After having run on and off with the NMRA since 2001, when life changes forced the tightening of the purse strings for NMRA Richmond Gear Factory Stock regular Mark Anderson, he feared he would have to hang up his racing gloves. However, some truly amazing friends stepped in and restored his faith in the future.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Anderson’s father, Ron Anderson, ran his Anderson Performance business where he built racing engines and was one of the first premier cylinder head porting and engine dyno facilities in the United States. Anderson was both an NMRA and NHRA world champion, and taught his son everything about drag racing from the time Mark was just 7 years old. As fate should have it, NMRA G-Force Transmissions Coyote Stock contender Chad Stephens’s father, Greg Stephens, was a regular customer at Anderson and the families established a friendship that has since spanned the decades.
Over the off-season winter of 2021-2022, however, Mark was chatting with his close friend and fellow NMRA racer, Jacob Lamb. “I told him I was going to sell my car, and he reached out to Chad Stephens with an idea,” explained Mark of how Jacob facilitated an incredibly generous deal in which the “Dirty Bird” Stephens family purchased Mark’s 1986 Ford Mustang and added a new fowl to the flock.
“I have always admired Chad’s commitment to his program and the commitment he has to win. He goes there to be 100% serious about the task at hand. He’s a ‘real racer’ as my dad always talks about,” Mark shared. “The tenacity that the Stephens boys bring, with a lot of experience I can add to the team, is a great combination.”
“In 2022, we went to the semi-finals in St. Louis, then won the rained-out Michigan make-up race at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the Bowling Green race itself,” said the man proudly. It was during that season finale event at Beech Bend Raceway Park that Mark also ran the first-ever 9-second pass in the history of NMRA Richmond Gear Factory Stock competition when he went 9.919 at 133.12 mph for the win over Mike Bowen. “I got a 200-pound lead trophy after that run, but I didn’t want to sandbag and decided to go for it. I’ll figure out how to overcome that weight next year.”
Such an impressive performance from a naturally aspirated, 4.6-liter 2-valve Ford powerplant (the only one in the class) with a Todd Warren custom camshaft certainly raised more than a few eyebrows, but Mark attributes it to good ol’ fashioned hard work.
“In the past, I never really had the opportunity to go testing or refine the combination,” explained the Illinois resident’s hesitance to break parts at the expense of not being able to go racing. The Stephens’s support, though, has been a huge game-changer. “We spent countless hours on the dyno with Matt Bell at Redline Motorsports sorting things out, and went and tested no less than 12 weekends. Chad, Greg, and Damien [Stephens] gave me the freedom to do what I needed to with my knowledge and it made this car incredibly competitive – and I can’t thank them enough for that.”
Over the years and mostly due to his commitments to family and finances, Mark has never been able to attend more than four events in a single season and his points totals had suffered as a result. Now, thanks to the Stephens family’s tremendous generosity as well as their sponsors including Securiix, Pipeline Repair Services, Watertap Inc, and CS High Performance Pipeline Products, Mark will finally be able to move forward with his first serious attempt at chasing a championship title.
To prepare for his 2023 NMRA Richmond Gear Factory Stock season, Mark has enlisted Adam Cox to completely strip and rewire the Holley EFI system on board his Mustang, which also features a Chromoly roll cage from Andy Smith at Pro Tree Race Cars. Additionally, Adam changed out the fuel lines and refined many other aspects of the Ford that were needing attention such as new gauges, switch panels, and driver accoutrements.
Mark has been fortunate over the years to amass a great group of friends, including the Stephens men, who have helped him continue to race even when it seemed like the odds were against him. Jacob has been there for years and has pitched in with tons of upgrades on the car, while Mark’s crew chief, Chad Kolakowski and his girlfriend Nicki Edens, gets the car to the track with his truck and trailer, Ryan Hecox has helped a ton with clutch and suspension ideas, and Jon Carls of JDC Engineering handles the engine machine work.
Although Mark has raced alongside his MV Performance team including Jacob, Adam, Tim Matherly, Jason Sloan, Charlie McCulloch, and Billy Fint for a decade and their help has been invaluable, Mark is excited to now also be a member of the “Dirty Bird” team with Chad, Damien, and Greg Stephens taking him under their proverbial wings.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Anderson’s father, Ron Anderson, ran his Anderson Performance business where he built racing engines and was one of the first premier cylinder head porting and engine dyno facilities in the United States. Anderson was both an NMRA and NHRA world champion, and taught his son everything about drag racing from the time Mark was just 7 years old. As fate should have it, NMRA G-Force Transmissions Coyote Stock contender Chad Stephens’s father, Greg Stephens, was a regular customer at Anderson and the families established a friendship that has since spanned the decades.
Over the off-season winter of 2021-2022, however, Mark was chatting with his close friend and fellow NMRA racer, Jacob Lamb. “I told him I was going to sell my car, and he reached out to Chad Stephens with an idea,” explained Mark of how Jacob facilitated an incredibly generous deal in which the “Dirty Bird” Stephens family purchased Mark’s 1986 Ford Mustang and added a new fowl to the flock.
“I have always admired Chad’s commitment to his program and the commitment he has to win. He goes there to be 100% serious about the task at hand. He’s a ‘real racer’ as my dad always talks about,” Mark shared. “The tenacity that the Stephens boys bring, with a lot of experience I can add to the team, is a great combination.”
“In 2022, we went to the semi-finals in St. Louis, then won the rained-out Michigan make-up race at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the Bowling Green race itself,” said the man proudly. It was during that season finale event at Beech Bend Raceway Park that Mark also ran the first-ever 9-second pass in the history of NMRA Richmond Gear Factory Stock competition when he went 9.919 at 133.12 mph for the win over Mike Bowen. “I got a 200-pound lead trophy after that run, but I didn’t want to sandbag and decided to go for it. I’ll figure out how to overcome that weight next year.”
Such an impressive performance from a naturally aspirated, 4.6-liter 2-valve Ford powerplant (the only one in the class) with a Todd Warren custom camshaft certainly raised more than a few eyebrows, but Mark attributes it to good ol’ fashioned hard work.
“In the past, I never really had the opportunity to go testing or refine the combination,” explained the Illinois resident’s hesitance to break parts at the expense of not being able to go racing. The Stephens’s support, though, has been a huge game-changer. “We spent countless hours on the dyno with Matt Bell at Redline Motorsports sorting things out, and went and tested no less than 12 weekends. Chad, Greg, and Damien [Stephens] gave me the freedom to do what I needed to with my knowledge and it made this car incredibly competitive – and I can’t thank them enough for that.”
Over the years and mostly due to his commitments to family and finances, Mark has never been able to attend more than four events in a single season and his points totals had suffered as a result. Now, thanks to the Stephens family’s tremendous generosity as well as their sponsors including Securiix, Pipeline Repair Services, Watertap Inc, and CS High Performance Pipeline Products, Mark will finally be able to move forward with his first serious attempt at chasing a championship title.
To prepare for his 2023 NMRA Richmond Gear Factory Stock season, Mark has enlisted Adam Cox to completely strip and rewire the Holley EFI system on board his Mustang, which also features a Chromoly roll cage from Andy Smith at Pro Tree Race Cars. Additionally, Adam changed out the fuel lines and refined many other aspects of the Ford that were needing attention such as new gauges, switch panels, and driver accoutrements.
Mark has been fortunate over the years to amass a great group of friends, including the Stephens men, who have helped him continue to race even when it seemed like the odds were against him. Jacob has been there for years and has pitched in with tons of upgrades on the car, while Mark’s crew chief, Chad Kolakowski and his girlfriend Nicki Edens, gets the car to the track with his truck and trailer, Ryan Hecox has helped a ton with clutch and suspension ideas, and Jon Carls of JDC Engineering handles the engine machine work.
Although Mark has raced alongside his MV Performance team including Jacob, Adam, Tim Matherly, Jason Sloan, Charlie McCulloch, and Billy Fint for a decade and their help has been invaluable, Mark is excited to now also be a member of the “Dirty Bird” team with Chad, Damien, and Greg Stephens taking him under their proverbial wings.