Getting young kids behind the wheel not that crazy

One shudders to think of a 5-year-old driving a car at 50 miles per hour, it's absurd and something you only hear about on the news.

But it's not unheard of. In fact it's encouraged and celebrated, if said 5 year-old is behind the wheel of a quarter midget at the North Carolina Quarter Midget Association speedway or a Bandolero at Lowes Motor Speedway's Summer Shootout.

So what do you do if you're young son or daughter wants to go fast? If they want to trade their cleats for a fire suit?

NASCAR racing is in the midst of a period where future talents looking to succeed on the national level are encouraged to begin racing as soon as they can reach a pedal or fill a driver seat. Cup Series driver Joey Logano, who began racing quarter midgets at six years old, is certainly an example that comes to mind but Ryan Newman began sooner that that.

"I started driving when I was four and a half and I started driving quarter midgets, racing them when I was five," Newman said.

Sanctioning bodies have standards and procedures young racers must go through and qualifications they must meet -- they have to know where the brake and gas pedals are of course -- but they also go through novice testing before they are able to compete and enjoy a lot of the same safety equipment the Cup stars use.

Still, is it enough?

Tony Stewart, a young beginner as well, said, "You don't want a 12-year-old kid out there trying to race at Daytona. I think at some of these bigger race tracks -- you're seeing it now, even the United States Auto Club -- is talking about bumping up the age of some of the race tracks so that they go to up to 18 years old."

"It's not that you don't want a 12-year-old kid out there because there are 12-year-old kids that are just as good as we are, but it isn't every 12-year-old kid that is capable of doing that," Newman added. "When one family sees the opportunity for a 12-year-old kid to do it and he thinks his kid can do it, but the kid can't, that's when we get in trouble, and we have to monitor that." (Continued)