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CHEYENNE, Wyo. - After bolting the tire on, the father and son
duo lower their stock car off the jacks as the sound of tires
tearing around the track fades. The son hops through the window and
into the driver's seat as his father gives quick words of
encouragement.
Jeron Schmidt, 13, son of Maj. Neil
Copenhaver, 20th Air Force deputy director of logistics, accepted
the encouragement and headed off for a final test drive before the
series of races that followed. Copenhaver encourages Schmidt, as his
son follows in his footsteps, or rather, tire tracks, as a stock-car
racer.
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Maj. Neil Copenhaver, 20th Air Force deputy director of logistics, and his son, Jeron Schmidt, 13, finish their last inspection of Schmidt's stock car June 13, 2015, in Cheyenne, Wyo. This is Schmidt's first year of serious competitive racing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Malcolm Mayfield)
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Schmidt is the older brother of two little sisters and,
until this year, worked in his father's pit crew. Now
Schmidt is driving the same stock-car he worked on and
Copenhaver used to win the Warrior Class series last year.
Copenhaver said his desire to stay active was the reason
for starting this hobby. However, he adds that getting his
son involved has made it a great pastime for the two of
them.
"It's great," Copenhaver said. "We get
to do a lot of stuff together and a lot of times we get to
spend the whole day together."
One connection that
helped put Copenhaver and his son on the race track was
Master Sgt. Christopher Isenberger, Task Force 214 and 20th
AF plans and readiness noncommissioned officer in charge and
avid racing spectator.
After being stationed at F.E.
Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., Copenhaver was interested in
finding an outlet for his interest in racing. Isenberger
introduced Copenhaver to the racing community giving him the
opportunity to rent a car and try out this new hobby.
"We worked together when we both were in the 90th
Missile Wing," Isenberger said. "It's awesome that he's
passing this on to his son. [Jeron] worked for him, helping
him in the pit, working on the car and now he's racing this
year."
The father and son team worked together with
help from those in the racing community, to get, what is now
Schmidt's stock car, up and running.
Copenhaver was a
major factor in Schmidt's growing interest in racing, and
him moving from pit crew to stock car driver. His son was
given an opportunity for his first race last year which
sparked this new found hobby, and the beginning of this
collaboration between father and son.
Sometime during
the normal racing season stock-car racers are able to enter
one member of their pit crew into a race; this gave Schmidt
the push he needed.
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Malcolm Mayfield
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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