By ERIC PETERSONThe Forum
FARGO, N.D. − Cody Skytland appeared calm on the outside, but the adrenaline had yet to leave his system.
His hand started shaking as he signed an autograph in the pits after Wednesday night's races at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo.
Earlier in the evening, Skytland had cruised to victory in the late model feature, beating a 24-car field that included Tony Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.
“This for sure is going to be the biggest one forever,'' said Skytland, a 25-year-old driver from Fargo.
“It's one of those deals where you don't beat Tony Stewart every night,'' he said. “It's something I will talk about when I'm 80 years old. I will tell my kid, and he will tell his kid.''
A third-generation racer, Cody is the son of Dale Skytland, a well-known area late model driver who last raced in 2007. Dale was a 25-year race veteran, driving late models for 20 of those years. The Edmore man called Grand Forks' River Cities Speedway his home track.
Dale beamed after watching Cody out-duel Stewart.
"You've got to be a pretty proud dad right now, there isn't a whole lot more to say about that but being proud,'' he said.
Cody said his father has played a key role in his racing career.
"I went with him since I was small and watched him race and watched him accomplish a lot of things,'' Cody said. "He taught me how to be a champion and how to win.''
Stewart started in the front row of the feature after winning his heat race. Skytland, who also won his heat, started in Row 3.
Stewart was strong early, racing ahead of the pack before Skytland started his surge. Skytland contested for the lead around Lap 10 of the 25-lap feature.
After dueling for a lap, Skytland passed Stewart, forging into the lead for good. Stewart finished third in the feature.
“When I was running him down, it crossed my mind it was Tony Stewart,'' said Skytland, who has raced late models for seven years. “Then when I got beside him, I just let it go; just another race car, just another number out there when I got beside him. When I got by him, it crossed my mind again and I took a deep breath, calmed myself down and started hitting my marks.''
Skytland's car owner, Jake Bitker, was thrilled with the outcome.
“It's really neat for me because it's in my home area and it's the biggest spectator night,'' Bitker said.
Skytland has previous experience against big-name drivers. He's raced against Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader. Both of those drivers also have raced in NASCAR.
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