Joseph Kennedy, 72, and his teenage son Patrick talk Sunday after a qualifying race. They drove out from Palo Alto, California to compete in the Airstrip Attack.

Patrick and Joseph Kennedy talk to England Racing Team sales manager Myles Kerr on Sunday. Airplanes were taking off and landing elsewhere at the Colorado Springs Airport.

Competitors vie Sunday for a spot in the final races at the 2018 Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack at the Colorado Springs Airport. The race featured more than 200 of the fastest and most powerful street cars in the country.

On Father’s Day, Joseph Kennedy heard the question, “What are you hoping to get out of this race?”

He smiled.

“Spending time with my kid,” Kennedy said.

The California native signed up for the fourth annual Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack half mile race with his son, Patrick Kennedy. The duo competed together Saturday and Sunday at the Colorado Springs Airport. Joseph Kennedy raced Saturday and Patrick Kennedy handled a majority of the racing Sunday. They drove the same red 2015 Nissan Gran Turismo Racing (GTR).

Airplanes were taking off and landing on the opposite side of the airport during the event. The race featured more than 200 of the fastest and most powerful street cars in the country.

Joseph Kennedy said he prefers half-mile events because they aren’t as common, taking place only a few times per year. He also said he likes this event specifically for its prestige and stiff competition, with drivers hailing from many different states.

The 19-year-old and the 72-year old Kennedys found they shared a passion for racing several years ago. When Patrick was 15, his dad realized he had spent most of his son’s life getting after him about doing better in school when in a few years, he would be off to college. He decided to turn things around and do something fun with his son.

“Let’s do this,” Joseph Kennedy said. “I’ll get you a car for your birthday. We’ll do a little bit of modification to it so it’s peppy … a little bit faster than average … and we’re gonna do five things together – we’re gonna go take lessons in all five disciplines. We’re gonna do autocross, we’re gonna do drift, we’re gonna do quarter mile, half mile and track.”

The pair set out to become racers and did just that.

This is Joseph and Patrick’s fourth year competing as father and son. Their appearance at the Airstrip Attack last year went poorly. Their GTR’s engine failed and they had to rebuild the car from the ground up. But a few months ago they raced it in a half-mile competition in Coalinga, Calif. for the first time and both hit over 200 mph, which they had never done before.

“Breaking 200 last event (and Sunday) was super exciting,” Patrick Kennedy said. “And especially surpassing our goal by eight miles an hour. Eight miles an hour is huge in half-mile racing.”

Patrick said his relationships with his dad and racing mean the world to him.

“I think we were close before, but it’s brought us so much closer … it’s so much fun and we spend so much time together … I’m so thankful for the opportunities we’ve had racing.”