Lucas won't allow c.miller to race

[Dlmfan123]

They only said he’s 13 about 1000 times on the lucas broadcast

[golddirt]

At a lot of tracks you have to be 16 do to insurance

[smith19]

he11 Redd1ck was in a sprintcar at the age of 12. Gordon 13...

[Centeroff]

Read the rule book

[Minny Lakes]

I always find this topic interesting. A lot of these younger kids are better drivers and have a lot more common sensethan middle aged guys who do dumb crap that you think would know better. Let the kids race.

[EvelB7]

I want to add one thought to this subject, realize it is not about the ability but the age. This is a profession and can be extremely dangerous as well as bringing tempers to a boil. How many times have we watched drivers retaliate after an incident? Imagine a driver gives a cheap slider on you and you return the favor and it goes wrong, might have been his choice to be there but I would not want to try and sleep at night if I hurt a 13 year old.... I have ran with some very talented young racers (luckily no issues) but it was always a thought when they were around.

[Krooser]

The track sets the age for entry to the pits and the drivers age. Their insurance rates are based on their rules, facilities and types of cars run.

Young drivers? You pay more. 4 year olds in the pits? Might be more. Sprints? Pay more. Super late? You pay more. Real street stocks, IMCA b-mods, IMCA stock cars? Cheaper.

Broken boards in the grandstands? Fix 'em or pay more. No wheel catch fence? Up it goes. No safety crew on-site? Open your wallet. No ambulance on site? Up, up up...

Back in 2013 I set my pit entrance age at 14 and my drivers age at 16. My choice... I could have allowed a one year old to race and K&K would have based the rate accordingly. That's how it works.

The insurance industry learned that if THEY set the rules then they have a stake in the liability. When they write a policy the track is the insured. If THEY set the rules the track will be sued AND the insurance carrier will be sued... so the tracks makes their own rules and the insurance company bases their rates on an individual basis.

I paid $1800.00 per night back in the late 80's for my liability insurance and my drivers medical coverage... that was high for a 1/3 mile with early IMCA mods as the top class. But my participant insurance covered around $50,000 for medical expense resulting from an incident at the track. Most tracks had a $5,000 limit.

When I got back in the business in 2013 those rates had dropped to about $800.00 for my street stock and 4 cylinder program.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

I want to add one thought to this subject, realize it is not about the ability but the age. This is a profession and can be extremely dangerous as well as bringing tempers to a boil. How many times have we watched drivers retaliate after an incident? Imagine a driver gives a cheap slider on you and you return the favor and it goes wrong, might have been his choice to be there but I would not want to try and sleep at night if I hurt a 13 year old.... I have ran with some very talented young racers (luckily no issues) but it was always a thought when they were around.

Deeply shocked, but nice post new poster. Usually it’s a new name of someone banned, but nice post man. By no means am I saying you’re one of them, you seem like a new poster with fresh thoughts.

[TerryM]

I want to add one thought to this subject, realize it is not about the ability but the age. This is a profession and can be extremely dangerous as well as bringing tempers to a boil. How many times have we watched drivers retaliate after an incident? Imagine a driver gives a cheap slider on you and you return the favor and it goes wrong, might have been his choice to be there but I would not want to try and sleep at night if I hurt a 13 year old.... I have ran with some very talented young racers (luckily no issues) but it was always a thought when they were around.

Good points. We were at GIS last weekend and if I hadn't already known this kid's age, I wouldn't have been able to tell he was any different age-wise than the other guys on the track. I didn't see a single mistake by him, and I watched him a lot. But I also get what you're saying. I'd have a hard time forgetting I'm racing next to a 13-year old if I was in that position. On the other hand, we see kids like Red(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word), Pierce and O'Neal racing at a similar age and they're not only making laps, but running up front. So I guess there's a blurry line when it comes to the age limit thing. As a father, I see it one way. As a fan, I see the other side of it. I'm sure the bottom line though is insurance and liability. Better safe than sorry.

[GEAR_HEAD]

The track insurance was tipped off. They contacted the track and said no. The policy is that drivers have to be legal age to drive. It is not a Lucas Oil issue. It is an Eastbay Insurance issue...

Who would tip off the insurance company? People really need to mind their own business. It's not like the kid is out there causing problems.

[No_Weak_Links]

Can't blame the track if insurance company says no. If something went terribly wrong, the owner(s) would be buried....but if I were them I would search around for different insurance.....This does make you wonder with young kids driving at tracks all over the country, do these other insurance companies know there are many kids under 16 participating? I do hope all these kids and owners are covered.

[super_latemodel_fan]

Who would tip off the insurance company? People really need to mind their own business. It's not like the kid is out there causing problems.

Refer to post 31

[heinen81]

Smart call by the insurance company and props to Lucas and East Bay for abiding. The kid is good, plenty of time to show it as he gets older, but.... it is a dangerous sport and God forbid he gets hurt or worse, something like this lands up on Dateline (especially since the whole child football concussion discussion) and all the other news shows, and it draws a huge negative light on the sport. Lawyers get involved, parents get called out for putting their child at risk... it gets ugly. Media would eat this up, and who steps in next.... Government. Think about the big picture people, its bigger than if the kid can drive or not.

[golddirt]

And if something did happen to this young man how would this thread be going ? Everyone would being saying that they shouldn't have let him race. Rules are rules.

[CageFaraday]

In my area growing up it was always that the driver had to have a legal drivers license to compete. Frank Ingram(Son of Bill Ingram) started racing hobby cars at Dixie when he was 15, by lying and saying he was 16. Lasted about 6 weeks. Once the track was clued in and asked to see his license, he had to stop running till his birthday. No stink was made, no lawyers called, he just owned up to it and waited. I'm not in favor of children racing cars at all till they are of the legal age to drive, besides there are plenty of "Kid ONLY" classes they can hone their racing skills doing outside DLM. To me its less about ability to handle the car, which is important, but more about judgement, maturity and handling ones emotions in a given situation. That Michael Lake kid last year had an incident where he got ruffled and booted I believe it was Dennis Erb Jr last year at the Bay. Mentioning older guys acting childish, I 'm in favor of them reigning that in too, no excuse for some of the bahavior that goes on and misrepresented as, 'Passion". NOT. JMO