Boom operator lives life in the fast lane

  • Published
  • By By Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Ingersoll
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
BIRMINGHAM, England --  When Tech. Sgt. RaileR Cantrell isn't refueling aircraft at 30,000 feet, he's flying inches off the ground at 160 mph in a superkart.

The 351st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator represented the Auto Sport team in a charity kart race Jan. 15, alongside professional and amateur drivers alike to raise funds for Racing for Charity/Cure for Malaria United Kingdom.

The annual race, which is put on by David Brabham, an Australian race car driver known mostly for his victories in Formula One and Le Mans series racing, puts professional and amateur drivers in twin four-stroke engine karts to compete for charity. The race raised more than 12,000 pounds in entry fees alone.

Sergeant Cantrell, who has been racing karts for years, said the event was a lot of fun.

"One of the coolest things for me is getting to mingle with drivers that I'm a huge fan of," he said. "On one of my laps I got bumped. I looked over and it was Alan McNish, a Formula One driver I have been watching for years."

His sentiments were shared by other drivers as well.

"It's a great bit of fun to be able to compete alongside professional race car drivers in an event that puts us all on equal footing," said Trevor Roberts, a 25 year superkart veteran.

"This is a blast. I love the adrenaline, and I love the camaraderie," said Alex Roache, an amateur kart racer, competing for the Auto Sport team as well.

For many of the fans and family members of the drivers, being at race events is just as much about camaraderie as it is about the enjoyment of watching races.

"When you come to enough races, you start to see a lot of the same people," said Ellie Tillett, daughter of Steve Tillett, owner of a racing seat company. "Everybody here knows each other."

The race itself could only be described as a fast, messy and somewhat comical event.

"It was a very slick track so rather than taking corners with sharpness and precision, we were doing a lot of drifting and sliding," said Sergeant Cantrell. "The barriers weren't weighted or pinned down in any way. If you hit the wall plastic barrier, sections would fly everywhere."

Other drivers had their own explanations for the numerous crashes during the event.

"When you get 20 aggressive race car drivers zipping around in a space about ten feet wide you're bound to have collisions," said Roache. "If everyone calms down a bit and remembers why we are here, then we should be able to keep the race going without so many crashes."

"It's all part of the event, it's messy, fast and fun," added Roberts.

Sergeant Cantrell's Auto Sport team, which also sponsored the event and car show, started off at the top of the pack during the qualifying portion, but finished 19th due to a crash that put them off the track.

"By lap three the barriers were coming apart, and when a row of them slid across the track we got put outside of them and lost three laps as result," said Sergeant Cantrell. "We were playing the catch-up game for the rest of the race."

He went on to say that the race was still a success for him personally because it's about raising money for charity and having fun alongside some of his personal heroes.

He went on to compete in another race Jan. 17 and took second place.

The future for Sergeant Cantrell will include more racing as he plans to retire to Kennisaw, Ga., near a 12-hour endurance course, after his career in the Air Force.

For Sergeant Cantrell racing is all about the thrill and adrenaline rush.

"Going 160 miles per hour is hard on your body, a great rush and I love it," Cantrell said. "I will do it as often as I can for as long as I can."