Is 10 Years Old Too Young To Race A Full Size Car With Adults?

[northernequipmentsolution]

Just read article by Spencer, -10-Year Old Treyten Lapcevich Prepares For Rookie Mini Stock Campaign At Sunset Speedway - http://www.insidetracknews.com/news/press-releases/item/2792-10-year-old-treyten-lapcevich-prepares-for-rookie-mini-stock-campaign-at-sunset-speedway.html

I think it is too young, very difficult for other competitors to race him, if something happens they will be dealing with irate parents, in general not a good decision in my mind

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110374#msg110374

[CanadianRacingOnline]

I think 10 is too young for a kid to race with adults. Remember how mature you were at 10?

Sunset is allowing this? He is not even old enough to be in the pits, so how is he racing?

I would feel so bad if I was a driver and I wrecked this kid and he got hurt. What about insurance for the track don't they have guide lines on how young a racer has to be?

I'm not knocking the kid he is a good racer but racing with the adults is a whole different ball game.


Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110375#msg110375

[northernequipmentsolution]

I read the article, and could not believe it

Can't imagine what the other competitors are thinking.  I realize the family has the money to do this, but just cause you can doesn't mean you should.

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110376#msg110376

[leftturnclyde]

Well as a parent you have to know what you childs abilities are and they have to sign a waiver and as a parent to sign it takes a lot of pressure on yourself.I recall several yrs ago looking over to a fellow racers pit and thinking to myself who lets there 14 yr old race 100mph around and thinking to myself am I nuts to even be out there myself with this kid.  100 laps around kawartha caution free and the kid finished 3rd. Needless to say Brandon Watson did a good job.  As a parent im sure it takes just as much pressure to allow it.

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110377#msg110377

[CanadianRacingOnline]

I can see a 14 year old racing but 10 seems a little young. So you can go to a race track as a parent and get your kid into the pits if they are under the required age just by signing a waiver? How do other racers feel about this?



Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110379#msg110379

[ministock19]

This discussion took place last season in regards to a 12 year old racing at flamboro. In my opinion , anything under 14 should not be allowed, period. I have listened to all the excuses about ability, maturity, etc but no one has convinced me yet that is a good idea.  I don't blame the kids , but the parents and track operators need to give their heads a shake    kids should be racing against other kids, not adults. Besides, if they are allegedly that good at whatever young age they are, then they should be even better at an older , more acceptable age.

Let kids be kids !

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110380#msg110380

[northernequipmentsolution]

Heres an article from Tampa on a 12 year old critically injured in a race car crash, it s a dangerous sport

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/parents-defend-youth-racing-after-crash-critically-injures-12-year-old-boy/1231316

Crash happened at 40 mph, in a bone stock, makes me wonder what the family, sunset are thinking. 

I wonder what the other competitors are thinking about this, they had 25 comments on a facebook press release in a short amount of time, then they locked the press release because of the negative press.

To me if your starting your kid out racing at 10 years old, its because your pushing him to fulfill their own dreams of racing in sprint cup, they would be better off teaching their kids to stay in school, become educated/well spoken marketing machines cause that's how you really get into sprint cup, its all about sponsors

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110381#msg110381

[cardriver]

You seem to all forget that Cayden started in Super Stock when he was 12 years old. In fairness that would be easy to forget since he drives with the best of them. He has the respect of the field which he has earned with his driving.

15 year old Brandon Watson was running LM with the best of them. 15 year old Lane Zardo scored a SS championship before he got his driver's license.

Treyton has the same midget background at Cayden. At 10 he has more seat time in race cars and has been around race cars longer than most rookie oval drivers. He is supported by a great team that is smart enough to not put someone out there who isn't up to the task.

Yes a 10 year old can get hurt at the track and so can a 40 year old. A 10 year old is rather hard to hurt and when they do get injured at the age they recover very quickly. Can't say the same for someone in the 50's or 60's. So if age related injuries are a concern then it would make more sense to put Tom Walters out to pasture rather than prohibit a 10 year old from racing. Yes you can get hurt racing you can also get hurt falling off your bicycle!

No one is taking their kid out of school unless they are at a very strange school that runs Saturday nights in the summer! With that logic no parent should allow any child to play any sport, let alone one that runs for the most part when school isn't even on.

Time to put the underling jealousy aside. No if you started at 10 you wouldn't be a Cup star today! Let the kid run and prove himself like everyone else, there is no reason not to as long as he can hold his own.

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110384#msg110384

[jcrashm2]

i knew the jealousy excuse would come up...lol...
the kid is 10...give your head a shake...no one wants to see a kid hurt..
from experience...ive raced against kids at flamboro and you dont race them the same...you give them more room because heaven forbid if you get in a wreck with them it's never their fault cuz "their just a kid"...
so how is that fair for other racers?...
been there twice, once my car was destroyed and in the ambulance the kid was in fear i was gonna do or say something...actually felt sorry for him..was i suppose to go scream at the dad ??..
a big jump from 10 years of age to 13 which i think should be the lowest starting age...
i think alot of people will keep their comments to themselves because they respect this great racing family but really this is something that should be discussed more...because you kno an 8 or a 9 yearold will be next...


Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110385#msg110385

[charlie7]

Actually very good points on both sides of the fence.  Cardriver does seem to have a strong point.  Personally I don't agree with it.  Where do you draw the line?

All I do know for fact, is that it will sell tickets - and don't think for a minute the promotors haven't thought about that 

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110386#msg110386

[cardriver]

Does anyone want to see anyone get hurt? Is a father of 5 young kids who is the sole support of his family a more acceptable target to get hurt? Since you have a priority scale of people getting hurt with kids being on the top I'm interested to know who is on the bottom.

Don't know much about racing at Flamborough or how many kids are there but every track has more than their share of middle age babies who heaven forbid you hit. From what I have seen from Cayden, Lane and Brandon all "kids" they more than hold their own. You'd be stupid to give any of those guys an extra inch. If as a driver you are out there to wreck and hurt people you shouldn't be out there racing with anyone. If you are going to tap someone to get by them kid or not your intent should not be to hurt/wreck them anyhow. I'd say if thinking about what the other team is going to say to you after the race cause you stuffed their car into the wall you may want to reanalyze your own driving not the kid.

I think as an experienced driver you cut extra slack to rookies in general I fail to see how a kid is any different. Except in this case he's backed up by an experienced team who's going to pull the plug if he can't cut it. More than you can say about the guy with the car dolly and duct taped numbers who thinks he's a super star.

Big jump from 10 to 13. How so? The 13 year old is acceptable in the back of the ambulance because he's a full grown man and the 10 year old is not? LOL The 13 year old is more likely to have to shave or something irrelevant to racing? 10 years old + 5 years of international racing experience vs. 13 year old who's never used a clutch? My vote of who to be on the outside of turn 4 at Sunset would be the 10 year old.

8 or 9 year old. Bring them on if they can cut it. Likelihood of them being able to cut it as a driver lowers with the age effectively limiting who should and shouldn't be on the track on its own.  

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110387#msg110387

[northernequipmentsolution]

Does anyone want to see anyone get hurt? Is a father of 5 young kids who is the sole support of his family a more acceptable target to get hurt? Since you have a priority scale of people getting hurt with kids being on the top I'm interested to know who is on the bottom.

So you are saying it is better for a 10 year old to get hurt then a say 40 year old father?  No one wants to see someone get hurt, but it is a dangerous sport/hobby. 

And to be truthful, a father of 5 young kids who is the sole support of his family, better have things set up in case something happens, because if he does not that is very irresponsible.

Physically being able to withstand hard impacts, stressful situations are not for kids, some argue if it is something a adult should be doing.

Don't know much about racing at Flamborough or how many kids are there but every track has more than their share of middle age babies who heaven forbid you hit. From what I have seen from Cayden, Lane and Brandon all "kids" they more than hold their own. You'd be stupid to give any of those guys an extra inch. If as a driver you are out there to wreck and hurt people you shouldn't be out there racing with anyone. If you are going to tap someone to get by them kid or not your intent should not be to hurt/wreck them anyhow. I'd say if thinking about what the other team is going to say to you after the race cause you stuffed their car into the wall you may want to reanalyze your own driving not the kid.

Accidents happen, but the true statement should be are the parents/track placing this child in danger.  The parents have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for their children, excess risk could be viewed as child endangerment

I think as an experienced driver you cut extra slack to rookies in general I fail to see how a kid is any different. Except in this case he's backed up by an experienced team who's going to pull the plug if he can't cut it. More than you can say about the guy with the car dolly and duct taped numbers who thinks he's a super star.

Big jump from 10 to 13. How so? The 13 year old is acceptable in the back of the ambulance because he's a full grown man and the 10 year old is not? LOL The 13 year old is more likely to have to shave or something irrelevant to racing? 10 years old + 5 years of international racing experience vs. 13 year old who's never used a clutch? My vote of who to be on the outside of turn 4 at Sunset would be the 10 year old.

So if a 5 year old takes karate, it would be fine to have physical "fights" with grown adults?  As long as the parents consent to it.  Your rational that they are trained, know what they are doing, and would be more capable then say an adult with little karate experience.  Give your head a shake.

8 or 9 year old. Bring them on if they can cut it. Likelihood of them being able to cut it as a driver lowers with the age effectively limiting who should and shouldn't be on the track on its own. 

Use your arguments in other sports, professions in life, children need to have time to be children, it is part of their development, they should not be competing with adults if their is a danger to them.

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110389#msg110389

[cardriver]

Use your arguments in other sports, professions in life, children need to have time to be children, it is part of their development, they should not be competing with adults if their is a danger to them.

I think you lack understanding of the sport if you view it as a kid in hand to hand combat with an adult. I think you lack understanding if you see it as a combat sport at all. Even on that primate level the 10 year old is evenly matched with the 30 year old both weighting in at 2,700 lbs. Or maybe you would prefer rather than having division of cars we have divisions based on the age of the driver? You wouldn't have a 22 year old take on a 60 year old guy in the boxing either right and cause it works for boxing or karate in your example it must work for racing?

You also have a fantasy of racing being a much more dangerous sport than it is. Every year on about every ski hill in the province someone dies, statistically you have a much greater chance of injury on a ski hill than on a race track see Schumacher. So based on your own high horse definition of "child endangerment" anyone who takes the family out for a ski is endangering their child. Follow your logic and we have a whole generation of overweight kids that never leave the safety of the home playing X-Box all the time.

Complete faulty logic. A relatively safe sport is "child abuse" at 10, but not at 13-14 because why? You say so? LOL At Sunset there have been more injuries of kids with golf carts and side by sides in the pits than on the track.

"Being able to withstand hard impacts" ever watch a kid play? They can fall and get back up from something that would take a middle aged person out for a weeks. Go to your local skate park and watch the kids there crash, if you are over 30 tell me you'd get back up from the abuse they take. Some physics for you F= MA, F= force (what does the damaged) is the product of mass (how much the object weights) and acceleration (drop in speed from start to end). Obviously a child and 1/2 the weight of an adult is going to take 1/2 the force on their body as would an adult. Complete non-issue.

Racing is a FAMILY SPORT enjoyed by one of the great racing families the of the sport the Lapcevichs who have forgot more about the sport than most the the posters have here have every known. Who have made a sensible decisions, taking into account the well being of their own family member. Who are you to second guess that?

Don't worry probably in the end some pencil neck paper pushing insurance adjustor who wouldn't know a lug nut from a peanut will put an end to it based on the very flawed logic we have here. So we can have some 16 year old without any respect for anything compete in a car he knocked the windows out of the night before but sideline a kid with years of experience wins championships backed by a great team sidelined because of a number.

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110390#msg110390

[K-man]

Maybe the Minister of Transportation should rethink the age limit for someone to get a driver's license. If it's safe enough for a youngster to drive on a race track, it must be safe enough to drive on a public road.

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110392#msg110392

[cardriver]

Maybe the Minister of Transportation should rethink the age limit for someone to get a driver's license. If it's safe enough for a youngster to drive on a race track, it must be safe enough to drive on a public road.

The track being a private facility has the ability to look at it on a case by case basis and has the right to say yes to one person and no to another. Laws for the public must apply to all and not discriminate.

Personally I feel if the track is afforded the smart choice over the blanket choice they should go with the smart one.

Maybe the school board should rethink teaching auto shop to anyone under 16 since they aren't mature enough to drive a car. We wouldn't want a kid losing an arm in a fan belt. With their smaller size they might get completely sucked in.

I don't think any of you have read the article in the link;
"We're gonna start Treyten off slow. Sunset has never had a Mini Stock competitor this young, so we'll begin with some practice sessions, monitor his progress and go from there. He won't see a green flag until our entire team feels as though he's ready"

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=18881.msg110393#msg110393