Insider Racing News Fan Essay Contest
The Insider Racing News Fan Essay Contest starts December 15th and ends on January 15th. Five winners will receive a copy of Liz Allison's new book, The Ultimate NASCAR Insider's Track Guide... See details here.

Sprint Cup Headline News, Commentary and Race Coverage

StubHub.com

Alex Racing Gifts
Racing Gifts-Collectables









Click on button to go to
Home Page
Insider Racing News


Tickets Make Great Gifts

SoldOutEventTickets.com
F1 Tickets
MotoGP Tickets




St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital


Insider Racing News
Copyright © 2000-2010. All Rights Reserved.

Sprint Cup® and NASCAR® are registered trademarks of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. This web site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASCAR®. The official NASCAR® website is "NASCAR® Online" and is located at.. www.NASCAR.com


NASCAR Baby Boom Underway

An Opinion


January 10, 2010

By Kim Roberson

Kim Roberson
We are barely a week into 2010 and already it is shaping up to be a season of old and new for NASCAR fans.

I’m not talking about cars or teams, but age.

First, the old: it was announced this week that two familiar faces will likely be occupying new rides in Daytona in five weeks.

Bill Elliott is reported to be replacing David Ragan behind the wheel of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing (RFR), and Kenny Schrader, who has been running more dirt than asphalt over the last two years, will be replacing Scott Speed behind the wheel of the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota.

Now, no need to worry about Ragan or Speed: the replacements are only for one race, the Budweiser Shootout.

With the race re-vamping its entry qualifications, neither the No. 6 nor No. 82 would have been running in the Shootout with their current drivers: neither has won a race at Daytona, neither has won a Bud Shootout, and neither is a NASCAR Champion. But Elliott has the benefit of being a past champion, and Schrader has won two Shootouts (although they were 20 years ago in 1989 and 1990).

The idea for Schrader to run the No. 82 car was the driver's, not the team's.

"We're excited he approached us with the idea and are looking forward to giving him the opportunity he deserves and has earned," said Red Bull team general manager Jay Frye.

The deal with Awesome Bill is not set in stone yet, but is reported to be in the works.

Now to the NEW for 2010.

Apparently the vision of cars flying through the air with the greatest of ease has made engineers with NASCAR take a closer look at the rear “wing” on the back of Sprint Cup cars. Several published reports are saying that NASCAR might revert back to the spoiler design instead of the wing, but this is still just in the early “discussion” stages, and nothing firm has been announced yet.

Finally, onto the apparent baby boom happening in the NASCAR garage.

The belief that a new baby will ruin the career of a NASCAR driver apparently has not stopped the fertility fairy from making a pass at the NASCAR garage. Now, the fear of having a newborn in the house seems to have gone the way of the worry of having green on a race car.

  • Former Dale Earnhardt Incorporated driver Steve Park and his wife, Jessica, welcomed a baby boy last week. Jayden Robert Park arrived on January 2nd, and weighed in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

  • NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion and former Camping World Truck Series driver Donny Lia and his wife are expecting a child any day now. The impending birth caused Lia to miss participating in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge this weekend.

  • Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford for RFR, and his wife, Kate, announced they are having a baby girl in February – right around the same time as the Daytona 500. The Edwards’ celebrated their first wedding anniversary last weekend.

  • Elliott Sadler, driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 19, and his wife Amanda are expecting a baby boy in March. They will mark their first anniversary later this week.

  • And just this week, we found out four-time Champion Jimmie Johnson and his wife, Chandra, will be welcoming their first child sometime in July. Many fans are already joking that the newest member of the Johnson family may be the only thing standing between JJ and his fifth consecutive championship.

    These children join six-month-old Kaylin Nicola Kenseth, daughter of 2003 NASCAR Champion Matt Kenseth and his wife Katie; 16-month old Samantha Mae Mears, daughter of newlyweds Casey and Trish Mears; almost two-year-old Addison Hornish, daughter of Sam and Crystal Hornish; and two-and-a-half year old Ella Sophia Gordon, daughter of four time champion Jeff Gordon and his wife Ingrid.

    It sounds like there will be a lot of bleary eyed dads swapping diaper changing stories as the season gets underway. Maybe NASCAR needs to set up someplace at the track so the dad’s can walk together in the wee hours of the night, commiserating as their offspring provide the highs and lows of being a first time parent.

    Motor Racing Outreach, the support ministry that travels as part of the NASCAR caravan each week, does offer assistance to families though their Women and Children’s ministry. They have a trailer that opens the Thursday before race day and stays open through the end of the race, where children of drivers and team members can hang out, play, do arts and crafts, participate in bible study, and sing.

    Personally, I love the fact that the NASCAR family is expanding. While we still have the young swinging singles, more and more the guys are finding a woman willing to share the weekly grind that is being a professional driver and settling down with them in domestic bliss. I am looking forward to the day, not too far down the road, when all of these babies will be old enough to take part in one of my favorite NASCAR traditions: singing the anthem before the race at Bristol.

    Congratulations to the new and soon-to-be new dads and moms!



    You can contact Kim at.. Insider Racing News
    You Can Read Other Articles By Kim


    The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

  • return to top
    Google
     
    affiliate_link