Kurt Maddox-
The bond between fathers and sons are often strong and that bond can be forged in many different ways.
The most classic being: sports or cars. But if you combine the two, the father-son bond is virtually unbreakable.
Mark Kelly, his son Marcus and step-son Kolby Shoopman have forged their bond through fast cars and short tracks.
“I got into racing in 05 or 06. Some friends of mine Mark and Van got me started in a warrior and I raced it a few times over one summer and then over the winter I redid it and then I moved up to a super stock.” Mark said.
"He bought me a car for Christmas. He bought me my first warrior for Christmas and I have been racing ever since." said Marcus.
"I mean I've seen Mark doing it and it looked really fun and I seen a lot of other people doing it and it just looked really fun. So, I thought hey I might try it."said Mark's Step-son Kolby Shoopman
You can see all almost every week at the Big Country Speedway.
Mark and Marcus compete against each other in the Super Stock class and to say they drive the same is not exactly true.
“I'd say I kinda base mine off his but I got my own way going about things." Marcus said about his racing style.
"I race clean, everybody clean so to me he is just another racer. If he gets around me clean, great. If I am faster and I get around him, great." Mark Kelly said about how he races when on the track with Marcus.
And once Kolby gets enough seat time, he will move up a class but that decision will up to Mark. At 12 years old, most kids his age are out riding their bikes, or inside playing video games but if you’re looking for Mark, you’ll find him behind the wheel of a finely tuned race car.
“It's a lot more fun than any other thing because you're racing with other people. You're driving a car. You can't really drive a car on the road when you're 12 years old.” said Shoopman.
“It's a very proud moment. Your kids want to do what you do. And it's not the...it's something they want to do. We don't force them to do anything they want. It's a hobby they chose to do and we support them”
Most fathers’ dream is to have their sons enjoy the same thing they do and Mark Kelly has just that because his race team is fast and family.