May - June 2003
A FAMILY TOGETHER FEATURE
Hot Rods and Cool Cars
By Kathy Vilim DaGroomes
This Denver-area Scouting family has the inside track on a fast-paced way to have fun together.
Burnout. Breakout. Dial under. Christmas tree. E.T. These words, taken together, probably don't mean a lot to the average person on the street—unless the street is a drag strip and the person is a racing enthusiast like Janna, John, Kyle, or Kaitlyn Tripp of Golden, Colo.
The Tripps are a drag racing family—as well as dedicated Scouters and Scouts within the Denver Area Council. In their free time, Mom Janna; Dad John; Boy Scout Kyle, 12; and Junior Girl Scout Kaitlyn, 9, eat, sleep, work, and play two things—drag racing and Scouting.
Take a typical week this summer: If Janna's not helping teach a Cub Scouting course at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, she will be undoubtedly supporting 12-year-old Kyle's preparations to qualify for the Jr. Drag Racing League's Western Conference Finals—the Western half of the junior nationals. (He's competed the last two years.)
Meanwhile, in addition to running his automotive business and serving as a troop committee member, John will be competing in Division 5's Super Street-category drag races—he came in 5th in the multistate division last season—in his car "Quick Tripp."
And with the recent purchase of a second junior dragster by her family, Kaitlyn will be racing this summer, too—in the 8-to-9-year-old age group for juniors.
The family passion
Each Tripp was drawn to drag racing, the family's passion, in a different way or for different reasons, but the end result has been the same: They love it.
"It has brought our family together in that weÉenjoy a sport that we can all participate in," Janna explained. "Racing has become a bonding event for our family. We have traveled to races in five states and have tried to make learning experiences of them." Specifically, she likes "the winning and watching" of drag racing.
John also enjoys competing. Since the late 1980's, he has won six championships at the nearby Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., and placed in more than 100 races in his division.
He also appreciates the "relaxation of racing"—even though that means relaxing at 135 miles per hour.
When they met, John and Janna were both active racers. After they married and started a family, Janna became John's backup racer and then took a hiatus from the sport. But if she has her 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda (smaller than a Barracuda) ready by summer, the 2003 season could see her return to the track.
Having accompanied their parents to racetracks since they were toddlers, Kyle and Kaitlyn probably knew a muffler from a spark plug by the time each turned 5—although mom and dad have been careful not to force drag racing on them.
"If the kids ever said they didn't want to do it, we would not push them," said Janna.
But so far both Kyle and Kaitlyn remain big fans of the sport. Kyle likes it "because I got to learn how to drive my junior dragster, which is really fun." "I like doing things outside instead of staying indoors watching TV all day," added Kaitlyn, who has the important job of cooling down the Quick Tripp's radiator after races.
Scouting and racing
In the past, the two young Tripps have enjoyed making pinewood derby race cars, including one Kaitlyn made that was a replica of her father's 1965 Plymouth Satellite.
Today, when Kyle isn't racing his junior dragster (with his sister as crew chief), the two can be seen playing with Kyle's collection of hundreds of Hot Wheels toy cars at the track or racing cars at home on the family's big slot car track in the basement.
Kyle and several fellow Scouts from Troop 613 have completed the Auto Mechanics merit badge, with John serving as merit badge counselor.
Janna serves on the council roundtable staff and Wood Badge for the 21st Century faculty. She also volunteers as Gateway District training chairman and assistant Scoutmaster in Troop 613.
Four years ago, Janna combined her enthusiasm for Scouting and drag racing by helping arrange Scout Night at Bandimere Speedway. Now an annual activity, Scout Night is usually held at the speedway's final major nighttime event, the Checker Auto Parts "Jet Car Nationals." Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Venturers, and leaders in uniform receive free admission (normally $6 and $22). Scout Night patches can be earned by taking a short quiz at the Tripp's trailer. Last summer, 550 patches were distributed at Scout Night, with approximately 2,500 Scouts and Scouters attending.
The Tripps also participate in Bandimere Speedway's "Race to Read," a six-week program designed to encourage literacy among elementary school-age students. Janna and other racers take their race cars to some of the program's 35 participating schools and speak to classes about the importance of reading.
Perhaps the most rewarding element of the Tripp's family racing is also what Janna describes as her favorite reason for participating: the opportunity to "just spend time with my kids and husband."
If there's a trophy for the togetherness, teamwork, enthusiasm, and joy of a family sharing an activity with passion, the Tripps have already won their biggest race of all.
Kathy Vilim DaGroomes is associate editor of Scouting magazine. In the March-April issue, she wrote about the Cub Scouting Character Connections Program.
An 'Ever-Present Concern' for SafetySafety is of key importance to all drag racers, but no one takes it more seriously than the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), drag racing's largest sanctioning body. NHRA puts forth a large number of safety regulations for drivers and vehicles in their rulebooks for junior and adult drag racers, in which they describe the safety of the sport as an ever-present concern. Frequent technical inspections of vehicles are required to maximize safety. Children 8 to 17 compete as juniors in several age groups, with safety equipment mandatory as for adults. Junior drag racers wear a regulation helmet, neck and arm restraints, a five-point racing harness, and protective clothing, while junior cars must have a five-point roll cage. "I don't know if our kids will continue the drag racing, but one thing I really like about it is that they are learning how to drive safely young," said Janna Tripp. "The safety requirements and precautions the NHRA has for the kids are the same as for the 300-and-over-m.p.h. Top Fuel dragsters. Kids are taught to follow and abide by these rules or they won't race." John Tripp underlines the difference between street racing, which is illegal and highly dangerous, and drag racing at a NHRA member track: "I hate to hear drag racing mentioned in the news with somebody getting hurt or killed on the street, because that's not really drag racing, that's street racing. It's not a sanctioned event, and it's not safe." —K.V.D. Editor's note: All motorized speed events, including drag racing, are not authorized activities for any Scouting program level. |
Drag Racing 101A drag race is simply an acceleration contest between two vehicles on a straight course from a standing start over a measured distance: usually, a quarter-mile (1,320 feet) or, in the case of junior drag racers (age 8 to 17), an eighth-mile. Competing vehicles are divided into 200 classes and 12 categories. Elapsed time (E.T.) and speed are monitored for each run. A drag racing event consists of two-car elimination races, with winners continuing until only one remains. The Super Street category, in which John Tripp races, features a single class of vehicle in side-by-side competition. In this and four other categories, points earned in competition at the best eight out of six national and eight divisional events can be counted for the year. Traditionally, drag racers have competed in vehicles built to specifications that fit a specific National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) class. But a growing number of racers are competing in E.T. handicap racing, which allows slower cars to race on an equal basis with those having quicker and faster vehicles. E.T. racers account for 80 percent of the entries in the 3,500 drag racing events held annually at the 140 NHRA member tracks in the United States and Canada. Juniors—boys and girls—may compete in eight age categories in the NHRA's Jr. Drag Racing League in vehicles that are near-replicas of the models that the professionals drive. Driving proficiency must be clearly demonstrated by juniors and maximum speeds appropriate to age levels are strictly enforced. —K.V.D. |
May-June 2003 Table of Contents
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