Nick Anderson
Adamsville, Alabama
This month's Young Racers Club winner comes to us from the great state of Alabama. Nick Anderson has been racing since he was 16. He started off running the Four-Cylinder division at Sayre Speedway, a 1/4-mile asphalt track about 15 miles outside of Birmingham. He won a race in his first year of racing and quickly moved up to the Pure Street class, where he notched five victories over the next two seasons.
He then made the move to the Limited Modified division. It turned out to be a smart move. After winning six out of eight races this season, Anderson was crowned the 2006 Track Champion at Sayre Speedway. He has also found success at Birmingham International Raceway, the much bigger 5/8-mile asphalt track just up the road.
Anderson got exposed to racing thanks to his dad, a racer at Sayre. But when Anderson got a job in Barry Martin's machine shop, the racing bug took hold. He worked his way up in the shop and eventually could do most of the work on heads and blocks by himself. Anderson started racing while working for Martin.
While Anderson's dad no longer races, he does help his son. But Anderson helps himself, too. The 20-year-old goes to college (he sold a '70 Chevelle to pay for it) and works at the local hospital repairing medical equipment to help support his racing habit.
Future plans include a title defense at Sayre to gain more seat time in the open-wheeled Modifieds. But he also has a 400 block, which he is thinking about turning into a 377 for the Dixie Modified class. A $250 gift certificate from Comp Cams will, no doubt, help Anderson finish that build. He is eager to make the jump because the Dixie Modifieds run a rules package similar to that of many area speedways, such as Huntsville and Mobile.
Nick Anderson is a true racer and loves building motors and racing his Modified: "That thing is a blast to drive. I'd probably drive it to work if I could."
Brandon "Froggman" Ennis
Raleigh, North Carolina
February's Young Racers Club winner comes to us from Raleigh, North Carolina. Brandon "Froggman" Ennis races Limited Late Models at Wake County Speedway. The 20-year-old finished up his season at the 1/4-mile asphalt track with one win, nine Second-Place finishes, a Fourth-Place points finish, and the Most Popular Driver Award. But he won't be content until he captures that track championship, his goal for 2007.
Froggman started racing go-karts nine years ago, but has been concentrating on the Late Models for the past four years. He's also planning on running some Super Late Model races next season to gain more experience. His racing hero is his dad, who quit racing so that Brandon could get behind the wheel. Froggman has his eye on the Craftsman Truck Series, but is taking it one season at a time right now.
If you're wondering how he got that nickname, it happened when he could barely walk. He was sitting on the floor of his dad's garage when a family friend said, "He looks like a frog. I'm gonna call him Froggman." It stuck.
A $250 gift certificate from Racing Head Service (RHS) will go a long way for Froggman. He broke a valve in the last race of the season and damaged the head. Look at it this way Brandon-now you can get a new one courtesy of RHS!
Sadie Klein
Muskegon, Michigan
This month's YRC winner, Sadie Klein, races in the Bomber Division at both Winston Motor Speedway and Thunderbird Race Park in western Michigan. Both tracks are challenging 3/8-mile clay ovals, and Sadie has already posted feature wins at each track this year despite being in only her first season in a V-8-powered car.
When she was only 7 years old, Sadie started racing go-karts at Ravenna Motor Park, which is an asphalt road course. The next year, she tried her hand at dirt ovals, racing at Manistee Kart Park, Thunder Speedway, and Stateline Speedway. Even though she never raced a full season of karts, she managed to be the runner-up for a championship before age 12.
When Sadie turned 12, her dad (Frank Klein) was still racing a Michigan Modified. Frank gave his daughter the option to move to fullsize race cars, and since then has given up the wheel to focus on Sadie's racing. They ran a four-cylinder car in the Young Guns division for two years and racked up a Fourth and a Second in the overall championship standings. The next year, the team moved up to the Mini Stock division and won five features, finishing the season Second in the final points tally.
Now that she's running the V-8 Bomber, Sadie has her eye on a track championship. As of this writing, she is sitting Third in points at Winston Motor Speedway. For 2007, the team hopes to race on the asphalt at Berlin Raceway. As this month's YRC winner, Sadie will receive a $250 product certificate from Day Motorsports. That prize should come in handy as this team continues to move up through the ranks.