iNSIDE SCOOP: Fatherhood Is a Blast

Yep, it’s Father’s Day weekend again. We’re at Michigan this week, so it has to be Father’s Day!

Being a dad is easy. Being a good one, not so much. There are a lot of things today that my dad didn’t have to contend with, like iPhones, xBox and a culture that gets cheaper every day. That’s not to say that he didn’t have it rough in his own way, because life was very different in the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s.

Being a good dad, like mine, involves a lot of trading off. Do you want your son to grow up with a good outlook, respect and a desire to take whatever he does one step farther than you did? That’s a trade-off, because to get that you have to be a tower of power when said headstrong brat decides to test you, and you can’t take it personal when he does buck the system.

This is not to say that moms don’t have a role in this: they do, especially where sons are concerned. It’s much the same.

Having two daughters, being a good dad means you have to know how they think. That’s not easy, because men never know how women think, even on a good day, and when we do figure something out, there’s a meeting among all women and they change the rules. I’m convinced of this.

You want your daughters to be strong, compassionate, kind and kick-ass, all at the same time, while being girly when they want to be. You want them to know what it’s like to struggle, but also how to succeed. If they succeed, then they’ll know that they could be struggling tomorrow, and vice versa.

You want them to know you love them, but you’re not a fool and even if they have you wrapped around their little fingers, you will Be Dad when it comes down to it. That’s sort of like, “this is going to hurt me more than it will you,” as you confiscate their iPhone or shut off the xBox for a week.

What does this have to do with NASCAR? Not much on the surface, but it has to do with a lot of its fans. We number a lot of parent-children combinations in the ONMC, and you can see how they play out at the track or when we interact elsewhere. It’s fun to watch the father-daughter groups, the father-son groups and the whole-family groups like the Rennies and Parrishes. 

For my dad, he gave me everything I am today. I got a job when I was 16, a car to do it with, guidance along the way. He gave me support, a butt-kicking or two when I needed it and a couple when I didn’t, just to keep things equal. 

He and Mom kept things steady, too. We were never candidates for “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” but we never lacked for anything, either. It was a blessing when we got back from school to a familiar home, and know that dinner was going to be at 6 and if we were late we did all the dishes.

On the day chosen by corporate interests to honor the dads around the country, I’d like to wish mine a Happy Father’s Day and all the love and respect he is due. Hopefully, y’all will do the same.

P.S. It goes without saying that behind every man is a woman rolling her eyes. That would be my mother. She is due love and respect as well, since I didn’t write a Mother’s Day column. I will hear about that, I imagine.