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By Randy Gardner

How about the monstrous past weekend of sports? First off, you had the big boys in town as the NHRA rolled into Gateway International Raceway. It was a weekend filled with upsets and crashes at the races.

One big name and old one if you follow the sports, was Warren Johnson, as he took first place in the Pro Stock Division. That was great to see, as this guy is like the grandfather in the sport.

I had a chance to sit down and talk with a few of the drivers including Top Fuel Dragster driver, Larry Dixon, who sits upon the top of the points in that division. What is really funny to me is that he drives a dragster and controls it at over 300 miles an hour and he is a littler guy than me.

I asked him if his family, which includes his wife and three kids, feared for his safety in this sport.

His response: “Three hundred miles an hour on a track by myself is much safer than 55 on the highway with many others.” He kinda has a point there, if you really stop and think about it.

The other driver I met was Robert Hight, the son-in-law of legendary racer, John Force.

There’s a tough family to be part of, because if you aren’t winning I am sure it is not that pleasant. Fortunately, he did win this weekend in his division and was a happy man. Again, if you ever get the chance to see these guys and gals in person at the track, do it. It is a rush out of this world.

For Now, Cards Can Do No Wrong

I can’t say enough about the Cardinals as this team just finds a way to win on a daily basis. It is almost like the Rams ten years ago-you expect them to win. I just hope the fans are realistic though as it is a long season. They are going to take ups and downs and bumps and bruises. It’s just really nice to know that you can watch all the way till the end of the 9th inning, and even if they are losing by four runs, the Cards still have a chance.

I looked back through some of my old columns  and chuckled about how I talked about my children playing sports and what I wanted them to be and to do.

As my oldest is now just about six, I have thrown all of my preconceived notions out of the window.  No longer is it about him scoring multiple goals or hitting a home run. It is all about will he stay standing up in the field and not lay down and play with the flowers in the grass or in soccer, at least kick the ball in the right goal.

With all of the stresses of being a parent of a child that plays sports, I have come to realize as long as they are having fun, and they are safe, we can all be happy.

It is a very special weekend this Sunday, as we all will take a special day to celebrate our moms. It’s crazy that we only have a one-day holiday; it should be everyday we celebrate moms. To all of the moms out there, have a great Mothers Day Weekend.

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