JAYNE TASCA: PROUD OF HER CHILDREN
Sun, 2012-05-13 15:30
At her core, Jayne Tasca is a mother who is proud of her children -- including Bob Tasca III, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car.
With Mother’s Day this weekend, Jayne talked about her eldest with admiration and awe tinted with the smallest bit of exasperation you would expect from a mother whose child races an 8,000-horsepower, 300 mph beast for a living.
“I really did know (NHRA Drag Racing) was in his blood,” said Jayne, who married her first love in Bob Tasca Jr. “As much as I denied it. More than anyone else, he was fixated with my father-in-law’s racing history. The curious thing was that it skipped a generation.”
In the early days of organized racing, the late Bob Tasca Sr., whose prowess as a Ford dealer made him a legend in Blue Oval circles, decided the best way to sell on Monday was to race on Sunday. He fielded successful NHRA Drag Racing campaigns with his “Mystery Series” cars still talked about today.
All of that history and all of the stories landed squarely on Bob Tasca III, who as a child decided he wanted to hear more. Tasca is now in his fifth year of competition in the NHRA Full Throttle Series, the world’s fastest motorsport. He and wife Terri now have four sons -- two of which have junior dragsters painted like their father’s Funny Car.
Jayne once wondered if she could persuade her son to consider another of his talents for his dream, like tennis (Bob III is an avid tennis player). But it was racing he wanted to do, and racing it would be.
“It’s watching him pursue his dream and the people I meet (at races), that’s why I love being there,”said Jayne, who keeps her sense of humor to deal with the ups and downs of racing. “A mother’s only wish is that their children are happy and doing what they want to do. I really believe that’s a testament to how you raised them.”
In Bob III, that testament reads a little like this: Life is about pursuing your dream with passion, determination and conviction -- what his grandfather did. That’s exactly what Jayne would ask of him.
This Mother’s Day, Jayne will celebrate with her daughter Jaime and members of the family while Bob III and Terri cheer at a local hockey tournament. While they won’t all be together, Jayne says with a family so close, they’re never really apart.
Attending races was easier when the whole family -- Bob III included -- watched others race, like Bob III’s mentor John Force. Now, five years into her son’s professional racing career, it’s easier for her, too; although a frank discussion with Bob III made her realize that letting go a bit would help her handle the pressure of watching him race. As long as she was worried, he said, pursuing that dream she wants him to have would be more difficult.
So she did, just a bit. Enough to cheer him on and want him to succeed as much as he does.
For this mother, watching her children succeed at their dreams is the ultimate gift.
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