GOSHEN — Rocky Anderson has been a race enthusiast for as long as he can remember.
Born in Virginia to Bill and Betty Anderson, Rocky, 65 landed in Goshen as a youngster and has been here ever since as a lover of the roar.
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Bill Anderson, who died in 2025 at 86, enjoyed racing of all kinds and passed down that trait to his only child.
While neither he nor his father ever got behind the wheel, Rocky went to watch at Bristol (Tenn.) Speedway and later saw late models zip around at New Paris Speedway. He got into sprint cars in the 1980’s and began going with his parents to places like Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
“I just like the speed, excitement of it and the sound and power of the motors,” Anderson said. “We grew up with late models in NASCAR.
“I still work for NASCAR in the ARCA division (the developmental feeder series for higher levels of racing) and do a lot of races as an official.”
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Anderson, who works about 12 to 15 events a year, has been the flagman at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.
In recent years, Anderson has favored winged sprint cars. About eight years ago, he became a race team owner.
What does his role entail?
“I’m there to help if they need it,” Anderson said. “Sometimes we’re short on crew and I can help push the car around, fuel it or change some of the parts.
“But I’m not a full-fledged mechanic. There’s a lot to learn to get to that. (Sprint cars) are different from a lot of other race cars. They’re very complicated. Technology is constantly being updated.”
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“I enjoy it. I learn every night I go.”
The 1979 Goshen High School graduate went to trade school and earned an automotive degree.
“Not one thing that I learned then would work on a car today,” Anderson said.
Randerson Racing has two drivers in 2026 — Danny Sams III of North Point, Fla., and Zane DeVault of Plymouth, Ind.
Last weekend, Anderson had two cars competing — Sams in the No. 24 410 car at Thunderbowl Raceway in Calif., and DeVault in the No. 14 360 machine at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich.
DeVault came in second in the “A” Feature at Butler Motor Speedway in Quincy, Mich. Through that weekend, his 2026 feature wins have come at Crystal (Mich.) Motor Speedway in April, Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind., in May, I-96 Speedway in July and August and Silver Bullet Speedway in Owendale, Mich., in August. Sams won the “A” feature at Butler Speedway in May.
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The team tends to go to races with two cars — a main and a backup — and extra motors.
Anderson said a built-new motor can cost around $80,000 with a new car costing around $60,000 for a total of about $140,000.
“That’s the nice stuff,” Anderson said. “You can buy a $25,000 motor and a used frame.
“If you’re going to run in the top series with the top guys, you’re going to have to have every little thing there is to get speed because the cars are all so close. You can’t compete if you don’t have everything they’ve got.
“It just depends on what level of racing you want to be in.”
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Anderson said 410’s usually pay $5,000 to $7,500 to win the feature race and 360’s $2,500 to $5,000 with other teams getting something that will help cover expenses.
“A lot of times you’ll get enough to pay for your pit passes and maybe your fuel (methanol) or a new tire,” Anderson said. “It’s really hard to make money.
“If you can minimize your losses, you’re doing good.”
Racing at speeds of 150 mph on the straightaways and averaging 100 to 120 mph on some of the larger tracks, a 410 sprint car can really hum.
Power is high and weight is low.
A small open-wheel dirt-track racer built around a 410-cubic-inch engine V8 (about 6.7 liters) and a light tube-frame chassis.
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The 360 sprints run small-block V8s, but with larger displacement (often up to 363.6 CID), higher-end internals, and dry-sump oiling.
Sprint cars can be wingless or — like Anderson’s cars — have wings.
“(Wings) give you much more speed in the corner,” Anderson said. “The air pushes the car down on the side and you can go through the corner so much faster.
“Even down the straight, you can put pressure on the front end or the rear end to push it to the ground and hold it.
“(Non-winged sprints) are very fast, too. They just can’t get the speed of a car with a wing.”
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As a racing maven, does Anderson have a favorite driver?
“When you know them all, you kind of like them all,” Anderson said. “Sometimes you pull for someone that needs a win more than the other guy that’s been winning.
“That’s just the nature of a fan.”
The racing season tends to run from March to October, though there are also opportunities to compete during the other months.
“If you want to find races, you can run a little earlier and go a little farther and spend the money,” Anderson said. “The really big guys will go to Australia in December and January and run over there.”
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During the time away from the track, Randerson Racing works on design, building a new car or two for the next season and gathering sponsors.
“It used to be that you had a real off-season,” Anderson said. “Any more, there is not much of an off-season.
“You just slow it down a little and we can use that, too.”
Rocky is part owner of RV industry supplier Global Link Distribution in Elkhart. Between that, visiting auto shops in Elkhart and Howe and traveling to races, it’s about an 80-hour week.
And all for the love of speed.
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