Rick Tisone didn't like T-Ball. He was afraid he would hurt someone with a tag. At seven years old, it was time for a new sport.
Something gentle like swimming? Non-contact like tennis? Padded like football? Red flag those thoughts, exhaust-breath. It's Auto Racing!
NASCAR is alive and well in, of all places, Trumbauersville. Quarter Midget Racing, to be precise, but forget the size difference. This is major league stuff. Not just because of the great track, and 40-year old club, but because families do it together .
These folks don't just start their engines, they start their values.
Saturday afternoons at the Oaklane Speedway on Tollgate Road. More than 120 cars in 19 different classes. Ages 5-16, with boys and girls in the same races. Families working as families. As sports go, it doesn't get any better.
The biggest problem with most youth athletics is the adults. Not all adults, of course, but those who rightfully earn the nickname "Little League Parents". Not-so-grownups who live vicariously through their kids. Who take out the frustrations of their lives on referees, coaches, and even the children.
If you have ever seen a father screaming at a 12-year old soccer player (usually the other team, but sometimes his own son or daughter), it makes you wonder what we are doing to our next generation. What kind of example are we setting? What kind of pressure are we putting on them to "succeed"? Win. Be #1. Get that college scholarship. "Make us proud".
There is very little of that nonsense at Oaklane. As a practical matter, when the kids are driving, tucked into their safety helmets and secured in the cars with the engines roaring, they can't hear the parents anyway. But the actual race on the club's short road is just the end of the long road that got them all there. The shared quest.
If you are in the neo-typical American family that finds inter-generational "communication" to be a few grunts and nods at dinner, or hears "Daaaaad, you just don't understand!" more frequently than "Please" or "Thank you", then you might be surprised at the Oaklane way of doing things. It's called Family Motorsports .
Everyone participates in racing and maintaining the cars. And in operating the paved mini-Indy banked oval, with its state-of-the-art computer timing. The fastest track in the country, they proudly proclaim. About 5.5 seconds per lap, which translates to speeds up to 45 miles per hour. It seems like 145.
Parents ("handlers") and kids ("drivers") actually speak to one another. In full sentences. Some of the vocabulary is a bit strange, like hot chute, novice switch, tire stagger, and heat gun . But they make eye contact, depend on each other, and work toward a common goal. Every week.
And once the race has begun, the kids are on their own. They make quick decisions without help, and independently perform the otherwise adult task of competitive driving. Maturity can come quickly when you feel trusted and empowered. They survive rollovers, spinouts, and blown engines.
And, surprise of surprises, the goal is not always to cross the finish line first. Sure, everyone likes to "win", and Oaklane has produced many regional and national champions. But there is great satisfaction in improvement, personal bests, and just finishing ahead of that other guy or girl (or brother or sister) who smoked you last race. Remember, these are kids, and this is Family Motorsports.
Unlike many athletic teams, where there are one or two coaches, and the parents are (often clueless) spectators, everyone here is involved and knowledgeable. The cars are products of a cottage industry, built by a few small manufacturers, and must be maintained and repaired by the families.
It cost in the neighborhood of $5000 to get started with one racecar. Many families have several. Custom trailers - most teams have them - can drive up the bill exponentially. But as one dad explained, "You can take a family vacation, or you can do this". Oaklane Family Values .
And dedication. The club's 102 families come from four states and 58 different zip codes. There is plenty of driving in the big cars prior to driving the little ones.
Of course, anything worth racing is worth racing right. The midgetmobiles are beautifully painted, and professionally lettered, some with multiple sponsors. Helmets and race suits are right out of the Kyle Petty School of Fashion, though the driver may look more like Lori Petty. Half of the younger racers are female.
Gentlewomen, Start Your Engines!
No special rules, or races, for chicks in quarter midget. Girls rule. Fifteen-year-old Tiffany Barndt won two classes at the 2004 Dirt Grands in Maryland, setting track records in both. Megan Kay, who started racing last year at age 13 after watching older brother Joe, won the Oaklane Senior Novice Cup, and holds the current track record.
In fact, all of the senior novices are girls this year. Role models for the many younger tire-burners who have replaced Barbie with Briggs & Stratton.
Lest you think that life begins, and ends, on the asphalt for these motorheads, the club sponsors a "Race Against Drugs" program, supports the local police and fire departments, National Leukemia Society, Ronald McDonald House, and the American Cancer Society. Each family donated a new toy to the local women's shelter, and Oaklane is planning a coat drive for the same cause. There is financial aid available to members headed to college or tech school.
Families, Start Your Values!