The modified raced by Doug Lockwood carries the colors of the U.S. Army on one side and the U.S. Air Force on the other. He does so in honor of his two sons — Army Sergeant First Class (SFC) Nicholas K. Lockwood and Air Force Master Sergeant Benjamin L. Lockwood.
“I’m so proud of my sons that just talking about them gets me choked up,” Lockwood, of Beaverton, Oregon, said. “The sacrifices they have made for their country were made not for themselves, but for every U.S. citizen. It is good to remind people what the importance of the members of the military have in protecting our nation and helping the citizens of other nations.”
Nicholas joined the U.S. Army at age 19 and is now 33. At Nicholas’ urging, younger brother Benjamin joined the U.S. Air Force at age 19 and is now 31. Lockwood’s number, E7, references his sons’ pay grades.
“Ben was looking at college and we saw how much it was going to cost,” said Lockwood, who won the 2019 championship at Sunset Speedway in Banks, Oregon. “His older brother knew [Ben] was very intelligent and athletic. He told [Ben] the U.S. Air Force would be the perfect fit for him.”
Warpaint Motorsport Graphix, of Ohio, created the wrap for Lockwood.
“I wanted the design to tell the story of how my two boys found a rewarding career in the U.S. military,” Lockwood said. “Maybe there are other young people at the races who can see by example that this can be an excellent career choice.”
The wrap certainly grabs attention, as Doug Lockwood found out during the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Arizona.
“When we unloaded the car, it drew a steady stream of onlookers,” said Lockwood. “I had to tell them to keep walking around the car — it will tell you the full story.”
Photo Credit: Melissa Coker
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
