Bloomington’s Cody Trammell backed by generations of racing at hometown track

The pit lane is seen Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. It was the season finale for the Ford Performance Racing School 410 non-winged sprint cars, Huntley’s Hoosier winged 305 sprint cars and the Tex-a-Con Cut Stone Super Stocks.

As Cody Trammell, 30, shimmies into the driver’s seat of his sprint car, he feels a tug on his racing suit. It’s his 6-year-old son wishing him good luck.

A man in front of a red workbench lined with tools for car maintenance
Cody Trammell grabs tools from his trailer Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. Drivers tow their cars in trailers specially designed to fit tools, wheels and extra parts.

His uncle hands him his gloves while his mentor offers final words of encouragement. Another uncle waits on a four-wheeler behind him, ready to push the car to the starting grid. The pits are hectic on race day — especially for Cody, who often has a small crowd ready to help at a moment’s notice.

Cody grew up at the Bloomington Speedway. As he continues to push his racing career to new levels, he does so with family by his side.

It’s hard for him to find a moment of peace on the weekends, which are filled with long nights of putting cars together, listening to advice — sometimes unsolicited — from caring supporters and feeling the pressure of satisfying sponsors and the need to be on top. It all bubbles to the surface when he pulls his car onto the red clay that the Bloomington Speedway has built its legacy on.

A kid in a red T-Shirt talks to an adult
Trammell talks to his son, Kayden, in the pits Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. Kayden climbed into the car and pretended to drive while Trammell and his team made last-minute adjustments before the hot lap.
Two kids talk to a man in a racecar
Carter and Kayden Trammell talk to their dad as he prepares to race the No. 36 sprint car Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. They wished him good luck before he left the pits.

Race day is anything but silent — until the lights turn green. Then, there’s nothing but the wheel in his grip and a car to his right as he passes on an inside corner. He's calm behind the wheel. His thoughts are clear. While other drivers talk to themselves as they race, Cody is silent, focusing only on the car ahead of him.

“It looks a lot faster when you're out there on the track,” Cody said. “But when you're in the car, it's just slow. Everything slows down.”

A black and green racecar is pushed by an ATV.
Cody Trammell’s uncle, Gary Trammell, pushes Cody to the staging lane Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. Sprint cars can’t start on their own, so they must be pushed onto the track to start the engine.

•••


Cody is the third generation of dirt track drivers in his family. He remembers coming to the Bloomington Speedway frequently when he was younger to watch his dad and uncle race.

He started racing go-karts when he was around 13 and soon upgraded to a mini sprint car handed down from his uncle, Gary Trammell. He competed in mini sprint for about 10 years before he got the opportunity to try his luck at a full-size sprint car.

“That was the ticket,” Cody said. “That's where I wanted to go to my whole career. That's where I wanted to race.”

A long wooden shelf lined with large trophies
Trammell’s garage is filled with trophies and banners Sept. 5, 2025, at his home in Smithville, Indiana. This is just a small percentage of the trophies he has collected.

The transition from mini sprint cars to bigger, heavier cars was not easy, and Cody struggled his first few times out on track. Cars and teams switch hands frequently in the racing industry, and when the owner of the car Cody drove decided to stop racing, he returned to mini sprints. Later, he found another opportunity to hop in the driver’s seat of a full-size sprint car and worked to refine his skills behind the wheel. Kevin Huntley, the namesake for Huntley’s Hoosier Winged Sprint Series, helped convert Cody’s fumbles to wins.

A year later, entering a new season in a winged sprint car, he found his footing within a few laps. His first full season in 2022 saw four wins and 14 top five finishes out of 29 races.

Now, Cody owns his own racing operation with a 410 non-winged sprint car and custom “Cody Trammell Racing” livery. Nearly all the space on his car’s exterior is filled with sponsor logos and slogans, a testament to Cody’s loyalty to the brands and people that have helped him along the way. Being born and raised in Bloomington has had its perks, and many of the sponsors backing Cody have been with him since he was 16 years old in a hand-me-down mini sprint car.

A man in a racecar listens to someone talking to him
Trammell consults with car owner Barry Miller Sept. 5, 2025, in pit lane at the Bloomington Speedway. Miller qualified 21st out of 37 cars.
Two people work on the underside of a black racecar.
Trammell and crew member Jeff McCloud changes the gear ratio on the car before the heat race Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. McCloud has been working with Trammell for years.

“There's a lot of people in this town that know me,” Cody said. “So a lot of my sponsors are from here.”

He also knows almost everyone on the track. He grew up racing most of the people he sees in the paddock now, including the people who own the Bloomington Speedway. His insurance agent races, too. It’s nearly impossible for Cody to walk anywhere in the pits without getting stopped along the way. If they’re not striking up a conversation with him, they’re offering a wave or friendly middle finger in passing.

A man in a car being pushed by a man in a blue shirt.
Cody Trammell gets pushed by his uncle Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. His family often helps on race day.

•••


Today, Sept. 5, Cody isn’t racing his own car. He’s driving one of Barry Miller’s, a former off-road driver who recently started racing 305 winged RaceSaver sprint cars. Cody races his own 410 non-winged car in the regular season but occasionally races for other people.

The general components of both types of sprint cars are the same, but the 410s have a larger engine and no wing. The 305s have a smaller engine but make up for the lack of power with a large wing that generates downforce and stabilizes the car. The cars compete in separate races.

A man in a grey racing suit sits in bleachers with two boys and a woman.
Trammell and his family watches Barry Miller race Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. When not on track or preparing for their next race, drivers often watched other heats in the grandstands.

Barry brought two almost identical winged cars to the track — one for him and one for Cody, who would be racing his car for the third time. Barry knows he’s not the fastest driver out there, and it made sense to team up with someone more competitive in hopes of placing higher and earning a bigger payout. Sprint car racing is an individual sport, but many car owners run multiple cars with several drivers because they can earn more money if multiple racers place high enough.

“He’s been successful with winged cars in the past,” Barry said. “Having this extra car, it made sense to have Cody behind the wheel.”

Sprint races are divided into three sections. Cars start out with a hot lap to warm up, then compete in a qualifying session to set their place in the heat race, where they’ll race against a smaller number of cars to determine their place in the feature. The feature is the final race that sets placements and payouts.

Every driver that qualifies to race in a feature and completes one lap earns some amount of money, although the payouts differ depending on where a driver places. Tonight, in the season finale for the Huntley’s Hoosier Winged Sprint Series, $10,000 is on the line for the winning driver.

A racecar driver in a grey tracksuit talks energetically to a group of people
Trammell discusses potential changes to the car with his team Sept. 5, 2025, before the feature race at the Bloomington Speedway. The feature race was the final race of the night, and it was what mattered in terms of rankings and prize money.

Cody placed well in the qualifying race, and he finished eighth out of 37 cars in his class. When he got back to the pits, he started making adjustments based on how it felt on the track. His main concern was that the car needed a different gear ratio — a change that many drivers make between races to pull more power from the motor.

As the crew works, Cody’s sons crowd around them to watch. Carter, 6, and Kayden, 4, share a lot of traits with their dad. They love being a part of the action.

They’re comfortable here. The boys dart between trailers, saying hello to neighboring drivers and showing them the toy cars they brought to play with. Just like Cody was as a child, they are familiar with the drivers and the track.

Cody’s Uncle Gary remembers his nephew parading through the same pits as a child. He knew then he would likely see Cody on the track when he got older, and he’s optimistic that at least one of his great nephews will follow in Cody’s footsteps.

When Cody isn’t watching the kids, his girlfriend, Payton Rollins, 22, usually is. She walks them to and from the grandstands to watch their dad race and keeps careful track of Cody’s times and placements in the qualifying and heat races. Off the track, she helps design Cody’s racing suit, car livery and merchandise.

A boy in a red shirt plays with toy racecars
Kayden Trammell lines up toy cars on a mat inside the trailer Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. Fellow drivers and members of Trammell’s team commented on the similarities between Kayden and his father.
A woman in a black sweatshirt with the number 34 on it walks towards a car.
Payton Rollins walks back to the pits with Trammell’s sons after watching his qualifying laps Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. Rollins has been coming to sprint car races for about five years.

Payton has also found family among other members of the pit lane. She strikes up conversations with the rest of Cody’s pit crew as they wander in and out of the trailer looking for supplies. Her brother raced dirt bikes, so she’s no stranger to the chaos that comes with a day at the track.

It’s this support system that makes these long days work. Cody is surrounded by family and his closest friends nearly every weekend. No matter the outcome, he knows he can count on them to be there for the next one, although he does his best to make it worthwhile.

•••


Three men in the glow of a flashlight working on something
Trammell and his team work to fix a brake issue Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. The brakes were red-hot the last time Trammell drove it, and the heat warped the calipers.

Less than an hour before he’s slated to hit the track for the feature race, Cody’s car is in pieces. A previous race caused brake problems that were proving to be an issue on the track. The crew holds flashlights in the dark as they place a makeshift shim between the components that they hoped would last the duration of the race. It had been drizzling intermittently that evening, but now the sun had set, and the rain made everything cold and wet.

Still, there’s a race to finish. The team puts the car back together with time to spare and even has a chance to change the gear ratio one more time before Cody squeezes back in the driver’s seat.

Gary pushes Cody to the starting position as his crew walks to the grandstand to watch.

“C’mon dad, please win,” Carter says from the bleachers as he watches each car begin the formation lap.

Cody starts on the inside of the seventh row. He is sitting mid-pack at the start of the race, but hoped to pass most, if not all, of the people in front of him.

Lately, he’s been telling himself to “keep passing cars until you can’t pass no more or bring it back on a wrecker.” It’s a motto that works.

It is almost time to hit the throttle, and everything starts to slow down again. He waits for the stoplight to turn green, signaling the start of the race. He would need to be quick on the throttle to get in a good position for the first turn.

A black and green and white and pink car race around a corner on a dirt track.
Cody Trammell attempts to pass a car in the feature race Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. Trammell moved up two rows in the first few laps of the race.

Cody gains two spots in the first few laps of the 30-lap race.

“We’re moving up,” his uncle says.

“He just looks real squirrelly,” Payton replies.

She’s right. Minutes later, his family watches Cody crest the edge of the track, retire early and approach the pits. His crew jumps up and hustles to meet him there. It had been going so well, but an early exit means Cody would finish at the back of the pack.

A flooded motor and punctured tire left him with little to fight for on the track. He suspected something had gone wrong with the rocker, but he wouldn’t know until he went back to the shop and dissected it. He’s set to race the same car the next day at Paragon Speedway in Morgan County, but that means he has a long night of troubleshooting ahead of him.

It’s a disappointing end to the day, but not uncommon — even for regular winners like Cody. Though he had hoped to finish the race, he is optimistic that the repairs will get done in time.

“That's the whole thing with racing,” Cody said. “You never know what's going to happen. It takes one little thing, and then you're out of contention for everything.”

His crew begins to pack up as the race winner is announced over loudspeakers. The crowd roars as the driver receives a giant check for $10,000. Cody, on the other hand, walks away with $700.

A flat tire on a car
A punctured tire on the car is seen Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. This was the third tire in two weeks that had been damaged at the track.
A man in a baseball cap works on an apparatus.
Trammell lowers the wing on the sprint car before towing it into the trailer Sept. 5, 2025, at the Bloomington Speedway. There was just enough clearance to get the car back into the trailer without hitting the wing.

The championship is over but tomorrow brings a new chance to chase those few moments where time stands still for Cody. His crew has no doubt he’ll be on the podium again very soon.

Cody hugs his boys goodbye as they leave with Payton, and he parts ways with the rest of his crew, including crew member Jeff McCloud, Barry and Gary. Most of them will see each other the next day to help Cody try to secure another win.

“See you tomorrow?” Jeff asks.

“See you tomorrow,” Cody says.