Saturday's Sahlen's Six Hours at the Glen was under threat as it regarded Braun's participation. The Rolex Series raced in conjunction with the IRL IndyCar Series, and a contract between the two stipulates that no drivers under 18 may participate in on-track activities due to tobacco sponsorship. Marlboro and their parent company Philip Morris are allowed to sponsor one form of motorsport in this country, and they have chosen to sponsor Roger Penske's IndyCar efforts for Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr.

A New York State Supreme Court judge granted an injunction for Braun to race, but Watkins Glen International saw the decision would violate the contract between them and the two series running. Team owner Tracy Krohn withdrew Braun from the entry list, but the proceedings canceled qualifying and a lot of the on-track activity. "It was never our intention to disrupt the competition, but instead to provide a mechanism for Colin Braun to be racing." Krohn stated during the weekend. Ironically, the car in question was allowed to start 2nd (team points set the grid) and won the race with Jorg Bergmeister and Braun's replacement, road racing specialist Boris Said.

This wasn't the first occurrence, either. At Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this year the team lobbied for Braun's participation, had their request denied and Max Papis replaced him. The event was run in conjunction with, you guessed it, the IndyCar Series. There will be one more such instance later this year, at Sonoma in August, when Braun will be just a few weeks shy of that monumental 18th birthday.

While Braun isn't the only youngster that's changing the face of motorsport, there have been several other cases of drivers (and journalists, in my case) that have had to deal with obstacles when trying to do their jobs. I covered the Rolex race at Phoenix earlier this month, and as I am only 17 myself it was difficult to acquire a credential. Once in I talked to Braun, and he said he isn't even the youngest member of his own team! His 14-year-old brother took telemetry readings in the few events that Colin participated in last season as there was a special request placed to Grand-Am that his brother be allowed on pit lane. Diving into the especially young talent pool is what racing has come to these days.

One of those kids that has set the world ablaze the last few weeks has been the IRL's Marco Andretti, 19. Rather than replace outgoing series champion Dan Wheldon with an experienced veteran driver, Michael Andretti chose to bring up his son following three wins in the Indy Pro Series last year and one in the Star Mazda championship. Skeptics claimed this was nepotism at its finest, but Marco has quickly silenced them with his speed, poise, and maturity. He's barely out of high school and he nearly won the Indianapolis 500, had it not been for a banzai last lap pass by Hornish.

Nelson Philippe bent the rules in Champ Car in 2004. The then-17-year-old Philippe made his debut on the streets of Long Beach, a full two years younger than the previous youngest starter in history (Michel Jourdain Jr. in 1996, also at Long Beach). The next season his teammate at Conquest Racing was fellow 17-year-old Andrew Ranger, marking the first time in open- wheel history a team had ever run two teenagers. Ranger proved his worth the second race with a runner-up finish in Monterrey, Mexico. Philippe is only 19 now but already in his third year of Champ Car racing. And his brother is making headlines as well. Richard Philippe, 16, won last year's Formula BMW USA title and is part of Gerry Forsythe's four-car Atlantic armada this season. When Nelson started he could not acquire a credential to get in, and now his brother faces the same dilemma.

GP2's hot commodity this year is Lewis Hamilton, a 20-year-old British driver who has already scored three victories. Ron Dennis came knocking on the door of young Mr. Hamilton's house when he was a pre-teenager! Dennis signed him to a developmental contract with McLaren in 1997, when Hamilton was just 12. Most kids are out planning for teenage life and here was Hamilton being recruited by a Formula One-team boss. Now there are rumors he may be in line for a seat with McLaren-Mercedes next year, alongside defending World Champion Fernando Alonso. Hamilton in particular has a chance to do for F1 what Tiger Woods did for golf - be its first prominent minority with that much star potential.

Finally, Kyle Busch's rapid ascension forced NASCAR to change its rules regarding its age limit. The talented but temperamental 21-year-old began as a developmental driver for Jack Roush in 2001, contesting five Craftsman Truck races before he was thrown out of a race at Fontana, a Champ Car event that was sponsored by Marlboro. Only weeks later NASCAR raised its minimum age to 18 in its three major divisions to avoid conflicts with the Cup series' title sponsor at the time, Winston (under the RJ Reynolds moniker). Busch ran in lower ranks before coming back to the Busch series in 2003, now as Rick Hendrick's protégé, once he turned 18. By 2005, he had won twice to become the youngest winner in series history.

Over the last few years these drivers have made names for themselves in lower ranks, but are being promoted now in many cases before they turn 20. Exceptions are being made to allow the kids to compete in these top ranks of motorsports. The rules are changing to allow these teenagers to become a part of the scene, as the interest level has shifted to a younger demographic. It's also worth noting that Hendrick signed 14-year-old Chase Austin to a contract in 2004, the youngest ever signing of a developmental driver in this country. One driver was quoted as saying, "Pretty soon they will be signing kids in diapers. This one crawls good, let's sign him." To be honest, it's not that far fetched.