{"id":89798,"date":"2023-09-28T19:18:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T19:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/19-year-old-cody-krohn-heads-for-top-fuel-with-hard-work-and-hustle\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T19:18:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T19:18:20","slug":"19-year-old-cody-krohn-heads-for-top-fuel-with-hard-work-and-hustle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/19-year-old-cody-krohn-heads-for-top-fuel-with-hard-work-and-hustle\/","title":{"rendered":"19-Year-Old Cody Krohn Heads for Top Fuel with Hard Work and Hustle"},"content":{"rendered":"

With veteran drag racer Rich Krohn as his father, it\u2019s no surprise that 19-year-old Cody Krohn is hungry to accelerate his own career. Now, Cody is going flat-out to make the most of every opportunity he\u2019s able to get his hands on in hopes of making it stick.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Editor\u2019s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #184, the State of Drag Issue, in September\/August of 2023.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Although he\u2019s not yet old enough to legally drink alcohol, Cody definitely knows how to handle an alcohol-fueled machine. From his start in the Jr. Dragster ranks to his most recent successes behind the wheel in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster, Cody has developed a keen sense of purpose and professionalism well beyond his years.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cRacing is all I\u2019ve wanted to do since I was a kid,\u201d shares Cody, who remembers traveling from his south Florida home to Bradenton Motorsports Park with his father when he was little. \u201cIt\u2019s great because it gives my dad a second chance to chase his passion again, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cody raced in the Jr. Dragster ranks until he was 14 years old and earned a season championship in 2012, but he and his father always wanted to build a front-engine dragster of their own. \u201cWe finished that in 2019, and my dad raced it at the National Hot Rod Reunion in 2020, then I raced it in 2021 and 2022,\u201d Cody shares of the big jump up in performance that he was able to experience. Incredibly, he earned the runner-up honors in Nostalgia Front Engine Dragster his first year out and took the outright win in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was during the unanticipated downtime stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdowns in 2020, however, that Cody was able to obtain a plethora of racing licenses at Frank Hawley\u2019s Drag Racing School. His father and Hawley had raced together many times during their 40-plus-year friendship, and Hawley was happy to take Cody under his wing for some careful coaching.<\/span><\/p>\n

In March of 2020, Cody obtained his NHRA Super Comp dragster license. \u201cI got my Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Nostalgia Top Fuel, and Nostalgia Funny Car licenses all within the next year,\u201d notes Cody, who give a \u201chuge thanks\u201d to his father for not only funding the classes for the then-16-year-old, but for pushing him to do them in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the one-on-one sessions with Hawley, Cody learns a lot about what to do \u2013 and what not to do \u2013 on track. \u201cMy dad always drove me to strive to be better, to find a way to improve, and Frank has the same concept. You can always focus harder, drive straighter, or do something better,\u201d says Cody, whose ambition extended into opening his own detailing and ceramic coating business, By Design Detailing, with which he is also a licensed\/certified Ceramic Pro installer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReviewing every run from multiple camera angles and discussing it in detail afterward with Frank really helped me learn,\u201d Cody adds. \u201cFrank has been so influential to me \u2013 not only from a licensing standpoint, but for everyone he has introduced me to and the connections I\u2019ve made through him. I\u2019m beyond thankful that he has helped get me into this world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When Cody decided to get his NHRA Top Fuel license, Hawley took him to the NHRA Finals in Pomona, California, where he introduced the talented teen to tons of the top drivers in the sport. Shaking hands and meeting his idols face-to-face was huge for Cody, but it was the introduction to Larry Dixon that was perhaps the most memorable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had the opportunity to use one of Larry\u2019s cars to license in,\u201d recalls Cody, who tested for \u2013 and obtained \u2013 his NHRA Top Fuel certification in February of 2023. \u201cI had Frank there mentoring me just like at his School\u2026 but I also had Larry Dixon helping me at the same time, and it was surreal to have two of the greatest drivers of all time teaching me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The entire experience was unlike anything Cody had ever experienced in all his years of racing. \u201cSitting in the water box, looking down the track, it was exciting and almost eerie \u2013 everything else washed away and I was focused on only that moment,\u201d he shares of the feeling just seconds before he was sling-shotted down the track. \u201cThe acceleration was crazy. Everything else I\u2019ve driven is done pulling by half-track, but the fuel cars get there and reach lockup and pull even harder!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hawley was pleased with Cody\u2019s performance and expects big things from his prot\u00e9g\u00e9. \u201cHe is a bright young kid and he\u2019s done really well every time,\u201d confirms the famed driver and owner\/namesake of Frank Hawley\u2019s Drag Racing School. \u201cCody has a lot of skill and he will fit nicely into the NHRA professional level of racing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cody fully recognizes what an incredible opportunity he has been given, thanks to his parents Rich and Luci\u2019s generous support of his dreams, and doesn\u2019t want to waste a single second of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many kids my age or in similar situations that never get this chance, so I almost can\u2019t believe it\u2019s happening to me. I\u2019m beyond blessed,\u201d confesses the intelligent and articulate young man. \u201cTo have all of these people on my side wanting to see me succeed, and for my parents to have helped every way they could, I have to use this opportunity to its fullest potential and make it worthwhile for everyone. Other people worked hard to get me here and I can\u2019t waste that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although he\u2019s already accumulated two runner-up finishes in the 2023 Lucas Oil Series with the Samsel\u2019s Racing team\u2019s A\/Fuel entry, the 19-year-old Top Fuel-licensed rookie is now eagerly anticipating his big debut at the highest level of drag racing, which will take place at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, on September 29-October 1.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ideally, Cody hopes to make driving in NHRA Top Fuel his full-time profession and to one day own a team of his own. He\u2019s fully committed to doing whatever it takes to make that dream a reality, and with the temptation of the end goal already being so close to coming to fruition, Cody is more motivated than ever before.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Krohn competing in Top Alcohol Dragster<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The post 19-Year-Old Cody Krohn Heads for Top Fuel with Hard Work and Hustle<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated | Drag Racing News, Opinion, Interviews, Photos, Videos and More<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With veteran drag racer Rich Krohn as his father, it\u2019s no surprise that 19-year-old Cody Krohn is hungry to accelerate his own career. Now, Cody is going flat-out to make the most of every opportunity he\u2019s able to get his hands on in hopes of making it stick. [Editor\u2019s Note: This story originally appeared in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}