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Young Driver Anderson Proving to be Quick Study against Super Late Model Elite Drivers

By Chuck Corder

When Augie Grill admits defeat, you know you’ve accomplished something.

Give him a few years, a decade or two perhaps, but at some point 18-year-old Cole Anderson will recall fondly the night he chased down the unflinching veteran and he’ll wax poetically about his eventual win.

But to see Anderson’s Diamondback 125 victory in person earlier this month at South Alabama Speedway in Opp, it almost felt like a changing of the guard moment for short-track racing.

It wasn’t just that Anderson won his second straight Southern Super Series race, but the way he defeated Grill. Anderson showed a level of maturity in changing strategies that earned him not only the win, but the praises of his car owner-crew chief.

“It was one of those situations. Fifteen to go, and you haven’t been able to get around (Grill) on the outside,� Anthony Campi recalled. “(Anderson) needed to fall back, regroup, get the car situated and make another run at it.

“It was good he realized that. He surprises me sometimes. We talked over the radio how to set (Grill) up on that pass, and (Anderson) executed it perfectly. Four or five months ago, we probably end up second, wrecked or something different.�

Instead, Anderson took the lead with 13 laps to go and snatched his fifth win of the season for the Anthony Campi Racing No. 97. Grill finished second and was left shaking his head, gobsmacked at the Houdini act Anderson managed to pull off.

Anderson looks to make it a half-dozen victories this Friday when the Super Late Models return to Five Flags Speedway for the SERF, Inc. 125.

It’s the third of four races in the Deep South Crane Blizzard Series, which runs in conjunction with the Southern Super Series. The Beef “O� Brady’s Pro Trucks, The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen and the Butler U-Pull-It Bombers round out the evening.

Gates open at 4 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; free for kids 5 and under.

Anderson hails from Northfield, Minn., a quaint town that gets to enjoy the beauty of each season.

Despite his Midwestern roots, Anderson is becoming quite familiar with the famed half-mile asphalt oval. He’s run the two previous SLM races to a pair of subpar results and collected a pair of fourths at last month’s Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Model Twin 50s.

“It’s a cool place,� Anderson said of Five Flags. “It has a lotta character and it’s fast. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite racetracks to go to. I’m looking forward to coming back this week.

“I have to manage my tires better. The track’s real abrasive. Take care of the tires and getting in a rhythm helps a lot.�

Anderson seems to have rediscovered the rhythm that made such great music at the beginning of the season.

After joining Campi for a few races late last season, Anderson’s start to 2016 couldn’t have been drawn up any better. He won twice in three races at New Smyrna (FL) Speedway.

Anderson rebounded from a spring lull, in which his racing education blossomed, to win back-to-back Southern Super Series races, highlighted by the victory against Grill.

“I never thought we’d get here this quick,� Anderson said. “It’s crazy to already have five wins, and it’s only the middle of the summer. I’m looking forward to what the rest of the summer might bring.�

He was a late bloomer to racing. Anderson hopped in a quarter-midget at age 12 and made up for lost time by honing his skills through iRacing.com, the online subscription service that has quickly become a coaching tool for young drivers.

Anderson and Campi hooked up through mutual friend Frank Keyser, a former NASCAR driver who runs the TUNDRA Super Late Models Series that Anderson earned his chops on throughout the Midwest.

“Winning the last two Southern Super Series races has boosted everyone’s morale around the shop,� said Campi, whose shop resides in his native Sarasota. “The first half of season, we thought we couldn’t do anything wrong. Once the Southern Super Series started, we learned a lot about the car and a lot about what Cole needs.

“That’s part of the sport. If I could take the mentality he has now and swap it for those earlier races, there’s no telling how many wins we would have.�

To try and get ahead of the curve, Anderson still stays virtual. He often searches YouTube for any videos that provide insight to upcoming tracks he might be unfamiliar with.

Anderson studies each track’s nuances along with its history and impressive list of past winners.

“It’s crazy to think how many big names have been to all these places, like Pensacola,� he said. “Anthony wanted us to go big and get the most experience we could by running against the best competition in the south. I’ve enjoyed it so far.�

When you’re passing multiple winner of both the Snowball Derby and Snowflake 100, such as Augie Grill, it’s easy for a Midwestern boy to enjoy his time barnstorming the south.

“I was excited racing against someone as cool as Augie, and someone who’s had so much success in the south,� Anderson said. “I was thinking to myself this was a classic rookie vs. veteran situation. I let him go and fell behind. I caught a burst of speed in the last laps, and started catching him.

“I passed him on the inside going into (Turn No.) 3, and pulled away from him. It was a cool feeling.�

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