Anderson's NASCAR trek slides into dirt detour

But for the second year in a row, the teenage racing phenom's teacher will be dirt. That's why the Forest Acres native's green and white No. 19 car is making a charge in the National Dirt Racing Association's Dirt Late Model Series this season. Since age 10, Anderson's work ethic has been the only thing faster than his tires, as he races to make his dream of becoming a NASCAR driver a reality.

What caught Wheeler's imagination about Anderson's potential stemmed from winning back-to-back Summer Shootout Pro Division Championships in a Legends car at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2007 and 2008. That's why in March 2009, Anderson signed a lifetime endorsement contract with The Wheeler Company. Most anyone who has seen Anderson behind the wheel can guess NASCAR's Nationwide and Sprint Cup series cannot be waiting too many years down the road.

So why the detour onto dirt tracks? And how long until he's back burning up the asphalt? "I suspect this will be his last year on dirt," Wheeler said. "He's ready to move up to NASCAR East division probably next year. But this dirt's going to help him so much down the road. "It's kind of like eating barbed wire right now. He's just gotta do it."

The theory is that learning how to control his car on the ever-shifting dynamics of a dirt track will pay off years from now on the hot, sticky asphalt of NASCAR's summertime speedways. Anderson, who turns 19 in April, started the season last weekend at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, N.C., finishing fourth after qualifying fifth in the 31-car field.

Wheeler suggested switching to dirt tracks, knowing the dividends in store for Anderson. "That's about as rough and tumble a form of motorsports as there is," Wheeler said. "As a matter of fact, it is the toughest. And he got through it." Also, Wheeler knows Anderson will have history on his side.

"This is one of the things that made David Pearson such a great, tough driver, particularly in the summertime," Wheeler said. "He was brought up on dirt, and he was so good when the track got slick. Maybe the first 400 miles you wouldn't know where he was. But that last 100 miles he'd pop up and next thing you know he'd take the lead. Because he knew what to do when that track got slick."

But Anderson's career trajectory has always been about more than putting the pedal to the metal. He has demonstrated an MBA's business savvy, negotiating sponsorships to help shoulder the financial burden of buying equipment and traveling state to state.

To listen to Anderson describe his dirt track journey is to hear a confident young man on a mission. Once he has your attention, his voice revs faster and faster as he laps one topic after another:

"It's been a learning experience for sure in that I've had the opportunity to really pick up a lot of car control with the dirt car," Anderson begins.

"Because one thing you don't really learn in asphalt is sliding the car sideways. You see a lot of NASCAR guys do it nowadays when they go to tracks like Atlanta, Daytona, some of these older tracks on the NASCAR circuit - especially in the summer. I know one of the announcers, Darryl Waltrip, mentioned it about Tony Stewart the other day. The reason Tony Stewart does so well in summers is because the tracks get hot and greasy and the drivers really have to drive the car on the edge.

"And that's one thing that dirt racing has done for me. It's added a lot of variables to go along with the driving. It's helped me to pick up the car control, the way I drive the car, the way I work the throttle. The way that a dirt track changes! I mean, you qualify and it has a lot of moisture in it. And between the qualifying and the race it may dry up and you'll have to run the high line versus the bottom. Things like that.

"But it goes further than just the driving aspect. I mean, it's the culture of dirt racing. These fans are passionate! On a Friday night at the track in Gastonia we race at the Carolina Speedway, we'll have somewhere between three and five thousand fans come out for a weekly show. And these fans have their favorite drivers they follow. And everybody has really come to know me as 'The Kid From Forest Acres.' Last year, because the city of Forest Acres' colors are green and white, we painted the car that way. We've done a lot of promoting of handing out cards with 'Jordan Anderson' and the picture of the car and the Forest Acres logo on there.

"But it's been a great opportunity for me. Look at where I am today. By racing on dirt, it's really brought be to the next level as a driver and a person. It's a key step on my way to NASCAR one day."

Got that?

And that's how Anderson keeps his career trajectory in overdrive. During the week, he is a freshman studying for a business degree with a concentration in motorsports management offered at Belmont Abbey College. Make that, a freshman who has recruited three fellow students to be marketing interns to do research and write press releases for his Jordan Anderson Racing enterprise.

The exchange is a two-way street. He offers students real-world experience. He gets people invested in helping him reach his destination.

"They'll be one of the key elements to why Jordan Anderson made it to NASCAR," Anderson said. He also makes his message clear as to where he believes his racing success flows from.

"I've really been blessed with a passion and with a talent and opportunities to pursue my racing career," Anderson said. "I believe Christ has given me everything I have, and in return I just want to glorify him and put him first. When I get out of the race car, I always make sure to put Christ first. Racing is an up-and-down sport. For me to have the perseverance to make it through that, that only comes from God."

So how does a sparkling young driver with the charisma to wow fans, sponsors and mentors maintain such a wholesome image - heck, he's never gotten a speeding ticket - yet get down and dirty in a heated race?

"He's got this off-and-on switch," Wheeler said. "When he's out of the race car, he's about too good to be true. He is a Tim Tebow. But when the flag drops, that other switch comes on and he is just vicious. He turns into something completely else." Anderson drove a partial schedule last season. With it came the usual hard knocks and struggles - until the final race of the season in October, when he started from the pole and won.

Wheeler knows dirt will bring out the best in his clean-cut young star. Even if it takes getting down and dirty.

"The dirt thing I knew last year would be a learning curve for him. I think he's gonna get knocked around a lot, thrashed about. And I knew he probably wouldn't have one of those seasons like he'd been having, where he was gonna win 20 races or something," Wheeler said. "But I think this year he will. I think he will have a very prolific year this year because he was a quick learner and he toward the end of last season was staying up there with all of 'em."

What Wheeler does not have to teach Anderson is urgency. "He just absolutely gets . . . vicious. And that's what it takes to win today. He does not mind putting a fender to a guy. He doesn't mind going down into a corner as deep as you can go. He doesn't mind coming right there within a whisker of crashing to make the car go fast. "I'm not saying there haven't been drivers like him before. There certainly has. Harry Gant is one that comes to mind, who is a real gentleman. Ned Jarrett, people like that. They were gentlemen off the track. But when the flag dropped they just became something else. Kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Much of Anderson's help this season is expected to stem from a new partnership with the Dirt Track Racing School, which maintains an office in Charlotte but offers classes out of Carolina Speedway. Anderson's deal includes track-side support and preparation from Tim Allen, a two-time champion on the Super-Late Model series dirt track. "If people see Anderson going in this direction, that gives us a lot of credibility," Parker said.

Among the 30-35 dirt races Anderson plans to run this year, Wheeler is anticipating at least one asphalt diversion. That would be to see Anderson going back into a Legends car for the Legends Million race (as in $1 million purse) at Lowe's Motor Speedway in July.

"He's definitely the best Legends driver I've ever seen, and we've got 5,000 people racing those cars," Wheeler said. For Anderson, this period of his racing education boils down to being grateful for all the help that comes his way. "For people to take time out of their schedules, to take the effort to give me wisdom and advice, I couldn't even put a price on it." And Wheeler gets satisfaction knowing that the road to Anderson's success started in the Palmetto State. "Having roots in South Carolina like I do, it's going to be very refreshing some day to see a top Cup driver be from South Carolina like we've had with Cale Yarborough and David Pearson," he said. "He's the best chance we've got by far."

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MEET JORDAN ANDERSON

CAR NO.: 19

BORN: April 15, 1991

HOMETOWN: Forest Acres

EDUCATION: Freshman at Belmont Abbey College, studying for business degree with concentration in motorsports management

EARLY RACING: Go-Karts at age 10 in 2001

KEY WINS: First to win back-to-back Legends Summer Shootout Pro Division Championships (2007, 2008) at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

SPONSORS/PARTNERS: Includes city of Forest Acres, Dick Dyer Toyota, The Wheeler Company, Dirt Track Racing School

ANDERSON SAYS: "Racing is an up-and-down sport. For me to have the perseverance to make it through that, that only comes from God."

HUMPY WHEELER SAYS: "He's got the potential of moving up as fast as a Joey Logano or a Kyle Busch."