Despite race-day struggles with his hauler to get to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin, on Saturday, Dalyn Cody sports a beaming smile. He’s finally back behind the wheel of a limited sprint car. Five months ago, Cody underwent his third surgery for brain cancer. More than a year ago, he had to sit out from the sport after experiencing a seizure.
“To get out to the track, it was pretty chaotic,” said Cody, 36, Northfield, Minnesota. “Our tow truck wouldn’t work, so we had to improvise. We towed on an open trailer and [did] not bring any of our racing parts. It was a fiasco, but it was humorous.”
Cody admits that before his bout with brain cancer, he may have not had such a large smile while dealing with the every-day inconveniences we find in life.
“I would have been quite upset about it,” Cody said of the tow rig issues. “I used to get worked up about little things, and now I just laugh about it.”
Out-of-the-Blue Diagnosis
“Back in 2016, I was at work, I work at a factory, and all of the sudden I got lightheaded,” said Cody. “My face turned as white as a ghost. The guy I was working with was like, ‘Woah, you need to sit down.’”
Cody went to the ER, where they attributed his symptoms to a viral infection.
“Two days later, I was having insane headaches,” Cody said. “I made [the hospital] do a CAT scan. I made them do an MRI. Then, they told me, ‘You have a brain tumor. You can’t leave. You’re going to be in surgery tomorrow morning.’”
Eight weeks later, Cody returned to racing. However, doctors could not remove the entire tumor. Cody had a second surgery in 2019, and now a third in February 2022. Since then, he’s underwent radiation treatment and now is undergoing chemotherapy at home. Nevertheless, Cody seeks to continue racing.
Motivation for Dalyn Cody
Cody said he races for a purpose.
“Brain cancer is the number one cancer among kids in the U.S.,” said Cody. “For any kid who has brain cancer, or any kind of cancer, I want to show them that you can still do anything you want, as long as you’re bound and determined to make it happen.”
Cody seen how he can impact the kids fighting similar battles as his.
“My first race back at Jackson Motorplex [in Minnesota], which was in 2020, there was a girl who just had brain cancer,” Cody said. “It was my first night back there after my second surgery. They came down specifically to meet me, because he wanted to show his daughter that despite having health issues, you can still do whatever you want in live. That made my night.”
Therapy Behind the Wheel
Surgery and treatments certainly wear on a cancer patient’s body, but they also pay a toll on their morale. Cody’s time behind the wheel provided great therapy for that.
“It was amazing,” said Cody of his return to a sprint car at Cedar Lake Speedway. “It made me so happy. I was a little emotional in my car when I finished my heat race, because I was like, ‘Heck, I can still do this.’ I had to take a few moments to sit in the car and just chill out. I was thrilled, so ecstatic.”
Cody did not make it to the A-main, but he had a ball.
“In my heat race, I started outside pole, and finished seventh,” Cody said. “I consider it a rookie mistake, because if you’re not getting passed on the bottom and you’re in a transfer spot, you don’t move up at all. But, I wanted to gain on first and second, so I moved up, and two cars instantly passed me. I started on the pole for the B-main, and I was running in the transfer spot. But, with how tired I was and I saw my oil pressure fluctuate, I made the decision to pull off.”
Cody added he needed to get back into racing shape, but after his first night back, he admitted he was “exhausted mentally and physically” by the end of the B-main.
Good People Exist
If you pay attention to the news, you may lose your faith in humanity. However, Cody’s story stands in stark contrast to what grabs the headlines.
“There’s good people out there still,” said Cody. “It’s just overwhelming the amount of support I got, people coming over [to my pit] after the races and getting my hero cards. It’s amazing. The racing family’s real — it’s not made up.”
Cody certainly makes an impression on those he encounters.
“My sisters through a benefit for me before my last surgery, which I didn’t even know about until they planned it,” Cody said. “It’s overwhelming the amount of support and love. People who I didn’t think cared about me, they even came over.”
Going Forward for Dalyn Cody
Dalyn Cody plans to race the rest of the Upper Midwest Sprint Series schedule. He just started chemotherapy on Tuesday, which will run for the next six months. Cody takes the chemotherapy pills for five consecutive days at home and then has 21 days off it. Nevertheless, he doesn’t anticipate chemo stopping him from racing. After all, he has one mission, which is reflected in the wrap on his sprint car.
“I gave Design Studio 66 an idea of what I wanted,” said Cody. “My colors have always been green and black. I always loved skulls. I thought it would be cool because all kids love Grave Digger. But, I wanted the Reaper on there, because I’m outrunning the Reaper right now. That’s what that means to me.”
Editor’s Note: For more on supporting children battling brain cancer, Dalyn Cody suggested checking out the Team Jack Foundation.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
