News Director 
Column By: MICHELINA FRISS / DIRTCAR – FULTON, NY – After having a season that most competitors could only dream of, Cody McPherson is far from over.
The St. Catharines, ON driver enters the second half of the season as the DIRTcar Sportsman Series West Region champion with three wins in four starts.
His 2023 success comes on top of scoring the 2022 DIRTcar Sportsman Series title, Hoosier Tire Weekly championship and the coveted Super DIRT Week Chevrolet Performance 75 title. As he continues to rack up wins and titles, his desire for more only grows.
“Every time I go into the pits, I just want to win,” McPherson said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a big show, little show, whatever, I just want to win.”
Even though the wins have kept coming for the seasoned driver, it has not come without its challenges. After capturing wins at Ransomville Speedway, Merrittville Speedway, and Humberstone Speedway, he traveled to Land of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua, NY on July 19, a track he had not competed on in close to 10 years.
“We have really good competition in the West Region,” McPherson said. “Especially with Canandaigua, being a combined show (with two Regions), you have a lot of good guys that will follow the Championship tour. I hadn’t been there for 10 years… We did Hot Laps and Time Trials and I didn’t really have a notebook to go off of because it had been so long. We were behind the eight ball to start. We played catch up all night there. So, Canandaigua was probably the most difficult part of the tour.”
McPherson ended the night with a fifth-place finish, still awarding him more than enough points to secure the West Region title.
Looking forward, McPherson is now focused on channeling his energy towards his next goal: defending his Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly title. Capturing the title once more would have special significance to him because of what it would represent about his season as a whole.
“It takes everyone that’s in DIRTcar and combines them,” McPherson said. “Not everyone runs the Series, but everyone that races at a DIRTcar track gets these points. Out of all those DIRTcar Sportsman guys, you had the best average finish. It would be special because it just means you had a really good year.”
He’ll use the remaining shows to keep himself on top of his game as the DIRTcar Sportsman Series season marches on to the end of the year, especially as the most prestigious events such as Super DIRT Week 51 at Oswego Speedway, Oct. 2-8, come to the forefront of everyone’s priority list.
McPherson will be in attendance once again to defend his title in the Super DIRT Week Chevrolet Performance 75. In preparation for the event, the veteran driver remains consistent in his approach, choosing to not change a formula that has proven trustworthy throughout his career.
“I do the same thing at every race track I go to,” McPherson said. “You have so many good cars that show up there. It’s easier said than done. We’ll definitely try our best to repeat and see what happens.”
The DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series kicks off at the second annual SummerFAST with back-to-back nights of racing starting at Fulton Speedway on Tuesday, Aug. 15, followed by Land of Legends Raceway on Wednesday, Aug. 16.
Full Championship Series Schedule
- Tuesday, Aug. 15 / Fulton Speedway / SummerFAST
- Wednesday, Aug. 16 / Land of Legends Raceway / SummerFAST
- Sunday, Aug. 20 / Glen Ridge Motorsports Park
- Tuesday, Aug. 22 / Ransomville Speedway / Summer Nationals
- Friday, Sept. 8 / Can-Am Speedway / John Burr Memorial-Showdown in September
- Saturday, Sept. 9 / Weedsport Speedway / Sportsman Classic
- Friday, Sept. 22 / Albany-Saratoga Speedway / Malta Massive Weekend
- Friday-Saturday, Sept. 29-30 / Fulton Speedway / Outlaw Weekend
- Wednesday, Oct. 4 / Brewerton Speedway / Hurricane Harvey 75
- Sunday, Oct. 8 / Oswego Speedway / Super DIRT Week 51
- Saturday, Oct. 14 / Brockville Ontario Speedway / Fall Nationals
- Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 26-28 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / World Short Track Championship
