COPPER HILL, VA :: Anthony Anders is excited about racing in the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona on February 18th. Anders, who competes at Myrtle Beach and Greenville-Pickens, is the reigning NASCAR Whelen All American Series South Carolina State Champion having scored six wins and 23 top-five finishes during the season.
Anders is taking both a Late Model Stock and a straight-rail car down.
“If they start going crazy with the rules between straight rails and late models, I want to be prepared for both,” Anders stated. “I have a straight rail, just in case. My Greenville car is also going down. We do well with that car and that track’s going to be similar to Greenville.”
Anders will be heading to Daytona for the first time to compete in the race, being held on a temporary course that will be set up on the Daytona Superstretch.
“Just to be part of that thing and get on that track is going to be awesome,” Anders explained. “The thing with racing is, there’s talent to it but it’s about money to tango with those big guys. People don’t have money these days so, to be on the low income and to enjoy these things is great. Overall, they’re looking at putting short tracks together on that track so they can go back to where NASCAR started. It’s just a different race. I’m excited because I’ve never been, it’s something new. I hope we can get down there and have a good race. I think we’ll run well.”
Despite winning the South Carolina State Championship last year, Anders did not finish the season on a high note. He’s hoping to get his program back on track this year after brining in new employees to help improve his racing program.
“We raced 55 races last year,” Anders said. “We noticed something was going south because, three races before the end of the season, I was leading the race and we ended up falling back to 10th. I gave that car to my son and he’s going to run a Late Model Stock. At the last minute, we threw something in the Ford we had and didn’t run well. This year’s program, I don’t even know if we’re even going to be in the Myrtle Beach 400. We plan on racing at Greenville, Kingsport and Myrtle Beach this year.
“We’ve got someone working with us in the house that, I’ve got full time employees that work for my racing side. We hired a guy that’s going to help us and I’m really excited about that. He brought stuff to the table we didn’t really know anything about. He’s going to bring a lot to our program.”
Anders believes the straight-rail cars will have an advantage at Daytona and isn’t sure if NASCAR will be able to level the playing field but he feels NASCAR will make an effort.
“I’m not really sure how this thing’s going to play out,” Anders explained. “It depends on how well we’ll be handicapped by NASCAR with Lynn Carroll and the options between Late Model and straight rail cars. It is obvious the straight rails will have more of an advantage. They’re making us weigh 2800 pounds; they’re making straight rails add same weight as LMSC. They’re stacking lead in the center-right whereas the Late Model lead will be stacked on the center-left.
“The only advantage I see the straight rails having is that they don’t have as much weight on top. I think the straight rails will be the cars to beat but I don’t think it will be a dominant situation. Lynn Carroll said he’ll make it fair. You’ve got to be prepared for it. If you’ve got to add that weight to make sure the straight rails don’t have as much of an advantage, I just want to be prepared.”
Anthony Anders’ Daytona effort will be sponsored by Anders, Inc, Busy Beaver Tree Service, Outback Steakhouse and Ortec Racecars.
RACE22.com will continue to provide coverage leading up to the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona, which will be run on February 18th, with driver interviews and preview stories. So, stick with RACE22.com, the Short Track Authority, as we continue to countdown to Daytona.
