Saturday, January 3, 2004 Wayne Anderson: On Top of His Game by Jack Smith In 2003 there were some excellent performances at many levels of racing throughout the Sunshine State, dirt and asphalt. But no one had the kind of year to match that of the 35 year old veteran stock car driver from Wildwood, Florida. Wayne Anderson appeared in 62 races winning 19 of them and was runner up in 15 more with 6 third place runs just for good measure. That's getting a podium finish nearly 65 percent of the time, pretty amazing when you add up the torn up race cars at a usual Super Late Model race. Anderson tackled 10 different Florida tracks in 2003 and won at eight of them. Add in five ARCA races and two attempts to qualify at NASCAR Busch Grand National events, all the work behind the scenes in the garage and it would be an understatement to say Anderson had a busy year. "Right now, I'm really on top of my game", Anderson said in a December interview. " And when you get on your game, the luck kind of rolls with it too, it all kind of comes together." Even more amazing is the fact that he raced the Larry Calabrese owner silver number eighty-four 28 times and never changed a nose panel, fenders or anything on the body. The year 2003 started off with a flourish for Anderson, winning the first ever Pete Orr Memorial 125 (Orange Blossom) at New Smyrna Speedway, beating a 36 car field. He quickly followed that meaningful victory with two wins and two seconds en route to earning the top award at the Asphalt World Series of Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna during Speedweeks. Wayne Anderson, as many Florida fans know, is the son of living legend Dick Anderson, and it would seem that the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree in the case of this family. Beginning his career and impressive resume in 1986, he was named rookie of the year at both Bronson and the old Lakeland Speedway. Ten years later Anderson's experience moved him to the NASCAR All Pro Series where he won five poles and took the checkers at the All American 400 at Nashville, establishing himself as a solid performer. The next year Wayne hit the Craftsman Truck circuit as well as the All Pro Series. Wayne went on to win two All Pro titles (in 1999 and 2001) and holds the record for most tour wins in that series. Over the last several years Anderson has raced in the ASA, has shown some success in the ARCA, while struggling in a few attempts at the Busch grand National Series. In 2003 Anderson tackled several new tracks including Lowe's Motor Speedway (Charlotte NC), Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Michigan International Speedway, all on the ARCA REMAX series tour. The most successful race was at Chicagoland where Anderson's took his TC Motorsports Racing number 35 entry from his37th starting spot to finish in fifth. He also had top ten finishes at Kansas Speedway and at Nashville. The racers' young sons ( nine and three years of age) travel with their dad as much as possible. "My dad has raced basically since I was born and there was a lot of the races I didn't go to, ......I vowed that they were going to be with me as much as they could be." While trying to make a Busch race and running strong in ARCA, Anderson was meantime taking a huge share of the purse money at Florida's Super Late Model events. On august 1st he went to Orlando and won the 125 lap Sunbelt race, traveled to Bronson the next day and won their 125 lapper. On August 29th he went back to Orlando and ran a rare 50 lap event, winning it of course, traveled to the high banks of DeSoto in Bradenton the next night and won the All American Challenge Series 125 lap affair. In June Jacob Warren outran Anderson to win the 200 lap State Championship Super Late Model race at Lakeland's 3/4 mile monster, but in October Anderson put on a clinic coming from 18th to add to his win totals and bottom line. He outdid that performance in November by notching hissecond Florida Governors Cup victory coming from 22nd starting spot. He said with a grin while waiting to fire up the silver 84 machine before the race "I seem to dig holes for myself". At the conclusion of that race Anderson said "I tell you what, my dad was in this race today and he's won it twice and now I've won it twice and I think we've solidified the Anderson name on this Governor's Cup". The two attempts to make Busch races were perhaps the most challenging situations he found himself in all year. "We missed Charlotte (Lowe's) by a hair, just by a hair, seven one-hundredths", but then Atlanta was a different story. "We were way off at Atlanta, I still don't know what the deal was there. We were 12-14 mph off, I mean I don't know where it was", Anderson mused "I don't know what to tell you, you know, I left there very confused because I know I was wide open open all the way around there". I asked Anderson about the differences at the level of the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series, if the money involved made it harder. He explained "it's the knowledge, if you are not Cup affiliated they bring all that Cup stuff over it's not the same, it's pretty amazing". Anderson thought for a minute and then added, "I don't mind going and struggling, I go because sitting here is not going to make me better." When asked about the youngster Jay Middleton, (second to Anderson in the Sunbelt, and Florida Pro Champ) Anderson had nothing but praise "Everybody knows, if you you are just breaking into racing and you're going to race for a championship your best bet is to go to FPS and then go to Sunbelt." "The kid won the Florida Pro and ran second in the Sunbelt, I thought he did a stand up job". But the defining moment of the year 2003 for Wayne Anderson happened on about lap 115 of the Florida Governors Cup. At New Smyrna Speedway, a very fast high banked half-mile, things happen in a hurry, a big hurry when $5000 and the prestige of winning the biggest race of the year is on the line. Anderson had started in the 22nd spot and had moved up a bit in the field, had already pitted and was ready for a run to the finish of the 200 laps. At lap 116 or so Mario Gosselin bumped Mike Fritts as the cars came through turn 3, setting in motion a chain reaction of helter skelter race cars going low, going high, some slamming into the rear of other cars. The ensuing carnage took out many of the front runners, and somehow Wayne Anderson piloted his car through the eye of the storm, finding just enough room to squeeze between the outside wall and Fritts' 27 car and Copes's 61, smoke and fluids flying everywhere. A few laps later Anderson had the lead and cruised to his second Cup win. Anderson said a month later referring to it as the race move of the year, "me clearing that wreck at the Governor's Cup, how I made that I still don't know." "I thought I was going to hit just like I hit at Speedweeks in my dad's car", Anderson said. "When I went off in there and when I came out the other side I said you guys are not going to believe how close that was, I don't know how I made that." he concluded. After a few moments of silent reflection Wayne Anderson hit the nail on the head, "Let me tell you what that attributes to, 62 races is what that's about. When you are doing it week in and week out you're just sharp and you're on your game." In 2003, whether you are one of those fans that love him or love to hate him, Wayne Anderson was indeed "on his game". [Editor's Note: This weekend Wayne Anderson's Racing School is holding it's first seminar, a three day affair at Ocala Speedway, with Wayne, Lee Faulk and father Dick Anderson as the instructors. The seminar has drawn students from across the East Coast of the United States for hands on instruction and then on Sunday actual driving at the tough triangular speedway.] Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! <news@karnac.org>or send a letter to the editor!