By Ben Deatherage
WINNEMUCCA, Nev. (Jul. 2, 2025) — For Cody Kalmer, every lap behind the wheel is built on grit — both on the dirt and deep underground. The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified driver from Winnemucca, Nevada, spends the middle of the week more than a mile below the earth’s surface as an underground gold miner. Come the weekend, he’s racing above ground, chasing checkered flags at tracks like Winnemucca Regional Raceway, Summit Raceway in Elko, and Lovelock Speedway.
“I got to run Lovelock once in 2020 and then they shut down,” said Kalmer. “So I was excited they came back a few years ago. My friend Zach Cail and his stepdad Brett Wilkins have done a great job running that place, and Jeff Olschewka is giving us a great surface.”
Kalmer’s journey into racing began not behind the wheel, but behind the fence.
“I was never really part of the racing community. I used to just watch here at Winnemucca and thought, ‘You know what, it’d be cool to get a car of my own.’” Inspired by Nevada Modified legend Cory Sample, he jumped right into a Mod in 2020. “It was really hard. They’re very setup heavy and different than anything I’ve ever driven. But people like Shawn Natenstadt and Chaz Baca Jr. have really helped point me in the right direction. We’re getting better.”
He’s now setting his sights on Boone in his no. 217K entry — a number tied to his February 17 birthday — and plans to make his first attempt to qualify for the 2025 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s after attending as a spectator last year.
A Legacy Forged in Gold
While racing is his passion, mining is in his blood. Kalmer is a fourth-generation miner currently working at the Turquoise Ridge underground mine near Golconda.
“My great-grandfather, grandfather, and dad were all miners,” he said. “It’s a big part of our community.”
That deep community bond — and Nevada’s identity as the “Silver State” — stretches back to America’s earliest gold fever.
In January 1848, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill along the American River in California. Hoping to keep the discovery quiet, mill owner John Sutter sent word to the military governor of California, Colonel Richard B. Mason, to investigate. Mason, wary of triggering chaos in the newly acquired U.S. territory, attempted to verify the claim discreetly.
Miners at Shaft 3 of Turquoise Ridge prepare for operations deep beneath Nevada’s desert surface. (Photo by ThyssenMining.com)
With him was a young officer — Second Lieutenant William Tecumseh Sherman — who had studied basic metallurgy at West Point. When presented with a gold sample, Sherman famously bit down on it, testing its softness and confirming its authenticity. That simple gesture led to Mason’s official report to President James K. Polk, describing not only the presence of gold but the ease with which it could be collected.
Despite Mason’s attempts to contain the news, the secret got out. Entrepreneur Samuel Brannan ran through the streets of San Francisco shouting, “Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!” The news spread like wildfire. By December, President Polk’s official acknowledgment in his address to Congress triggered what would become known as the California Gold Rush — the first world-class gold rush in modern history.
This monumental event sparked a chain reaction of mineral booms across the American West. One of the most significant was Nevada’s Comstock Lode, discovered in 1859 near Virginia City. That find launched Nevada into the center of America’s mining industry — a legacy still alive today in towns like Winnemucca and Elko.
The production shafts at Turquoise Ridge serve as the primary entry and exit points for underground mine crews. (Courtesy Photo)
Modern-Day Mining, Generations Deep
Kalmer now works as a loader operator at the Turquoise Ridge mine, originally opened in 1938 within the historic Potosi-Getchell Mining District. The mine, now operated by Nevada Gold Mining (a merger of Newmont and Barrick), is one of many dotting the stretch from Elko to Winnemucca.
“You’re essentially in a giant cave,” he explained. “We have multiple shafts — one for ventilation, the others for production. Shaft Three, the one I’m in, is over 3,300 feet deep. Everything goes underground through those — people, equipment, you name it.”
The mining process is complex and grueling. After blasting rock during shift change, Kalmer’s crew mucks out debris, bolts and wires down walls for support, then drills for the next round of explosives. “You’ve got tunnels going every which way — like a giant anthill underground.”
Cody Kalmer operates this CAT R1700 nine-yard loader in the tunnels of the Turquoise Ridge underground mine. (Courtesy Photo)
The shifts rotate weekly between days and nights — each one 13 hours long. “The sleep schedule takes a toll,” he admitted, “but it’s worth it. The pay is good, and it keeps me racing.”
Kalmer started his career in mining after studying welding at Great Basin College in Elko. Though he initially took a maintenance path, he switched to operating heavy equipment and hasn’t looked back.
With a projected mine life of over 50 more years, Turquoise Ridge is poised to support future generations of miners — just as it has for Kalmer’s family.
“I’d like to thank TNTCNC, who’s been with me since the beginning, and Orry Stevens and Alyssa Wellard— they believed I could be a good driver before I ever did,” Kalmer said. “Shawn Natenstadt is great to bounce ideas off of, and I bought my first car from him. Thanks also to Competition Carburetors, Slick Stick Shocks, my mom and dad for being behind me 100%, Thomas Fuels, Josh Combs with One 2 Wraps for keeping my car looking good, the Baker brothers at Baker Fabrication, Young Bros Construction, Dirt Stars Racing Products, Bodies by Boogieman, Harris Auto Racing, and my pit crew — Dylan Gardner, Dakota Gardner, and Damion Urrutia.”
Whether navigating narrow shafts below the desert or carving through corners on Nevada’s bullrings, Cody Kalmer knows the value of patience, precision, and perseverance. In both mining and racing, the same truth applies: sometimes you’ve got to dig deep to strike gold.
