racemom, this may be what was behind the rumours of BSW opening up a competetive go-kart track....it really would be an investment into the future....and as you say, it is like tyke baseball and novice hockey....
on a side note...this Toronot BS is crazy right now eh? Wioth the explosions..if you are going into toroonto the entire 401 and 400 are closed so if you are gong to flammy to go racing u better find a bacjk way or turnaround...jusdt had a caller call the station who was going to a jays game and they were not allowed into the city....
There are a few cart tracks around for the youth to learn. Ron Fellows I believe, is actively involved in a lot of that, and would be the sort to look up to. I'd argue he's done more for promoting the sport to up and coming drivers, over any hockey player.
Unfortunatly its not like hockey. The cost of a cart is much more than hockey gear. You must also have a parent that is able to fix and maintain the cart. Unfortunatly that isn't for everyone like hockey. However for interaction between a parent an child I don't think it can be beat. You watch you child play hockey, with a cart, you are both working together as a team... But Saterday night racing isn't for kids (driving) either. Would you throw your 12 year old on the ice in an adult contact league? Legends and Cup lights may look like toys almost, but there is some real speed and hard racing to those.
Even if you spend the time getting your child into racing, in their teenage years, you are going to be the last person they want to hang out with every weekend. Being 16, you are to "old" to hang out with your parents, yet too young to be able to haul your own car to the track ect. Youth, I don't beleive is the answer.
Also the movement to make racing a "family sport" is fine. But to try and fill your stands with families, isn't the way to go. Look at any major league game. The guys sitting in the golds paying $300+ for a leafs game aren't there as a familiy.. To include and encourage families is great. To believe that they will fill your stands, and target them SOLELY is foolish I think. Peterborough has made that mistake to the extreme. Running foolish kids bike and other races during intermision. They go on far to long, and are not what going to the track is about. You lose your core race fans, the racing goes down hill, and all that is left is games at intermision, that the kids can and do play on their own, at school, ect, so why go to the track?
The perception of drinking and racing is kinda bugging me... Go to any major league sport event, and there are FAR more drunks there than at the track. As for unsportsman like behavoir, racing is contact, there are heros and villians out there. We are big boys and girls. Yes some take it to far, but for goodness sakes look at hockey!! You have on your team an "enforcer" who can't, skate, can't score and whole purpose is to punch guys in the face!! What does that teach your kids? All sorts of rules that are broken every game involve physical violence, hooking, tripping, slashing, fighting, high sticking. Any one of those in racing will get you banned from the track, not 2 mins on a bench!! So tell me again, which sport has poor sportsmanship? Come in the pits, and see drivers competing in the same class, lending each other tools and parts. Thats what is really going on....
I picked up the Saturday paper,and low and behold in the sport section, The Orillia Packet is a very good article on driver Garry Renolds, headline (COLDWATER DRIVER FASTEST ON TRACK) This is the first time I have seen this in years, I was quite surprised. We need more of this.There was also mention of Keith McLeod, Dwayne Baker,Steve Quesnelle, and Rob Inglis. I will be sending this paper an email thanking them for their coverage of our sport. Thank you to the Orillia packet .
Actually there have been quite a few articles such as the one you mentioned published about drivers at BSW the last few years!! Can remember reading pieces on Brandon Watson and Derek Surerus as well. And most weeks the results get posted in at least the Barrie and Orillia papers as well. Sometimes the day they appear might vary but if you look they are usually in there weekly. Also have seen quite a few adds previewing what might be happening at the track on that weekend!! Another good site for race info is www.racingtrader.ca. This is a friend of mine that races Legend cars at Scotia Speedworld that administers this site and a good bit of racing content there too. Just started sending him the Barrie reports to publish so thats another place Barrie race results are now appearing!!!
There also was an article about Shawn Monette winning the charger championship last year in one of the Orillia papers. Also there have been articles about BSW in the Barrie Examiner from time to time in the last couple of years. Just because they are not front page articles, doesn't mean they are not there
Steve you are such a wealth of information ! What date was that article so I can look it up ?