NASCAR & Auto Racing

NASCAR and Mother’s Day: Here’s what mom has to say

• DIANE NEWMAN, RYAN NEWMAN’S MOTHER:

“When my first baby was born, his daddy was right there, and he said, “We’ve got a quarter-midget driver here.’ It’s not like, ‘How are you doing, dear?’ But he was excited, and I was, too. I clocked all of Ryan’s times from the start to the end and compared times and notes with the others. When he would run dirt tracks, his car would get muddy. I would help clean the car up, too push the car out on the track make sure we all had meals at the motor homes and campers.”

• CAROL BICKFORD, JEFF GORDON’S MOTHER:

“For any parent, and maybe moms are more emotional than dads it’s nerves. You get nervous. I love all kinds of sports. When the Olympics are on, I’m watching the downhill skiers what they put their bodies through. Could I watch my son do those ski jumps? You learn to accept there’s some danger in it. When I see my son is sitting in a race car he has the helmet and protective gear on. So I feel he’s safe.”

• BRENDA JACKSON, DALE EARNHARDT JR.’S MOTHER

This story was originally published May 10, 2014 at 5:39 PM with the headline "NASCAR and Mother’s Day: Here’s what mom has to say."

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