Father’s Day Perspective with Henderson, Beaver, and Kline!
Devin Kline with his daughter Chloe
Friday, June 15, 2018
Joanne Cram discussed fatherhood with three different drivers recently, as we recognize Father's Day Weekend at Knoxville Raceway!
Justin Henderson
Q: How has being a father changed you as a racer?
A: For the past two years with Maximus coming to the races, it really hasn’t changed me much as a race car driver. But it has changed my plans of where to race so Maximus and Jessica can get to as many races as possible and be with me. I don’t want to be out on the road racing without them, so I try to work my schedule to allow me to race as close to where they can come to be with me.
Q: How do you see your kids fitting into the race scene, and do they enjoy the races?
A: Everything that I do going forward I would like to put effort into getting Maximus into a race opportunity. He is 100% excited about racing right now. He carries around an old Skip Jackson 1/64 scale car every where he goes, and never lets it out of his hand. He has lots of other cars too, but that’s his favorite. I can’t imagine how may germs are on that car! He has a little race track table and he’s always moving his hands, and shouting, “Go daddy!” I'd like to start him out in a restricted go kart class of some sort, or whatever he wants to do. I would love to put him in an Outlaw Dirt kart or a micro as soon as possible, but there isn’t a lot of Outlaw Kart stuff near where we live. Maximus has a battery powered 4-wheeler; it’s not good enough to just ride it, he has to stand on the seat and race it.
Q: Discuss what it means to be a race family.
A: Everyone around us supports Maximus by being kind to him, asking how he is doing, and taking an interest in what he’s going to do next. For me, primarily I want him to look at what his dad does and think he’s a bad a$$- and look up to that. It must be important for someone on some level to support and help Maximus lift up his dad and his passion and help Maximus develop that passion. It’s really just the entire process of racing in general that makes Maximus realize there’s more to life than just the basics of being a kid; there’s a whole world of racing out there to explore!
Joe Beaver
Q: How has being a father changed you as a racer?
A: I’ve always said when you have a kid you lose .2 on the track. You start thinking about things differently when you have kids and a family. It calms you down as a racer. Before kids, racing styles are more bold, you don't think about consequences. Having a family puts things in perspective and makes you think about those consequences. In the end it makes you a better racer because it allows you to be more calculated in your racing. Before kids you could run a Friday, or a mid week night show; after kids, you have to put their schedules first and it’s not as easy to race all over the place or follow a traveling series. The logistics of finding places for the kids to go during race nights changes things a lot, especially if your family works on the car and isn’t available to help with the kids.
Q: How do you see your kids fitting into the race scene, and do they enjoy the races?
A: Our kids have grown up at and around the races, they are in the race scene in a couple different ways. From working concessions at Knoxville, babysitting for other race families, to racing themselves. They started four seasons ago in the cage karts and now JJ races two kart classes and Jolyn races one class. Racing with the kids allows me to connect with them and really be involved with their activities both on and off the track. There’s a lot of life lessons with getting stuff done in the shop and taking the responsibility to do things right if you want to be fast on race day. It’s been fun to watch them grown in their mechanical skills; in the beginning they would pick up hand tools and not know how to use them very well, to now watching them head out to the shop and hammer out their maintenance on their own karts without much guidance from me. It teaches them about work ethic and and working hard to get what you want out of life, and that’s hard to teach a kid these days.
Q: Discuss what it means to be a race family.
A: SACRIFICE. With a race family there’s so much that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t realize, and every body has to be all in or it won’t work. The successful race family has a love for racing. Even if they have a choice of a weekend off from racing, chances are they’re going to go check out a race somewhere, or check out a race on tv. Once racing is in the blood it’s part of who you are and it defines you. Growing up I had Phil Sage and my dad mentoring me, Phil has been with me since I started racing karts when I was 12- He’s still beside me today. Rich and Andy Bates have taken our kids under their wings with the kart scene and have been able to travel with on nights we have a sprint car conflict. They’ve both become mentors to the kids. Sometimes that teaching and advice is better understood by coming from a mentor; someone who’s not your dad. Those people become like family. Racing family isn’t just through blood, it’s through the people you meet, the people you spend a lot of time with, and the people you respect in the sport.
Devin Kline
Q: How has being a father changed you as a racer?
A: My daughter, Chloe is one year old on Father’s Day this year, and she was born on a Saturday night- which meant that I missed a night of racing. I still got top 10 in points, and got Rookie of the Year last year. Becoming a dad makes Sundays harder; spending half the day to maintenance the car when you wish you could be spending more time with your kid at the age she is. She comes into the shop and will sit in the car or play with the tools, or scoot across the floor. We added the letter C to the car number; 5C is after Chloe. She has a cute little tee shirt that has my name on the front and says “I’m the C” on the back. She comes to most races, loves playing in the dirt, sitting in the suite or stands to watch me race.
Q: How do you see your kids fitting into the race scene, and do they enjoy the races?
A: Even at a year old, Chloe loves the races. She goes to the suites or stands and has been coming since she was 2 weeks old. She watched her first Nationals at 2 months old. As she gets older, time will tell whether she likes racing enough to keep coming. She will grow up around racing, but it won’t be forced on her. If she wants to race a go kart eventually, I would support her. Her mom may have different thoughts about that though!
Q: Discuss what it means to be a race family.
A: This is a very busy lifestyle. I work a demanding long hour job during the week, Saturdays we all come down to Knoxville to get ready to race. They (Emma and Chloe) eat with me during the day and help load up and bring me things I need. Emma is very supportive in bringing Chloe and including her in all of the race day activities. Extended race family, like the Ball crew, has done a lot to help maintenance since I keep the car here in Knoxville. That is really helpful so I can spend more time with my young family. I wouldn’t be able to race at all, and especially now that I’m a father, without their support during the week. It takes a lot of people to make racing happen. I'd like to thank my crew- Grandpa Frank, Brandon Dunkerson, and Kade Higday for helping me out all season long.
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