Saturday afternoon at Indianapolis Raceway Park, amid all the storylines at play, there was a story developing of another kind. It wasn’t about a sponsorship renewal, championship chase or another line on Greg Anderson’s lengthy résumé.
It was about the young bull finding his place in a pasture where his father, the venerable old bull, has spent decades stomping everyone else into submission.
For one time in a row, Cody Anderson went farther in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge than his father. The payoff was the first victory of any kind in the Pro Stock rookie’s young career, and he earned it by beating one of the tougher customers in the neighborhood.
Cody defeated veteran Greg Stanfield in the final with a 6.642-second run at 204.91 mph in his Troy Humphrey Motorsports/Daiken/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. His .020 reaction time gave him the jump, and this time the kid closed the deal.
There was plenty of fatherly pride from Greg Anderson, the six-time world champion and winningest driver in Pro Stock history. There was also irritation because the old man had let an all-Anderson final slip through his fingers when Stanfield beat him in the opening round.
Cody held up his end but Dad didn’t.
“It’s super special. This place is so cool,” Cody said. “It’s iconic and any win life feels good, but this place it’s extra special and yeah, I’m enjoying it. This is fun. I’m having a blast.”
Greg’s version came with the pride of a father and the aggravation of a racer who believed he should have been in the other lane.
“It was pretty damn cool. I got to admit, it’s not much mattered after I got beat the first half,” Greg said. “I felt so bad when I crossed the finish line, the first round of 2Fast2Tasty and got my butt whipped by Greg [Stanfield] that I didn’t. Cody held up his end of the bargain and I didn’t. So I felt like a loser there. I dropped the ball, but he did not drop the ball. He took care of it and he ran that thing in for a touchdown 99 yards. It was pretty awesome.”
Stanfield had eliminated the father, and Cody returned the favor in the final. Greg didn’t need much prompting to appreciate the irony.
“He took care of what I couldn’t do. Greg Stanfield is a tough out right now,” Greg said. “He is a hell of a racer and he’s a tough out. And Cody just got up on that wheel and whipped his ass. So very proud of him, very proud of the boy. It’s pretty cool to see.”
For Greg, the location only magnified it. Indianapolis has long occupied a different place in his career, and now his son had his own reason to understand why.
“And at Indy, I’ve told the world all my career that I love this place more than anywhere else. It means more to come here and win and get win lights here like Cody says, it’s the best race we have,” Greg said. “It’s the U.S. Nationals. It’s our Super Bowl. So you got to enjoy it. A lot of the racers in the past have not enjoyed this place because it’s so big and it’s so nerve wracking and it’s such a long weekend, a marathon. That’s what I love about it. And obviously my son does too, so couldn’t be more proud.”
Cody Anderson didn’t create the expectations that come with putting Anderson on the window of a Pro Stock car. Instead, he inherited them, and every time he rolls into the water box, they’re along for the ride.
His father sees something beyond the surname. Greg has watched the progression closely enough that he isn’t backing away from what he has been telling people all season.
“He wasn’t even born back at my day. He wasn’t even born then,” Greg said. “Obviously he’s paid attention to what goes on out here and he’s a quick study, he’s a quick learner and he’s just progressed every race we’ve gone through this year. And people are probably getting tired of me telling him that he’s the real deal and he’s going to be there by the end of the year, but it sure looks like he’s holding up his end of the bargain.”
Greg has made a career out of recognizing what it takes to survive in Pro Stock. He sees those ingredients developing in Cody.
“So he’s making me look like a true sayer and I’m not a liar. I see talent when I see it and he’s got it,” Greg said. “There’s a lot of tough racers in this class and I’ll put him right up against any one of them. He doesn’t seem to get nervous. He goes up there and gives it his all every time.”
Saturday at Indy, Cody finally had something more than progress to show for it. He had a win.
“And when you do that, you know what, you’re going to get win lights and he got one today. And sometimes when you break down that first door and get that first win light, they start coming easier,” Greg said. “So we’ll see what goes on from here.”
Cody isn’t acting like two Saturday win lights have completed the education. If anything, beating Stanfield showed him how much progress he has made and how much remains.
“I think this gives me a lot of confidence. Even though it was just two rounds, I mean, it’s hard to win one round, especially on race day and just to get two win lights, it’s a huge confidence boost,” Cody said. “It really is. And to be able to leave on Greg Stanfield, it’s a big deal. So there’s a lot of confidence behind it and, yeah, hopefully I can keep the momentum going and see how it goes.”
The natural assumption might be that Greg has spent the season filling his son’s helmet with instructions. Instead, he has largely resisted becoming the overbearing racing father.
Cody has Dave Connolly and Dallas Glenn around him, and Greg believes there is value in allowing other accomplished drivers to handle much of the day-to-day coaching.
“The bottom line is he doesn’t need a lot. He paid attention a lot,” Greg said. “He’s got a lot of great coaches over there. We’ve got Dave Connolly, we’ve got Dallas Glenn who I consider way more peer drivers than I am. So I kind of let them do the main tutoring on the one-to-one on a daily basis.”
Greg still contributes to Cody’s Pro Stock schooling, but sometimes the father’s role outweighs the champion’s.
“I certainly put in whatever I can and tell them how proud of my every day and I think that’s the best I can do. But he pays attention,” Greg said. “He’s like a sponge. He sucks it up. He learns every day and that’s all you can ask. So sky’s the limit for him.”
None of this was predetermined when Cody was born. Greg didn’t look at his son and see a future Pro Stock driver. For years, golf appeared to be a more likely destination, and Greg and his wife, Kim, were content to let Cody determine where he wanted to go.
“I didn’t see him one day as a drag racer and I would have been perfectly happy no matter what he did. He golfed for a lot of years and we loved that,” Greg said. “His mother loved that. His mother tried to persuade him to go down that career path and basically he just got sucked in by this drag race team that we have and kind of needed a job.”
What started as a job around race cars didn’t stay a job for long. Cody kept working, kept watching and, whether he realized it at the time or not, was learning the business from the inside out.
“We give him a job and he started liking a little bit more and he started getting a little more desire, a little bit more want for it. And he’s gained that every day and you got to have passion for something and he’s absolutely gained it over the last few years,” Greg said. “He’s got it now and I think the sky’s the limit for him, Kelly. But I just wanted to make sure, and so did Kim, my wife, that we didn’t force anything on him.”
Cody still won’t declare himself a finished product. He certainly has been around enough accomplished racers to know better.
“I’m getting there. I don’t know if I’ve fully figured it out yet, but we’re getting there,” Cody said. “Definitely get more comfortable, but I think there’s still a lot of learning to do. Like these guys, they get out of the race car at the end of the track and they know every little thing and every little feel about the run.
“I’m slowly learning and I think I’m starting to get more and more of the comfortability to be knowing what they’re talking about. But yeah, there’s definitely still a lot more to learn and definitely a lot to work on and get better on,” Cody said. “And yeah, that’s what’s exciting to get a little bit of success this early. So I think we can keep chugging along.”
There remains one obvious unfinished piece of family business as father and son have already flirted with meeting in an elimination final, including a near miss at Brainerd. Saturday at Indianapolis offered another possibility until Stanfield removed Greg from the equation. Greg isn’t asking his son to wait his turn.
“I know that day is coming and I can’t wait for that,” Greg said. “It’s not going to come easy for him. I’m not going to lay down. I’m not going to give it up to anybody, but he’s ready to take it. He’s ready to come take the horn and it’s going to be fun.”
SIDEBAR – CLOSE, BUT ATLANTA WAS CLOSER
If Cody Anderson needed proof that drag racing can get stupid-close, Chris Vang provided it in the first round Saturday.
Both were .060 on the tree. Both ran 6.668.
Anderson won by 0.0006 seconds, or about two inches.
And believe it or not, we’ve seen worse.
Doug Kalitta and J.R. Todd went to another level in the 2016 Atlanta Top Fuel final. Kalitta was .050 and ran 3.801; Todd was .071 and ran 3.780. Both totaled 3.851 from the flash of the bulb to the stripe.
The margin was 0.0000.
Kalitta got the win light.
So Vang can at least say the computer found six ten-thousandths between him and Anderson. Todd didn’t even get that luxury.
Cody didn’t dodge the question when asked whether he would rather have beaten Stanfield or his father for Saturday’s trophy.
“That’s tough. No, definitely my dad,” Cody said.
Then he reconsidered just enough to give Stanfield his due.
“Well, it’s about equal. Both will be very thrilling,” Cody said. “But no, Greg Stanfield is a bad dude and he’s very hard to beat and to beat him, it’s a real honor and, yeah, I’m having a blast. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Greg sees something else taking shape outside the car. The kid appears more comfortable behind a microphone than his father was at the same stage.
“Oh, absolutely him. If anybody had video of it, it was probably pretty embarrassing on my part,” Greg said when asked who handled his first winner’s press conference better. “I didn’t want to be there. Didn’t want anything to do with talking to people. Just wanted to hide in my race car.”
That’s because Cody has spent a lifetime watching his father handle himself in and out of the car and took very good mental notes.
“So he’s watched it enough from the outside and he’s watched me stumble and bumble through interviews. And he’s obviously a little more polished than I am at a young age,” Greg said. “So he’s ahead of the game. When I first started driving, I wasn’t able to drive like he is and I wasn’t able to talk like he is. So sky’s the limit.”
