Drag Illustrated Issue 179, November / December 2022 | Page 98

CODY ANDERSON

■ IT ’ S BEEN SAID that we ’ re each a product of our environment . This feels quite true as one observes Cody Anderson setting a rear tire in place just steps from where his father , Greg Anderson , leans into the engine compartment to unbolt a valve cover . Anderson is a five-time world champion and the most winning Pro Stock driver in history ; it makes sense that his son would follow in his footsteps into the racing world .
For a long while , though , Cody was just a kid doing normal kid things while also watching his dad race for Pro Stock glory .
“ I don ’ t think I really showed much interest in racing until my late teens ,” says the now 24-year-old . “ This has always been the life that I ’ ve known , but when I was little , I was just running around doing stupid stuff . As I grew up , I played a lot of sports – mostly baseball and golf – but I never really thought about the whole racing scene .”
The one thing that the Anderson men most certainly had in common , even when Cody was very young , was a competitive streak .
“ That really came out when I started to get more involved , learn about the cars , and start to understand the whole ‘ team aspect ’ in drag racing ,” Cody explains . “ I love the competitiveness of drag racing , and I really love the drive to get better and better each week . It ’ s fun to be part of .”
Although golf still has hold of his heart and he plays as often as he can , Cody has gradually become more and more involved in the daily operations of the race team .
At the track , the youngest Anderson is actively involved in maintaining the back half of the HendrickCars . com Chevrolet Camaro his father drove to the 2021 Pro Stock championship and his milestone 100th win earlier this year at the U . S . Nationals in Indianapolis . The crew that is dedicated full-time to the HendrickCars . com Pro Stocker is relatively small . Aside from the engine , Cody and D . J . Minter are the primary crew members who maintain the car .
Cody also has a fulltime job at Mooresville , North Carolina-based KB Racing , where he is mostly stationed in the car shop , tearing the cars down between races and making sure they ’ re properly serviced .
“ When that ’ s done , I go to the engine shop and help my dad tear down engines ,” he says . “ I ’ m learning a lot – something new every day .
“ People always ask me if I ’ m ever going to drive , and I have not driven a race car . Maybe I ’ ll get behind the wheel one day , and maybe once I do , I ’ ll want to pursue that . But I ’ m happy to continue working on the car and enjoying the team aspect of this . It ’ s also just really cool racing with my dad . I enjoy winning , and seeing him succeed gives me joy . What ’ s most impressive is watching his drive every single day . It inspires me to thrive . I want to be like that .” – KELLY WADE DI
98 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 179