Parenting on pit road now common lifestyle in racing (cont'd)

Finding the right time to play and the best time to sleep is the most challenging aspect for the new NASCAR parent. A baby waking up in the middle of the night and unable to acclimate to a normal sleep routine takes a toll on a parent in the early stages, said Gordon.

Paulina (top) and Sebastian (bottom) Montoya balance school and Dad's racing.

Last season the driver went back and forth on what races would be best suited for Ella and wife Ingrid to attend.

"There were a few moments last year when they were there and Ella didn't sleep very well through the night and I was up with her and I definitely feel like those times did affect me on Sunday," Gordon recalled. "So we got that balanced out and now she sleeps a lot better through the night so I'm looking forward to going back at it again with her this year."

Now both Gordon and Hornish feel their children are at a much more flexible age. And unlike children with average 9-5 parents, NASCAR kids must adjust to their parents' lives, not the other way around.

"The interaction and just where she's at right now is so exciting and so much fun and I love it. She's starting to say 'I love you' and those types of things," Gordon said. "That's just the best moment as a dad that you can get. So it just keeps getting better and better."

But even as the NASCAR children reach school age, challenges still remain.

For Montoya's wife, Connie, it's about creating a normal childhood experience for son Sebastian, 6, and daughter Paulina, 3, although both children practically took their first steps on race track asphalt.

"The hardest part is as they start growing. We are trying to take them to the track but also not allow them to miss so much school and try to let them live normal kid lives," she said. "We don't want them to miss stuff like birthday parties, Halloween and those types of events."

"It is hard to make them understand that our weekends really are from Monday to Wednesday and the weekends are Dad's work days. But that's the style of life they know and they really don't understand that it is a different life yet."

Grandparents, nannies, tutors and even the family pets are brought along during race weekends to infuse normalcy in the childhoods of NASCAR children growing up in the sport's colorful, chaotic arena.

Another source for normalcy and stability is the at-track Motor Racing Outreach Women and Children's Ministry program.

For the majority of the season, MRO provides a traveling community center fashioned from a 28-foot trailer each weekend open from Thursday at 5 p.m. until the checkered flag drops on the race Sunday.

Melanie Self, a career military wife who can sympathize with the plight of traveling parents, is the women and children's ministry coordinator who tries to provide a spiritual base for the children on Sundays while dad is in the stock car and mom is on the pit box.

The program also provides child care and children's programming such as crafts, games, toys, singing and Bible study.

The Motor Racing Outreach program also provides child care and children's programming such as crafts, games, toys, singing and Bible study.

"We allow them the opportunity to be a family," Self said. "I see how important the family union is to these drivers and I love the fact that they are making it a priority to bring their children with them."

The community center has been traveling to East Coast tracks for at least 15 years, but at one point Self thought the doors may close. The need was dropping.

But today tells a different story. Self said it appears NASCAR is experiencing its own baby boom of sorts.

"I think it's the timing and the season," she said. "Our young drivers have been married a while and are settling down, some newer families are coming in, and the timing is perfect. I'm not sure where they all came from, but we are just thankful they are here."

And so are the NASCAR dads.

"It's really nice to be able to take my wife and kids to work and enjoy the fun parts of the job -- the flyover, driver introductions. And the upside is that if you have a bad day they are there to make it better," Hornish said. "You look at your baby and think, 'Yeah, I didn't have a great day but look at what I have.'"

Hornish spent a couple of races last season without his leading ladies.

"It was pretty difficult," he said. "I'm so used to having Crystal with me and when she was home with Addison is was hard, but now they are both with me all the time."

And you're hard pressed not to find Miss Ella Sophia on pit road nearly every weekend.

"I love being a dad and I love the amount of time I was able to spend with [Ella] and Ingrid being a dad over the offseason," Gordon said. "I look forward to doing it as much as I can but I look forward to racing and being behind the wheel also."

Being able to have the best of both worlds -- a racing career and the support of your wife and children -- are priceless, said David Reutimann.

Reutimann's daughter, Emilia, has become a fixture among NASCAR's pre-race pageantry.

"It's kind of a unique deal that we have," he said. "NASCAR makes it so I can bring my daughter to the race track ... into the garage area and we get her a walk-through pass and she can be there with me. She's been a part of that since her birth. She thinks it's a normal life for her. I think it's a good life. It has its own unique set of challenges, but I think NASCAR makes it as easy as they possibly can for families, and we certainly appreciate that."

And at the end of the day, normal is how you and your family decide to define the term. The stock cars may come with a set of manuals but the children certainly do not.

"The truth is, this is really the only class of parenting style we know," Montoya said. "You have to be very relaxed and remember there are really no schedules and no two days are the same."

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.