Track Tac

my kid is 13 is it fair

Ive seen some cases where its fine and Ive seen some that they have absolutely no business being out there. It all depends on ability and seat time. I think the track manager would be the best one to make that call considering your view might be skewed because hes your kid.
 
He's 13, so he's not an adult and doesn't belong in adult classes in my opinion. Have seen some parents want their kid to be able to run with the adults, then if the kid gets taken out or hurt that parent throws a fit when in reality its their fault for putting the kid in that class in the first place knowing the kid would be racing with older, more experienced drivers. It can be dangerous at tracks where there are alot of karts in a class, but may be ok at small tracks where you might only see 7-8 karts in a class. This is just my opinion, not trying to be an @ss or anything, but they have classes for Jr's and age restrictions for a reason, safety being the main concern. I dont believe its right to allow the 15 year olds to race with adults either because 15 years old is not an adult, but alot of tracks allow 15+ to run with the adult classes.

My point is that some drivers younger than 15 may have the experience to race with adults, but it wouldn't be fair to allow some to do it and not others. Just like the 15 year olds who race adult classes, some have the experience and can be competitive while others lack that experience and are usually in the way, which can cause someone to get seriously hurt.
 
I'm certainly not saying your son is like this, but I have seen minors race with adults, and after an on-track altercation come running their mouth to said adult. That is NOT a good idea. I have seen well-known underage drivers tell their opponent "You can't touch me, I'm a minor". That causes nothing but anger and resentment that can spill onto the race track and get someone hurt and innocent karts torn up. Weddle's right- the classes are laid out with the best intentions of keeping the young people safe over everything else.
 
Local option. Its the individual track manager/owner's call and depends how good of an attorney they think they've got. I'm against it. Like Weddle said, he's NOT an adult. That's why there are Junior classes.
 
Im with Weddle on this one. Seen it go bad in practice when a kid was on the track with adults.
 
I've seen some VERY talented 13 year old racers (and some not so much.) Anytime that you make an "exception" to the rule, problems can arise. I saw one particular 13 year old compete with adults at a money race, and when the kid won the adults were all crying like kids - it was pretty awful situation that could have been easily avoided. Personally I think the adults should have been humbled that a "kid" just handed it to them. On the other hand, I see their point...the "kid" wasn't playing by the rules.

Another problem that the current class structure has in karting is that we keep these "kids" using restrictor plates through the ages of 14 or 15. Keep in mind that they are only a year away from getting their drivers' licenses in most cases. Some of these "kids" move on to big cars (sprint cars, midgets, late models, etc) before they get their driver's license. So we are seeing "kids" bypass the jr3 class to go to big cars -- and why would they want to continue for another year or more with a restrictor plate if their goal is to get into big cars with some real horsepower anyhow!?

I don't know what the answer is...there was some discussion before the big crash of B4C of a JR UAS class that sounded promising (although nothing became of it.)
It would sure make sense if we could prepare some of these "young" drivers for some big horsepower rather than going from a restrictor plate to 800+ horsepower. :)

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I do not think kids should be allowed in adult classes, puts both parties at a huge risk if something goes wrong. We had an instance around here where the track was having a dash for cash after the night of racing and there was a conflict during the race that got really ugly in the pits between the parents of the kid and the other racers.
 
Have any of you thought about why "kids" are restricted from doing a lot of things. They can't drink till they're 21, do you suppose there's a reason for that? They can't vote until they're 18, same question. They can't drive a car until they're 16, in most places, I wonder what the reason is for that? In many places there are truancy laws that keep kids from staying out late at night.

So now you're telling me that a 13-year-old, and I don't care how good he can drive, should be allowed to race with the adults!!

From the desk of Al Nunley
Comments compliments criticisms and questions always welcome.
If the data does not support the theory, get a new theory. (Al Nunley)
 
As a former track promoter, I found it just as easy to throw out a 13 year old as I did to throw out a 33 year old. I also made it quite clear to the parents that Id protect their kids off the track, but then let them know that you put them in the adult class, so they better have their big boy pants on for what happens on the track.
 
I strongly oppose a 13 year old racing with adults for the same reasons stated above, I do believe there are some very talented 13 year old kids out there , some with natural talent and some with bought talent (rich parents) ... I feel if a 13 year old can race in an adult class then it should be ok for me to run a big cam (not because of cheating , but because its a rule)
 
Its nice to see everybody on the same page and agreeing on something, we need more of this these days
 
I personally do not think any 13-14 yr old should be running with adults. I don't feel they are emotionally mature enough to deal with the aggressive racing. And like stated, first time he/she gets bumped, spun or wrecked the parents will be a bigger problem.
 
Does anyone know if you can still get a driver's license at 14 years old in the state of North Dakota?
Just checked -- looks like you get a permit and log 50 hours in different conditions, then have to wait until 15 to take the test.
How do people feel about this?

;)
 
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I'm with Weddle on this also. I would also like to add that most 13 and 15 year olds don't have enough weight to make the minimum where an adult does. Letting a smaller individual in that class will allow the placement of the weight on the kart where it is greatly needed in my opinion isn't fair to the adults that have to use what they got. I know of one 13 year old at out track that has to put a ton of weight on the kart to get legal and he has the opportunity to put it where it is very helpful. Then there is a kart on the track that weighs much more than the rest and that could hurt if ya got hit by it in the wrong place.
 
CarlsonMotorsports said:
Does anyone know if you can still get a driver's license at 14 years old in the state of North Dakota?
Just checked -- looks like you get a permit and log 50 hours in different conditions, then have to wait until 15 to take the test.
How do people feel about this?

;)
Click to expand...

Way to young to be driving a car
 
Dr Dig Tire Treaments said:
My kid 13 years can he legally run adult classes or is it a bogus rule does anyone inforce. It thanks
Click to expand...

Most any track will create a class for 3 or more racers that want to race.

Find.......or build 2 more adult class karts.........with 2 or more teenage drivers.......to join your 13 year old...........and approach the track for permission to race a special class.
 
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