Peter on Good Morning America

Yeah those SP-ED teachers try and push kids through as fast as possible it seems.


Another good read.
http://motomatters.com/blog/2010/08/31/editor_s_blog_racing_s_dark_side_the_dea.html

 

I did not catch the piece on GMA. I am probably glad I didn't. Such a sad day in motor sports only made worse by a bunch of armchair quarterbacks second guessing people.

Peters parents are going through hell right now and will be forever. Please keep that in mind when coming on here and posting your opinions. IIRC Peters father does post up on the board. Remember its ok to have an opinion, but sometimes its not appropriate to share your opinion.

 

Funny cause I probably have more edumacation than you.

agreed

 

Very insightful video piece and I really appreciated how he mentioned that people that participate in these types of sports (extreme) are "wired differently than most people", "its in their DNA", and that is just the way they are. There have been several times that as a father I have told my wife repeatedly that I wish that I could find joy and excitment in "normal" recreational sports such as fishing, shooting or whatever. Unfortunatly us a road racers are "different" and most will never understand that. Maybe thats why many racing parents have mentioned on these threads that their kids real friends are at the track and not a school or whatever. Those other track kids are the ones that understand each other. I sure know the same holds true for us adult track riders/racers. The track is our home away from home.

 

The thing that irks me more than anything is not the uninformed reporter who's trying to write the story of a young kid who meets a tragic end. No, it's the idiots out there like Wendy Murphy who are using this to try an promote THEIR agenda and further THEIR career or line THEIR pockets.

She doesn't actually give a damn about Peter, Michael, or the rest of the Lenz family, she only wants to get her face on TV and make more money from her legal practice, and worse, at a time when the family sure as hell doesn't need to have people armchair quarterbacking this stuff. While there may be a time to step back and say "Was this a good idea?", now is NOT the time. Now is the time you let the family grieve for their loss.

Peter was a talented racer, but more importantly, a damned good kid who ANY parent would be proud to call their own.

 

Did you attend a prominent university?

 

Ben raced his first season on a YSR with the CMRA when he was 8 and won his first championship on a YSR the next year as a ripe old age of 9. Was that too young to start a kid racing? Not for Ben, but probably for a lot of kids. I think it is an individual thing with kids and parents. Both have to be ready to go for it or you might as well keep parked in the driveway and play video games. If you really know your kid, you will know what to do.

 

Of course they understand the risks. My son was in that race and Peter was one of his best friends in the paddock. So if there was any question in his mind about the risks before, there certainly isn't now is there?. Yet he still wants to race. I've had so many come up to me after seeing my son ride and say "Kids, yeah, they don't have any fear, that's why they can go fast" That's BS, my son is just as scared of getting hurt as any racer. He goes fast because he's figured out how to.

 

Thank you for posting this. I rode with Peter and your son many times, and was with them a couple of weeks ago at VIR. There have been so many times when people commented to me about how fast they were going - then added that "yeah, those kids have no fear." It always irritated me because I never believed it. Maybe those people could see how much fun the boys were having, both on and off the track, and confused that with being oblivious to danger. I talked to the boys enough times, and watched them enough working with coaches, to be completely convinced that they did, indeed, understand the risks of racing, and they race for the same reasons the rest of us do. Your son is a very impressive rider and a neat kid, please pass on my condolences as I'm sure he is having a tough time right now.

 

Well said, Matt. Kenny looked up to Peter, and it doesn't hit home any more than this.

So sorry for the loss of your good friend.

Eric

 

That's it. I was lucky enough to have parents who let me dirt track between ages 9-12. They knew the first time they saw me get off the bike after my first race that they were looking at a kid in complete ecstasy. For a couple of years, I lived and breathed it (and was pretty quick). I also played little league sports and loved that too but there was no comparison. I'm convinced kids learn more, mature more, in this sport than most others. I think we rarely give kids credit for being as sophisticated as they are. The risks are real but once a kid finds an intense passion for something and has the natural ability to go with that passion, it's great when parents can afford to help them pursue it. It almost always changes the kid's life forever in the most positive of ways. Very rarely there may be a tragedy like this one but that doesn't change the premise. My folks had two other kids and we couldn't afford to keep racing but some of the memories I have of those days are the best of my life and I've been lucky live a full and adventuresome life so far. I think it helped me grow up in ways little league football didn't. I think the Lentz's were doing the only thing they could do in their situation with such a talented kid who loved the sport as much as he did. I fully support what they were doing and my heart goes out to them.

 

All this parent bashing pisses me off. The leading cause of death for teens is driving. I guess we should raise the driving age to 21? Give these kids, and their parents some credit here. I know when I was younger, my parents did an excellent job of teaching me about the risk that was involved. I'm sure most racer parents do the same for their kids.

 

+1

There are some people that need a big cup of mind your own f**ing business. If they dont want their kids to race fine but it is none of their concern if someone else lets their kid race.

 

Live and let live. We all die. :up:

 

A kids view on racing

Is it safe for kids to race motorcycles? Prior to August 29, 2010, most people would say yes. But due to an unfortunate accident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend, a very large and emotional debate has begun that could potentially change kids racing. A friend of mine, Peter Lenz was killed while participating in a USGPRU race at this track during the MotoGP weekend. He was 13 years old. He was the first kid to die at this track but not the first kid to die while racing. There have been several over the past 8 years that I have personally been racing. All were kids that I have either raced against or they were very close friends of mine. It wasn’t until this past weekend in front of the world stage that the topic has become so heated. National news picked up the story, it was on every major news channel. The debate was, whether kids have the ability or expertise to race at such high speeds and not fully understand the consequences. Are the parents pushing too hard? Are the parents to be blamed, should they be charged with child abuse? I don’t think so. I have been racing for 8 years, I was a Red Bull Rookie, my friend Toriano Wilson was kiiled that year. I now race a 600 that will run speeds upwards of 160 miles an hour. I am 16 years old. My friends are all between the ages of 13-16 years old. We do this because we love this sport. Most of us kids have a dream to become the next superstar. I can assure you without a doubt that we understand full well what the consequences are, as most of us have been friends with the ones who have passed on. Does it make this harder to do, I say no. I personally have crashed and ground my pinkie down to the second knuckle. I was 13 years old when that happened. My first thought was not “oh I lost my finger”, it was “is my racing career over” or “will I be able to race again.” For those of us kids (teenagers) who race at this level, our passion for this sport is one that most people will never understand. No one has to push us to do this, we choose to race because we love it. So for all of you out there who want to bash our parents for allowing us to follow our dreams, I say maybe you should take an interest in your own child and see what passions lie in them. Who knows maybe it will be racing......


RIP Peter, you will be missed greatly. We will ride our hearts out in your memory. Everytime we cross the finishline we know you will be celebrating the victory with us.


Jake "Squirrel" Morman

 

Great post Jake! :up:

 

Brilliant! :up:

The worst thing could happen is if kids were prevented from competing in sanctioned events where ambulances were seconds away and took it to the streets and neighborhoods. A nine year old girl was killed nearby my house on Friday. She was riding her bicycle with friends when a driver of an SUV struck and killed her. Should we string up her parents? I think not.

 

:up:

 

Well put, Jake. i think (hopefully) hearing that from you will hopefully open some people's eyes as opposed to just hearing it from a parent with a child racing.