charlie

[QUOTE=Matt_in_VA,Jun 27 2010, 05:53 PM] Come to think of it, could you have him send me his autograph?

A 2

wow! this is wonderful and you must be so happy. Congratulations to Christian and you.

I fervently wish him the very best for a wonderful career.

jukngene

And this is exactly how Jeff Burton and others got their start in NASCAR! Best of luck to your budding star!

charlie

copied this from QMA site

Statistics
Quarter Midgets have been around in one form or another since before WWII, There are two sanctioning bodies for Quarter Midgets, United States Auto Club (USAC) and Quarter Midgets of America (QMA).

There were over 4,000 drivers in the United States in 2007.[3] In the United States, an engine can cost from $400 to $9,000, the car chassis from $1,500 for a used up to $6,000 for a new chassis. Tires start at $50 a tire. There are many brands of cars as well as custom cars made by individuals. Some of the common brands are Stanley Racing, N/C chassis (Nervo/Coggin, Bullrider Racecars, Tad Fiser Race Cars, Rice Cars, GT American Race Cars, and Profab. Cars are protected by body panels which are made of fiberglass, sheetmetal, or more rarely, carbon fiber.

The move from Deco to Honda was first highlighted by an exhibition race at the 1988 Western Grands in Pueblo, CO. The Honda engine proved to be the saving element as cost were skyrocketing with the Deco engine due to supply and demand. Attempts to put the Deco/Continental engines back into production have failed. Briggs and Stratton is also being used as a cost effective engine platform.

The oldest continually run dirt quarter midget track east of the Mississippi is THQMA (Terre Haute Quarter Midget Association) located in Terre Haute, Indiana On the west coast, Capitol Quarter Midgets has also been in operation since 1955. Many of todays most recognizable names in racing got their start in quarter midgets including; A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Sarah Fisher, Jimmy Vasser, Joey Logano, Terry and Bobby Labonte to name a few.

[edit] Engines and classes
Jr Novice & Sr. Novice - Honda 120(stock) , or a Deco Super Stocker (stock, restricted)
Jr honda & Sr. Honda - Honda 120 (stock)
Hvy. Honda - Honda 120 (stock)
Lt. & Hvy. 160 - Honda 160 (stock)
Jr. & Sr. Super Stock - Deco stock engine
Lt. & Hvy. Mod - Deco Modified engine
Lt. & Hvy. B Modified - Deco B Modified engine
Lt. & Hvy. AA Modified - Alcohol Deco AA Modified engine
World Formula - Briggs and Stratton World Formula engine
Half Midget - Any single cylinder motor, 253 cc maximum displacement, air cooled only
Jr. Classes - 5-9 years old
Sr. Classes - 9-till 17th Birthday
Light Classes - Drivers normally under 100 lb but can still race if over 100 lb
Heavy Classes - Drivers over 100 lb (read less)
Statistics

Jumpy Guy

You have every reason to be proud! Is he really 5? He has the ability and nerve of a 15 yr. old. Congrats!!!

tof

Finally...there is hope for the future of U.S. efforts in Formula One.

valentine

Congrats, Charlie!! Uber congrats to Christian.

Matt_in_VA

As well as the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Danica Patrick and many others. But IMHO that pales to Formula One where the likes of Michael Schmacher (seven time World Driving Champion) the most successful driver in Formula One history holds every record but one (the oldest driver to win a Gran Prix) was the worlds highest paid athlete until Tiger Woods came along.

He came back out of retirement in 2010 (after three years) at the age of forty-one and may be trying to break the one record that he does not hold. Before he retired it was reported that he was making over 100 million a year in 2006 dollars.

At present there are no American drivers in Formula One. Scott Speed was the last American to compete in F1 until he was let go and went to NASCAR. The likes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Andretti also had unsuccessful stints in Formula One.

Charlie, my (two cents worth of) advice is make certain that Christian also develops road racing skills and is not limited to just ovals.

charlie

Although I am a fan of of F1 the amount of money required to get your kid to that level is outragous, I read that Hamilton's dad spent 10 million on his son over his career to put him inot a position for a F1 ride.

Also in NJ you cant race carts ( road courses) until the driver is 8. We are going to look into it since NJ Motorsports park is only 20 miles from our home.

My passion is dirt track oval racing,micros, sprints, modifieds etc.. As far as a career in racing I have not even thought about that seriously for many reasons most importantly education is going to be my main focus on him and racing can be a fun weekend activity.

ps got your P.M.

Thanks again everyone for the kind words, racing is teaching life lessons to him... work hard, set goals, and it also increases self esteem amongst other things.

charlie

yes he will be six on 8/23... there are many talented drivers in his group it is awesome to see all of them improve every week out on the track..... of course there are some who are dangerous and really should not be out there. We had one driver black flagged 3 weeks in a row for plowing into other car(s) causing several hundred dollars of damage each time... luckily we have avoided all major wrecks so far.