, how can one badmouth someone jumping at an opportunity like that?
***I think the bigger issue more so than renting rides, are drivers young or old, who do not belong in sprint cars. We all have seen drivers who are just plain dangerous. Heck, I could buy a car tomorrow and let my neighbor, who is a dentist, run Eldora if he and I were dumb enough.