Before Cody Lane was in kindergarten, he knew he wanted to be a race car driver.
His dad bought him a Big Wheel when he was 3, and he raced it around his neighborhood. By the time he was 4, he won his first race in a go-kart.
“I think with the winnings, I bought my mom and dad dinner,” Lane said. “And I went to Toys R Us and got myself a Slip and Slide.”
Now 19 years old, Lane has made it to NASCAR. He’ll race in the Fall Kroger 200 in Martinsville on Halloween in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Many drivers will be older than him – most likely old enough to be his father or grandfather.
Cody Lane will race this truck in the Fall Kroger 200 in Martinsville on Halloween in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. (Amy Mariani, Staff)
“It’s an honor to race against the older guys because you get to learn from them and learn what they’ve learned over the years,” he said.
It wasn’t an easy road to get to NASCAR, or cheap. Between fees, tires and repairs, each race can cost the family up to $50,000. Lane works in his parent’s upholstery shop on U.S. 19 and raises money for his racing team.
It’s a family effort to help Lane stay on track – and his mother couldn’t be more proud of what her son has accomplished.
“He works all day here at our upholstery shop and then will stay up all night to get that car together to go the race,” his mother Jackie Lane said. “He always devoted his whole entire life to racing.”
Lane couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
“I’ve been doing this for 15 years, I can’t really stop now,” he said. “I’d love to keep going and racing until I’m 90 years old.”