Here's to all the racing moms

Happy Mother's Day To all you moms out there. I got to thinking the other day about how mothers influence racing, and I was amazed at some of the examples that flooded into my head.

Possibly the most well-known and influential mother in big-league racing was Mom Unser, the matriarch of the famous Indy Car Racing Unser clan. Mom was renowned for her famous chili that she cooked up for all the racers at Indianapolis in the month of May year after year. Sadly, Mom Unser is gone now, but her sons Bobby and Al, as well as grandson Al Jr., share nine Indy victories between them.

And Junior is back at the Speedway this year to try for yet another Unser victory at the venerable brickyard. Of course, we can't forget the late Mary Hulman and her daughter, Mary Hulman George (mother of Indy Racing League founder Tony George), both of whom have uttered the famous "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines" command to begin the race.

Another mom who will be at Indy this year is Danica Patrick's mother, who supports her daughter even though 2005's "Danicamania" seems to have died down. With Danica's recent marriage, maybe she'll be a racing mom soon. Moms are much more in evidence at racetracks than they were years ago, as drivers seem to get younger and younger every year. Over in the NASCAR ranks, where youth seems to reign more supreme each season, moms like Carl Edwards' mother can be found in the team motor home and on the team scoring stand during the races.

But my experience with racing moms is mostly local. I have worked alongside a lot of the moms that make youngster's racing programs like the Outlaw Karts operate. I've announced a lot of local Outlaw Kart events, and have witnessed these tireless ladies keep their teams going, work the snack bars, do timing and scoring, and perform countless other tasks so their offspring can get a start in racing.

I've worked alongside women like the mother of T.J. Bell, who was the timing and scoring chief for the Northern Nevada Karting Club when I announced races at Desert Park Raceway in Stead 10 years or so ago. T.J. moved up into the open-wheel road racing ranks, and now runs ARCA and Busch Grand National stock cars, thanks to his mom's involvement and support. I also remember working with Kathy Barnes, mother of USAC sprint car driver Amy Barnes (now a mother herself). Kathy's selfless devotion to Amy's career in karts, helping to run the Fuji Park Outlaw Kart operation in the 90s, certainly was a major contributor to Amy's success.

Other local moms like Shannon Bell, mother of Mackena and Kellcy Bell, and Robby Thorson, mom to Daniel and Tanner Thorson, have youngsters with the potential to compete in racing's big leagues. If I forgot any of you local racing moms out there, forgive me . . . I'm just operating from my increasingly faulty memory. So if I missed anyone that any of you young (or old) racers out there want to nominate for racing mom sainthood, I apologize.

Switching gears now to the upcoming Indy 500 yesterday was to be pole day at the Brickyard, but it was rained out. The Indy 500 and the Daytona 500 are two races that depart from normal qualifying procedure, and Indy's rules have been tweaked again this year. There are still four days of qualifying on the schedule, and each driver's starting position is still determined by his or her four-lap average speed.

But now only the fastest 11 drivers will lock in starting positions on the first day, with the next 11 spots being filled on day two, the final 11 on day three, and "bumping" reserved for day four. With yesterday's rainout, the top 22 spots will be filled today, weather permitting. If enough drivers get runs in to fill those positions, then no matter how fast a driver goes next Saturday, the highest he or she will start is 23rd.

However, the slowest driver in the field, no matter where where in the starting order, will be the driver bumped out of the field first if someone posts a faster qualifying time next Sunday. Got it? There will be a quiz next week.