Leadfeet and Another Appendage

Unfortunately, dads can really race time and win. But racing is still about dreaming of eternal speed and dreams of father and child do tie the two together.

So, it's nice to report that while Ashley Force sped past her dad John again, this time she did so in the finals in Atlanta and claimed her first funny car title and making her dad the world's happiest loser. [Earlier: Car Culture]

Force may be the only female outgunning dad on a speedway, but she is hardly the only one whose attempts to follow her father's leadfootsteps is being chronicled. The New York Times just chronicled Nico Rosberg, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Kazuki Nakajima, three sons of Formula 1 fathers who shadows no longer reach quite where their sons now stand. As Piquet describes it, "... I prefer to keep a distance [from dad's world championship legacy] and just do my job. The circuit for us is our office, and nobody brings parents to the office."

Alas, not all dreams do come true and so while on the subject of racing, it is probably also relevant to note that 64-year-old Hollywood stuntman Stan Barrett recently was a tad too slow to race for his son's team, although he hopes to do a bit better by the sire soon.

A bit better, however, is not in the mind, or perhaps loins or plans, of War Emblem, father but not father enough. So far he is the $55 million dollar loss stud. Seventy foals and no "liquid gold" since 2006. Surrounded as he is now by mares, perhaps he just wants to husband more than father?

** Fathers and children are best as a relay team, passing the baton, than simply having the latter focused on eventually catching and passing the former. **