NASCAR Rules And Regulations - Too Young?

However, Joey's father, Tom Lagano, favors the age limit.

"It slows us down a little bit, but it might be the right thing to do," the elder Lagano says. "In the long run, this rule is the right thing to do because kids have their whole life to race. Safety is a very big concern to me, and I have Joey wearing the HANS device all the time. I've spent a lot of money to keep him as safe as he can be. To think about him racing somewhere like the high-banks of Daytona, I'd be pretty nervous about seeing my son do that."

Tom Lagano says the new rule could be a big help for youngsters who are pushed too hard by their parents. "Joey's still young and at the age where he could walk up to me tomorrow and tell me he wants to do something else for a career. If nothing else, he can always fall back on a good education. I motivate my son with love, but I see a lot of parents out there who are banking their future on their kids making it to Winston Cup. When those kids don't do well, they get screamed and hollered at. To me, that's not the way to do it."

In fact many parents of children who race support the age rule. Brad Denning, the father of 15-year-old Late Model driver Jon Denning, agrees that parents need to make sure their children are safe in whatever it is they do. "Jon started out with the same way of thinking as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the rest of them and wore an opened-faced helmet," the elder Denning says. "Then he had a big wreck, and he was fine but the car was destroyed. I told myself right then and there that was enough. I got to thinking about all the guys we've lost like Dale Earnhardt, Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty, and Blaise Alexander and that's just too many. I bought Jon the HANS device and a full-face helmet, and I told him if he wanted to race he was going to have to get used to it or he wasn't racing at all. I wouldn't have it any other way."

While Jon Denning will have to look at other options outside of NASCAR for the next three years, he sees the logic behind the age limit requirement. "I'm not in favor of the rule, but I can see where they're going with it," says the youngster from Springfield, New Jersey. "When you're 16 or 17 years old, that's high school time and an education is something you can only get once. A lot of people like my dad think the new rule will work in favor of me, and I have to agree with him. We were going to jump to either the Busch Series or the trucks when I turned 16, and I thought that might work in my favor. I know you can never have too much experience.

"Then again, the more experience I'm going to be getting will help me to make a bigger bang when I do move up to the next level. So instead of struggling when I'm 16, I can come out with a lot more experience when I'm 18. I'm not losing that much time."

Shift To ASA
If there appears to be a big winner as a result of the new age rules, it would have to be in the ASA ranks where Winston Cup champions Rusty Wallace and the late Alan Kulwicki first appeared on the racing radar. Two-time ASA champion Gary St. Amant believes that many of the young drivers will be looking at ASA because the races are long and require pitting and things like tire management.

"I think it's going to be a big help to ASA, because a rule like that from NASCAR is going to affect some of the young guys who have already made a name for themselves," St. Amant says. "All of a sudden those guys don't have anywhere to race. Now the next best place for young guys to get talent is in the ASA. I think our record kind of speaks for itself when you look at the drivers who've come through ASA to get to the Winston Cup or Busch series."

Brad Denning says the ASA has a lot of credibility and a good relationship with NASCAR.