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Cole Anderson swapping to dirt after Snowflake 100

Cole Anderson Racing

The Snowflake 100 appears to be the end of the line for Cole Anderson, at least when it comes to his pavement career.

Anderson has enjoyed a brief but successful career in asphalt Late Models, having won the Pro Late Model World Series of Asphalt Championship and Florida Governor’s Pro Late Model Cup at New Smyrna.

If you’re going to quit after the Snowflake 100, you might as well win it.

“I think it would be a surreal way to cap off our asphalt days,” Anderson said. “With this race being the biggest one all year, and our last race for the foreseeable future, that would be super special.”

Anderson doesn’t often win races on pure speed, but rather guile and circumstances. At the Governor’s Cup, the race went caution-free which worked to his advantage after a mechanical failure set him behind early in the race.

In the Snowflake 100, everyone is up against a Bubba Pollard car that hasn’t tasted defeat in over a year since he debuted it. Spencer Davis brought back the same car he finished second with in 2017 and 2016 winner Augie Grill always brings a competitive Pro Late Model to Five Flags Speedway.

“There are a couple guys who are going to be super tough and to beat them easily would take a mechanical failure on their part or a late-race caution where we can try to catch them sleeping,” Anderson said. “Some of these guys are so incredibly consistent it’s going to be tough, but I think it’s something we can do, especially if we can get a little bit more luck.”

READ MORE: Complete Snowball Derby coverage

Pensacola’s half-mile has been a source of success for Anderson in the past, but entering what he believes to be his final contest there has him wishing a few things went differently. Those races help to motivate him entering the weekend.

“We had one skip away in 2016 when we were leading one of the Southern Super Series races and there was a late-race caution with ten to go,” he explained. “We’ve been so close there, it’d be really nice to write my name into the history books.

“My outlook is like any other race in that we’re going to stay focused and do the best we can,” he continued. “This weekend is all about being mistake free and I think we’ve trained hard all year long and narrowed in on where we need to improve. I’m excited, after our last race our car was pretty good at the end, so it will be interesting to see where we stack up at the end of the night.”

Anderson bought a dirt modified in 2017 and that’s where he plans to turn his focus in 2019. He intends to run tracks near his Minnesota home, allowing him more time to spend with friends and family.

“We’ll see what happens, but I know for sure next year I’ll be focusing on dirt,” he said. “But if I’m on an off weekend and there’s a race presented to me, I would certainly consider it. It’s been a great ride, for sure, and I honestly can’t thank the ATF & Gunslinger guys enough for making this season a dream come true. It’s sad to see it end, especially with the results we’ve had this year.”

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Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

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