RPW Exclusive: Cody Higbie Continues To Carry On Family Legacy

Column By: JOE PHILLIPS / RPW – CENTER LISLE, NY – It was over half a century ago when the first Higbie family race car took to a race track, as Jerry Higbie Sr. was behind the wheel in 1960.

After a few years of driving, Jerry felt he was better at wrenching and thus became the car owner of the Red White and Blue Gremlin #97. Numerous drivers over the years including Bobby Bottcher have wheeled the car around the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York, as well as at the now defunct Nazareth Speedway located in Pennsylvania.

In later years, Jerry Higbie Jr. took over the driving duties. Higbie Jr started his driving career at the Orange County Fair Speedway. As he continued to develop, Higbie Jr. eventually added Friday nights at Accord to his schedule. Higbie developed into a veteran, and ended up winning three championships at OCFS, as well as several other races at both OCFS and Accord. Higbie also ran the MR. DIRT Series for 358’s and Big Blocks in the latter part of the 1990’s. The biggest win of Jerry Jr.’s career probably had to be the famed Eastern States 200 modified race at OCFS, which he was able to capture back in 2009.

In the early 2000’s, Jerry Jr. decided to open a fabrication shop, building Modified bodies. In 2011, the first Hig Fab chassis was built. Soon thereafter, the new Hig Fab cars were already winning races and becoming a popular alternative to the Bicknell chassis. While having the success with the fabrication shop, Jerry Jr. himself also continued to race all the way up until 2023.

Back 2018, the Higbie’s decided it was time to put Jerry Jr’s son Cody into a race car. Being a freshman in high school at the time, Cody was soon spending nights and weekends wrenching on his own race car. The team slowly built a sportsman car in the back of the shop for Cody, and he eventually made his debut in the rookie sportsman class at Accord the following year in 2019.

It was somewhat of an interesting choice, as Accord is a smaller track than the OCFS, which the family had found success at over the years. The theory behind the decision to run Accord was that Accord is a great track to learn car control and to get a feel around other competitors in a more compact space for Cody. Learning to handle the car is more of a priority over establishing horsepower in the early stages of a sportsman career, so it would be a perfect way for Higbie to learn the ropes. Cody was successful right off of the bat, as he took home four victories in the rookie sportsman class, and had already moved up to the regular sportsman class by years end.

2020 continued to be a learning experience, as Cody made his long awaited sportsman debut at Orange County Fair Speedway. While the COVID-19 pandemic abbreviated the racing season briefly, it also gave Cody the opportunity to dabble into a few 358 modified races at the nearby Thunder Mountain Speedway in Center Lisle, New York.

In 2021 and 22’, Cody continued to race consistently in the DIRTcar Sportsman divisions at both Accord and Middletown. 2022 proved to be significant for Cody, as this was the year that he was able to claim his first DIRTcar Sportsman track championship at Middletown. Soon after winning that track title, Cody graduated from high school and became an engineering student at college. College schedules nowadays allow generous summer breaks, so the team still had the opportunity to race.

2023 saw Cody back in a sportsman to begin the year, but midway through the season the team made the leap up to the modified division for the first time.

2024 was a year of change for the team. The biggest change came when Middletown decided to discontinue weekly racing action, and transition to the “Big Series” type format. This new format meant that only a limited schedule of Sunday races was to be contested on the Hard Clay instead of the traditional weekly schedule the team had been accustomed to.

With this change, many Middletown drivers had to find a new home for Saturday nights. This led the Higbie team to steer the hauler north, to the aforementioned Thunder Mountain Speedway. Cody quickly took a liking to his new home, picking up a feature win, and coming home second in points by the year’s end. Meanwhile at Accord, Cody was also able to win three races.

2025 saw the Higbie’s continue to participate weekly at both Accord and Thunder Mountain. Cody finished 6th in points at Thunder in the modified division. Most of the features at Thunder resulted in the #97 consistently running inside the Top 10, as he tallied 11 Top 10’s in 13 features he started this past season.

One highlight of 2025 came at the “King of the Catskills” event at Accord in August. Cody posted a strong runner-up finish after battling for the win with Danny Tyler.

Later on in the year, another huge accomplishment was obtained. Higbie won arguably the biggest race of his young career in October at Afton Motorsports Park, as the #97 was able to bring home the checkered flag in the Short Track Super Series Short Track Supernationals 16, known to many as the “Working Man’s Race”.

One last highlight of the year was when Cody had the opportunity to hop behind the wheel of CRSA 305 sprint car at Thunder Mountain. CRSA competitor Scott Landers and the Binghamton Tire team offered Cody a chance to try out their back-up car. Cody said that he had a blast and would certainly jump on another opportunity to pilot a sprint car if given the opportunity.

In 2026, the Higbie team remains committed to both Accord and Thunder Mountain weekly. The team enjoys competing at both facilities and looks to continue their upward trajectory. A few competitors at Thunder have been trying out Hig Fab chassis, and all of those drivers know that if they have a question, they can walk across the pit and seek out Jerry Jr. for assistance.

On any given race night, Jerry Jr holds residence in the hauler, answering questions and providing feedback to those drivers, while wrenching on Cody’s car. Cody is generally found in the hauler, working on the race car, in the constant search for speed. The man who started it all, Grandpa Jerry Sr. can also be seen wheeling the hauler and sitting in the grandstands continuing to root for the families iconic #97 machine.

In 2026, be on the lookout for the red, white, and blue #97 HigFab car to continue rippin’ the lip on track. Cody is sure to have a successful driving career, and will continue to carry on the Higbie family legacy well on into the future.

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Cody wishes to thank Handsome Devil BBQ, America1 Construction, Beaverkill Trout Hatchery, Bear and Gang, TAM Enterprises, Mr. Race Oil, and Dig Race Products for all the help and support. “I can’t do it without everyone, my whole crew, team and family who continue to support me each week.“