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April 21, 1999 MAKES YOU THINK
Racing parents are just about the luckiest parents there are. When you race
locally, you usually do so as a family. They are always with you, by your
side. Except for maybe Prom Night or Graduation Night, you always know
where your kids are - with you.
After the Denver shooting yesterday, I thank my lucky stars that my family
does race. And no, my kids are not abnormal, they just love racing as much
as we do. Being at the track every weekend could get old for some but not
for my family. Being at the track is normal whether we are racing or just
watching racing and being there for our friends.
But after yesterday, it is obvious that some parents do not have the pleasure
of their children's company. They don't even know what their kids do. It is
hard to even try and understand why kids would go crazy like the two Seniors
did and kill and hurt so many. Their lives are still new and they have so
much more to come.
Sometimes we just take things for granted like having family involvement in
racing. But after this week, I won't take it for granted. I will count
myself one of the lucky ones that my daughter has never made me once wonder where and what she was doing, she was always at the track with me.
Some may think us crazy, insane for going round and round in circles.
But thank goodness, racing has kept us together and the only trouble
my kids have caused was wanting more money for food. -JANE ****************************************************** April 14, 1999
Bonded Together
For those who do not like the fact that the Message Board at karnac.com
is changing, I am sorry. But this board, all boards, are not intended to
hurt people. This is the only way we can talk to each other from all over
the country and share the bond we have called racing. Yes, all Message
Boards have webmasters who watch over the board. Mike at racecomm.com
has no problems deleting unfair messages and Jack is no different. Belittling
does nothing, name calling does nothing, slander does nothing but hurt
someone when they usually don't deserve that hurt.
Most people that work at Florida Stock Car Racing by sending in stories,
race results, photos do so not for money but because they love this sport.
This web-site was made for fans of Florida Short Track Racing and since
the date it first started, my oh my has she grown. Any driver in this state
can have his profile put up for the world to see. All the tracks are up so if
you are visiting Florida, you can find each and every one of them. We do
good things not bad.
If you love racing and you are a fan, driver, pit crew person, writer, owner,
worker - this is your home. It was made for you. But it was not and never
will be a place where you can tear someone up and spit them out in little
pieces. If you want to talk to fellow lovers of your favorite sport, please
register for the message board. We can have such fun and become friends
as a lot of us already are. But if you want to just cause trouble, cause
trouble somewhere else.
And so everyone will know, Jack and I happen to share the same last name
(Smith) but we are not kin to each other. I am not his Jill, his wife's name is
Cathy, and my husband's name is Ronnie. But if you want to call us Jack
and Jill, go ahead since this Jack and Jill think just about the same. We
care about you, all of you, you matter to us. And the nice thing is, that
we don't have to know you personally since the majority of local racers are
just like us. Good people sharing a common bond and love for racing..
-Jane Smith
************************************************************* April 10, 1999
Taking Care of Each Other I have real all the messages on the Message Board. I can see where
alot of people are concerned about safety but say that they want no
government control over race tracks. Some feel that it should be up
to the track and the people who race there to govern themselves. So,
being me - the noisy person I am, I talked to out-of-state drivers and
track owners who do have some kind of state inspection and require-
ments on their tracks for safety. Guess what, none of them were
unhappy or felt ruled by government. They just have to have their
equipment as up-to-date as the drivers' do their cars. AND IF THEY
DON'T, NO ONE RACES UNTIL THEY DO.
Yes, racing is a two-way street. The driver must conform to the
track rules and unless he is really stupid, will take no safety shortcuts.
He will have the proper firesuit, the gloves, the helmet, the shoes. He
will have his safety harness and his seat up-to-date and a fire extinguisher
that can be gotten to by him. All these things have been added over the
years to protect the driver. I guess Simpson was just stupid when he
came up with the idea of his helmet and the things he has contributed
over the years for safety to the driver. Wrong, Simpson cared and he
did not want hurt drivers but I am sure when he did all this, he never
thought about what if the track were lacking in safety. What he did
was add driver safety to what he thought all tracks had - ways to help
prevent serious injury to fans and drivers.
Your child's school is inspected for safety. Day care centers are inspected,
so why not race tracks? All public buildings have fire alarms and sprinkler
systems - these guys don't deserve this?? Yes, they do and so do the fans.
Whether it is a common elected board over race tracks or the State Fire
Marshall's office, tracks should be inspected. They should have to show their
equipment just as a driver must show his. If you race, do you resent being
told by the track what you can and cannot do or do you respect the rules so
that you can race? Maybe you do cheat in your motor but there is no
cheating in the safety in your car. If it does not meet inspection, and I
hope most tracks do inspect their cars and their drivers, you don't go on the
track.
Racing is dangerous, we all know that. You don't have to tell anyone that
who does race or go to the races. Accidents do and will happen, sometimes
we will lose some drivers but very seldom is it because of safety equipment
not being available at the track. Some guys just want to race and they never
think about what if but someone has to think about the WHAT IFS. I know
it would be nice if the tracks would just fix themselves but I doubt that will
happen but how can any of you just sit there and not want the best for the
guys and gals you love to watch every weekend at your local tracks?
What happened at Ocala was extremely bad - both parties were at fault in
the outcome of that accident. Safety was forgotten and racing was what
every driver wants to do and making money was what the owner wanted to
do. I doubt the accident could have been prevented but the outcome could
have been much different if we only had some rules for track safety equipment.
Everytime there is a racing accident at a NASCAR track, something new
comes from it to prevent that kind of accident again. That happened with
John Nemechek, that happened when the hood went into the stands at
Daytona, why not when a driver gets seriously burned at Ocala?? Ours
guys are just as important to us as NASCAR's are to them. -Jane Smith April 2, 1999 HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL
I cannot speak for all the Florida Stock Car racers and fans, but in
just a few short days, it will be Easter. Even though most of us will
be at the track on Good Friday and the night before Easter, I think
most of us are young at heart and still have kids or grandkids to
remind us that Easter is near. Of course, Easter is not just bunnies
and eggs and pastel colors but a renewal of faith and a promise of
better days to come.
In keeping with the spirit and the belief that things will get better,
I hope that all our friends, fans, drivers, readers have a wonderful
Easter. Make some good memories as this will be the last of them
for this century. Take some time also to remember back to the ones
you cherish - maybe of your childhood and the family gathering at
Easter. Memories and friends are here forever, cherish them and
always remember them.
Last year my six year old son decided that he wanted to share his
Easter with the tracks where we usually race. Since he is 6, he is
more into Easter eggs and baskets than why we really celebrate
Easter. So, he saved his money and with his dad and mom's help,
he has once again bought plastic eggs to fill with Easter goodies.
He then takes his basket full of candy-filled eggs and gives them
away usually in the pits since that is where we are at races. And
these are his memories of his early days at racing and how he
celebrated Easter with his racing family.
I wish you all a HAPPY EASTER and remember, days will be better. -Jane Smith |
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