Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson goes from near death to NHRA title contender

Just 20 months ago, a serious heart condition nearly ended Greg Anderson’s drag racing career – and his life.

But Anderson is back to full health, and back contending for race wins and his fifth NHRA Pro Stock division championship.

“Yeah, last year was definitely different than this year,” said Anderson, who lives in Mooresville. “I didn’t know if they were going to let me back in a race car again, and I was worried about that.

“Bottom line – everything happens for a reason. As dumb as I was through the whole deal, I dodged a bullet. Everything’s perfect now.”

Heading into this weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway – the first event in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship – Anderson is second in Pro Stock points, just 30 behind defending series champ Erica Enders-Stevens.

Yet Anderson knows he’s lucky to be in this position, especially after what he went through last year.

Anderson underwent open-heart surgery in late January 2014 – the weeks before the NHRA’s season-opening event at Pomona, Calif. – to repair an aneurysm caused by a bicuspid aortic valve.

According to Anderson, the aneurysm and bicuspid valve – which has just two leaflets, whereas a normal heart valve has three – had been discovered three years earlier during a physical.

“I had to know, ‘If I go race, am I going to die?’ And (the doctors) didn’t know,” Anderson said. “They did a heart (catherization). The blood was flowing fine through the valve, but the aneurysm was 4.6 centimeters. They said, ‘when it gets to five centimeters, there’s a good chance it’ll blow.’

“They kept an eye on it, and I was going back every three to six months to watch the growth of the aneurysm. They weren’t worried about the valve, but they were worried about the aneurysm, especially because of what I do.”

The aneurysm remained stable until Anderson’s last physical, when the exam showed it had grown to 5.1 centimeters.

“They said, ‘it’s time,’ ” Anderson said. “I was like, ‘Whaddya mean it’s time? I’ve got to go to Pomona in a few days!’ But they talked me into (surgery), and I’m glad they did.

“When they got in there, (the doctor) said as soon as he touched it, (the aneurysm) just blew apart. I wouldn’t have made it through that first race.”

Anderson missed the first five races of the 2014 season while recuperating from the operation, which not only repaired the aortic valve and aneurysm, but added a pacemaker.

While Anderson was at most of the races during his recuperation period, helping substitute driver Jimmy Alund, an eight-time FIA European Pro Stock champion.

But don’t think Anderson was happy about being on the sidelines.

“I’ve never had to do that before,” Anderson said. “It’s just a weird feeling, especially after (Alund) won the race here (the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, also at zMax Dragway).

“That was fantastic, the coolest story ever, but it still hurt. That was my car, I could’ve been in that car and could’ve won that race. It still hurts.”

Anderson returned to action two weeks later at Houston, and finished the 2014 season with three runner-up finishes. He also finished 11th in points, his first time outside the top 10 since 2001.

“The first run that I made, I didn’t know what it would feel like when I hit the finish line and pulled the chutes,” Anderson said. “You’re definitely doubting yourself before, wondering if you’ll ever be able to do it at the level you used to do it at. But that first run answered all those questions.”

Anderson has been making up for lost time this season.

He’s advanced to the final round in seven events, winning four of them (Gainesville, Fla.; Englishtown, N.J.; Epping, N.H.; and Norwalk, Conn.). That put him atop the Pro Stock standings until the final two races before this weekend’s Carolina Nationals.

“As I look at it, last year was a rebuilding year – both for me and the race team,” Anderson said. “Now, we’re contending at every single race we go to for the win. We’ve got a wonderful chance to bring home the championship this year.

“There’s nothing at all to complain about this year – I don’t have any health worries. I feel 100 percent.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson goes from near death to NHRA title contender."