RC racing is a terrific family activity. That’s one of the most charming aspects of this hobby at its most grassroots level, but it’s important not to lose sight of where it all began.
Sure, parents can coach their children’s youth sports teams, but age means nothing in RC racing. In very few competitive activities can parents and their children compete against each other on an even playing field. That diversity in age is also good for young kids, too - you can line up among a full heat of drivers ranging from age 7 to 70 on the stand at one time. It’s a rare opportunity to socialize with others of all ages, with the buffer of a common interest - RC racing.
The basic tasks of RC racing, like being ready for your race, following basic track etiquette, and turn marshaling afterward, enforce the virtues of responsibility and fair play. Can you possibly think of a better application for the golden rule? Turn marshal others as you’d have them turn marshal you! Even if you’ve only got one vehicle, it’s a great chance for a father to teach his son basic mechanical skills by sharing the experience of building a kit and fixing broken parts. From bearings, to shocks, to electronics, there’s a lot to learn and a surprising amount of rudimentary RC knowledge will transfer over to high school math and science classes.
In my first few years of racing RC cars, during which I was still in elementary school, there was a group of teenagers who frequented the local tracks in San Diego every weekend. Even though many of their families weren’t also involved in racing their parents didn’t mind driving them to and from the track, or supplementing their allowances or high school job earnings, because it was safer for them to be hanging out at a well-supervised track and hobby shop than going out and potentially getting in trouble. Some of those kids got really fast, too - even earning factory rides back in a day when they weren’t handed out like brochures on the sidewalks of the Vegas Strip.
None of them “went pro” in racing, though. Some went to college, some started racing full-size off-road cars, and others started working in skilled trades. They had fun for a few years, grew up, and moved on.
One of the most alarming trends sparked by the RC industry’s ever-expanding scope of “sponsored racers” is the changing dynamic of racing families that frequent local tracks. Perhaps the epidemic is stronger in SoCal than in other areas of the country, but the ratio of father/son teams who go from “racing for fun” to “my kid is going to be the next Ryan Maifield!” is heading in the wrong direction. Nearly all side effects of that shift, at least from the perspective of this jaded third-person spectator, are negative.
The pressure and assumptions of being a sponsored driver have driven more than a handful of young rising stars to quit. When you’re wearing the t-shirt and using the products, even weekly club races come with expectations - and if they’re not met, other racers at the track might treat you differently. That’s even truer when a slight amount of preferential treatment (not to mention daddy telling his young prodigy how special he is) transforms a once bright-eyed young Novice class standout into a smug, annoying little grommet who strolls through the pits like he owns the place (often while Dad is doing all the wrenching).
Sure, there are young teens who get dropped off at the track for hours and make that ugly transition on their own, but it’s more common when they have a little bit of help - from the one person whose main responsibility it is to stop it all from happening.
Sometimes, the biggest pressure placed on a young sponsored racer comes from his supervising parent. It sounds silly, but the delusion of riding a talented son’s coattails toward a life of being a semi-professional RC car mechanic is more common than you might think. I’ve seen fathers chastise their children and reduce them to a sniffling ball of tears over a couple of crashes in a qualifier. I’ve been shocked at the language spewed back and forth between fathers and sons screaming at each other within earshot of hundreds of people. I’ve snacked on proverbial popcorn while watching a meltdown lead to thrown equipment, hastily-packed pit areas, and screeching tires leaving the parking lot.
Is that what you’re paying hundreds of dollars to do? Seriously? The first time you packed up your ten year old and his Christmas present to go to the track, I’m sure that’s not what you had in mind.
If your kid is truly going to be the next Brian Kinwald, you’ll know. Dakotah Phend won his first ROAR National title at 8 years old. Ryan Maifield competed for Stock Class wins at the Cactus Classic before age 10 and scored the RC10B4’s first win at 16. Jared Tebo was one of the fastest nitro racers in the U.S. before his 13th birthday. Ty Tessmann TQ’d the Manufacturers’ Cup over the world’s best at 15. Ryan Cavalieri was a travel-paid factory driver before he entered high school, earned a salary by 16 and won the first of four IFMAR World Championships a year later.
If your 17-year-old son is struggling to make the main after three years in the Sportsman class, it’s time to let that dream go. Only a handful of extremely talented individuals in the 30-ish years of organized RC racing have made a living by racing. It’s a wonderful hobby, but that’s all it should be - a hobby. On the totem pole of priorities, it falls far below being a good person, getting an education, and preparing for the rest of one’s life. I’m not yet a parent, but I don’t ever plan on pigeon-holing my future kids toward a life of contingency check to contingency check when they’re capable of so much more.
And if your son can’t spell the word “sponsor” (sorry, neither “sponcor” or “sponser” count), he shouldn’t have any.
9/3/2014
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