When the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup racing season officially began you could literally feel the electricity in the air. That comes with the territory each and every year. However, this year there was a new, and very special, topic of interest for the racing media to examine. It turned out that there was a baby boom going on among some of the Sprint Cup families.
Prior to the season opening Daytona 500 the racing media became aware that Elliot and Amanda Sadler were waiting on the arrival of a son that was expected on an any day now basis. It was also duly noted that Carl and Kate Edwards were also in the baby watch mode. That news was quickly followed by announcements that said Jimmie and Shandra Johnson were expecting their first child while Jeff and Ingrid Gordon were happily waiting for their second child.
The Sadlers welcomed the arrival of their son Wyatt on February 15th. It was immediately noted by the press that the child conveniently arrived one day after the Daytona 500 and six days before the next race at the Auto Club Speedway in California.
Then came the inevitable questions to the new prospective fathers regarding whether or not the pending arrival of a baby was a distraction to the tremendous amount of driver focus required to do their jobs.
Excuse me? Distractions? First off we need to stop that immediately. The arrival of these children are blessed events for these families and any negative references such as distractions are simply inappropriate.
It was very obvious to all on lookers that first time fatherhood did not distract Jimmie Johnson’s on track performance en route to his impressive win at the Auto Club Speedway.
Carl Edwards seemed to be composed while combining the elements of being on baby watch with double duty driving in both the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup races during the Auto Club Speedway weekend. This was despite the fact that the first time dad was standing in the middle of a race track on a Friday afternoon well aware that the baby’s arrival was expected back on the previous Tuesday.
Some well organized travel plans were in place in case Edwards had to make the fast trip from Fontana-California to his Columbia-Missouri home. He constantly had his Palm Pixie cell phone in his possession, there was a private jet, fully loaded with fuel, ready for take off on a moments notice and driver Erik Darnell was on standby to get behind the wheel of Edward’s Roush Fenway Racing Fords as a fill in for both races.
But, as every parent knows, the first child often doesn’t arrive until well past the scheduled due date. During a press conference, at the Auto Club Speedway, Edwards was asked if he jumps every time his phone rings. Smiling, he said Yeah, I’ve been carrying the phone around just waiting for Kate to call me. I’ve got fuel in the plane and I’m ready to go if she were to call this evening. We went to the doctor this week and they said everything just looks the same, so I guess we’re just kind of hanging out. We’ve been doing lots of walking and ate some spicy foods-everything they say to do-so we’re just waiting. I’m really excited about it.”
Then there was the inevitable question. When asked if it was hard to stay focused in the car with the baby coming, Edwards replies “I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I get into the race car and I really don’t think about it until I get out. The first person to ask me “any news on the baby?” then I tell myself I need to check my phone. So when I’m in my car, fortunately for me but maybe not my family, the car is what I think about and that’s what I focus on, so that’s pretty simple for me.”
Actually, when it comes down to first time parenthood, it may not be that simple. But it’s certainly not a distraction either.
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