August 26, 2013 – By Jacob Seelman for Speed 77 Radio and RaceChaser Online – Mason, Ohio – When it comes to the FAST Midwest Legends Series in 2013, Young Lion Cody Anderson doesn’t know that the word quit exists in the Webster’s dictionary.
Anderson has fought back from adversity in 2013; the lowest point of his season coming two months ago (June 22nd) at Mount Lawn Speedway when a mechanical issue sent the team’s one and only Legends chassis to the junkyard after a hard head-on practice crash.
Forced to rebuild and in danger of missing races while sitting second in points, the Anderson Motorsports team went full-bore into the recovery effort, purchasing a new chassis from Charlotte, N.C., and using a two-week off period to its fullest in hopes of frantically having things ready for the series’ next points event.
With the driver putting in long hours in the shop trying to assist in the repairs, the break was just long enough to make the impossible possible. The rebuild miraculously came together in the eleventh hour, finishing at 4 AM on the ensuing race day, and began a remarkable charge up the season-standings for the 16-year-old Ohio native.
Before the accident at Mt. Lawn, the Anderson Motorsports #11 had only managed one class win in nine 2013 starts; the win coming at Anderson Speedway (IN) in mid-May. However, following the crash, Anderson has gone on a tear in the Young Lions division, scoring 7 podium finishes in class in the last 8 races, including three class victories, to go from 62 points back of the points lead to holding the championship lead at a remarkable 355 point advantage over Jack Dossey III with two months to go in the season-long points race.
“If you’d have asked me two months ago if I thought we’d be in this position after having to rebuild the car from the ground up, I’d have looked at you like you’d lost your mind,” Anderson said in an interview with Race Chaser correspondent Jacob Seelman. “The fact that we fought our way up into this position after all the adversity just speaks to how badly this team wants to win a championship this year.”
When asked what it would mean to win the championship trophy after enduring the struggles, Anderson smiled and said, “It’d mean that all the hours of work we put in to keep ourselves in the title hunt weren’t wasted. We’ll have proven to everyone else just how hard we fight every week, and how dedicated we are to achieving the goals we set out to at the start of the season.”
If Cody Anderson keeps racing like he has the past two months, those hours won’t be wasted at all, because he and his team will have all the reason in the world to celebrate when it comes time for the championship banquet.
For Cody and the rest of the FAST Midwest Legends Tour, the series is back in action this weekend with a doubleheader at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, August 31st and Sunday, September 1st, that starts the final stretch to determine the series champions in all classes for 2013.
For more information on the FAST Midwest Tour, visit the series website at http://www.fastmidwest.com/
For more information on Cody Anderson, visit Anderson Racing online at www.cody11.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/anderson11racing.
PHOTO CREDIT: reesphotos.com photo, courtesy of Anderson Racing
