All in the Family Copeland clan, Roy Briley bond on the racetrack at East Carolina Motor Speedway STORY AND PHOTOS BY:  CAL BRYANT      ROBERSONVILLE - If the family that races together stays together, then don't expect either the Windsor-based Copeland clan of Briley bunch to part company any time in the near future.      On a hot and sticky late July night here Saturday, the Copeland's - brothers Charles and Keith and with son/nephew Brad - and Roy Briley (the father-in-law of Keith) could be found with sweat pouring from their brows in the pit area of ECMS.      Each had their own car entered in one of the eight events on the ECMS schedule on this particular evening.      However, even though each had a pre-race agenda to take care of, that didn't slow down their collective efforts to come to the aid of one of their family members in a time of need. -------------------------------      Case-in-point was Keith's mechanical malfunction. The first of the family members to hit the famed three-eighths mile, paved asphalt oval at ECMS on this night, Keith started on the outside of row two during the initial race of the Twin 25's for the Stock Look-A-Like class.      Using the high groove, Keith powered his Abrams Barbecue-sponsored Oldsmobile Cutlass as high as second place, but by the time the first caution flag waved on lap five for a spinout, Copeland had back-peddled to fifth place.      Back under green, Copeland worked his way up to fourth, but three laps later he slowed dramatically between turns two and three and limped back around to the pits.      "It feels like I'm running on just three cylinders, " shouted Copeland above the roar of the cars still on the track.      The family descended upon the ill machine quicker than Clark Kent changing into Superman. Even though Keith's fortunes were dashed for this race, he could still pin his hopes on the second of the Twin 25's scheduled for later in the evening.      Pinpointing the problem to the engine's rocker arm area, the family began the hot task of making repairs.      In the meantime, both Charles and Roy were bouncing back-and-forth between helping Keith and getting their respective cars ready for the "A" Bomber race, and event scheduled to take the green flag in less than one hour. -------------------------------      For the 61-year-old Roy Briley, the extra work took its toll as he failed to officially start his race after taking three warm up laps.      "I was sick earlier in the week and still felt a little weak tonight," he admitted after climbing from his car and heading back to Keith's pit area to continue the repair process. "That and the heat just got to me." -------------------------------      The family put the repairs on hold during the "A" Bomber race as they stood ready just in case Charles had to make a mad dash into the pits.      But that pit stop never came, turning the family into cheerleaders, as they watched Charles work his way towards the front after starting at the rear of the seven car field.      By lap three, Charles had powered his Big Daddy Heads/Mizelle Fishing, Inc. Pontiac to third place from where he and David Price and Travis Roberson(respectively running first and second) began to pull away from the field.      During a restart on lap six following a caution period, Copeland stuck a fender under Roberson in turn two and completed his pass for second place as the cars roared off turn four.      Now Copeland faced what seemed to be an uphill battle as Price had built as much as an eight car-length lead while Copeland and Roberson were locked in their battle for second place.      But Copeland refused to wave the white flag of surrender as he slowly reeled in the leader, slicing his deficit in half by lap 12 and finally pulling in on Price's rear bumper by lap 15 of this 20-lap event.      Two laps later, Copeland made what proved to be his race winning pass coming out of turn four where he was able to get back into the throttle quicker than Price.      "Once I figured out turn four, I was okay," said Charles Copeland after winning for the fifth time this season at ECMS.      He continued, "I saw the laps winding down and I knew I had to do something different to catch the 04 car (Price). So I changed my line through the third and fourth corners, backing off a bit going in that allowed me to get in the throttle quicker once I completed turn four. Before I was drifting too high coming out of four." -------------------------------      Two events later, it was Brad Copeland's turn out on the hot asphalt.      Behind the wheel of his #94 Monte Carlo sponsored by Ed Warren of Cashie Medical Center, Brad was mired back in the field as he started seventh in the nine-car field that comprised the Modified Street [Stock] Division.      But Brad wasn't stuck at the rear of the pack for too long as he shot to fifth by lap two and sat comfortably in third just two laps later.      Following a caution on lap six, Copeland blew by Ronnie  Manning gaining the upper hand at the start of lap 10.It was on the 10th circuit where race leader Stevie Speller ran into trouble, spinning through the third and fourth corners. Manning took the lead at that point, followed closely by Copeland.      Copeland remained within striking distance of the leader as the laps wound down in this 20-lap event, but those hopes were dashed on lap 17 where Brad got out of the throttle and pitted his car one lap later.      "The car overheated and we weren't going to take a chance at blowing the motor, " stressed Copeland who was credited with a third place finish. "That's a shame because I thought I had a chance at running down the 98 (Manning), but it just wasn't to be." -------------------------------      Back in the pits, Keith Copeland is pacing nervously as he awaits the second half of the Twin 25's for the Stock Look A-Like class. Will his repaired Oldsmobile be strong enough in this highly competitive field?      Starting third on an inverted order of finish from the first race, the answer to Keith's question was "yes" in the early going as he motored into second place at the drop of the green flag.      He remained in the runner-up spot until lap six where both Jeff Burkett, Jr. and Shanta Rhodes worked their way around Copeland, dropping him to fourth. He had back-peddled to fifth on lap nine where race one winner, Ronnie Ireland, passed Copeland on the frontstretch.      One lap later, Copeland moved back into fourth place when Burkett spun in turn three. Copeland motored back into third place on lap 12, but his car just wasn't strong enough to fend off the hard charges of Robert Hyatt and Burkett who dropped Keith to his eventual fifth-place finish on lap 16.      "A typical finish for me, fifth," sighed Keith. "Like Brad, my car was overheating, so I decided not to push it real hard there towards the end of the race."      He said that this was a much different breed of racing than the one from where he broke onto the racing scene three years ago.      "I ran the first two years in the Bomber class," said Copeland. "I got my feet wet running the Bombers, but this year when I moved up to the Stock Look A-Likes, I found it to be much more competitive. But I'm still having fun and that's all that counts." -------------------------------      It seems that fun, as well as having a family reunion at ECMS every Saturday night, supplies the glue that bonds the Copeland's and Briley's together.      "Having us all together - we down here in the pits and other family members up in the stands - is fun," stated Charles Copeland who is in his first full year of competition. "It's not about winning or losing, it's about having fun and we're doing exactly that."      It was those other family members in the stands who came down to help lift Brad's spirits following his near victory Saturday night.      "Having my mom and all my cousins surrounding me really made me feel a whole lot better," he admitted. "That's what being a family is all about."      One of those cousins, Braxton Copeland (Keith's son), is waiting in the wings for his turn behind the wheel.      "I'm just keeping the seat warm for my grandson, Braxton," acknowledged Briley. "This is my first and only season in this race car. Braxton will turn 16 in late August and that makes him the legal age to drive here at ECMS. The car is his if he wants to drive it."      And it's a safe bet that if young Braxton decides to join the ranks of a "weekend warrior" on the racetrack, the family will be there for support.