Four months ago Greg Anderson watched with extreme pride as the original NHRA record-holding, 1979 Plymouth Arrow driven by his mentor John Hagen was unveiled on the starting line at Brainerd International Raceway.

This classic Mopar evoked memories and more than an abundance of “what if” questions.

What if John Hagen wouldn’t have lost his life in a violent crash 18 years earlier at the same facility?

What kind of racer would he be today?

“I think he'd be right among the best out there,” said Anderson. “People don't realize the day he got killed and the time period that he got killed he was becoming a serious player in the class. He was a top 4 or 5 (driver) in the class and people kind of lost sight of that, but he was climbing the ladder and he was a great person.”

Four months ago Greg Anderson watched with extreme pride as the original NHRA record-holding, 1979 Plymouth Arrow driven by his mentor John Hagen was unveiled on the starting line at Brainerd International Raceway.

This classic Mopar evoked memories and more than an abundance of “what if” questions.

What if John Hagen wouldn’t have lost his life in a violent crash 18 years earlier at the same facility?

What kind of racer would he be today?

“I think he'd be right among the best out there,” said Anderson. “People don't realize the day he got killed and the time period that he got killed he was becoming a serious player in the class. He was a top 4 or 5 (driver) in the class and people kind of lost sight of that, but he was climbing the ladder and he was a great person.”

Anderson went to work as a teenager when his father hung up his racing helmet. The elder Anderson entrusted Hagen with his son and from this point in 1979, Hagen became so much more than a team owner, he become a life coach.

“Everybody loved him,” said Anderson. “I have never met anyone who could say anything bad about him. He was that kind of guy, a good guy. I was just lucky to know him for as long as I did. I learned from him all that I could.”

Following Hagen’s death, with coaxing from Kurt Johnson, Anderson went to work with fellow Minnesotan Warren Johnson where he continued his training as a crew chief, and eventually attained his Pro Stock driver’s license.

Today Anderson has become one of the more prolific drivers - scoring four Pro Stock series championships for team owner Ken Black. There are times when Anderson wonders if he might have eventually succeeded Hagen as the driver of his Mopar had the accident never occurred.

Then again, at the time Hagen passed, Anderson will be the first to admit he was content just turning wrenches. He only got the license because Warren sent him to learn how to drive.

“Back when I worked on John’s car that's all I ever wanted to do was work on a race car,” said Anderson. “I never had any aspirations to drive, you know we lost him too early, but that's what I wanted to do, I was a mechanic and I wanted to work on race cars the rest of my life. I had no desire to drive.

“Then I took the job with Warren, I still had the same dream. I only wanted to work on the cars and be a crew chief. It was just a freak deal where after working on these cars for eight to ten years that I got the driving bug.

Warren’s goal was to teach both Kurt and Anderson what he felt in the car to help them become better tuners.

Anderson believes Hagen died just as corporate funding was beginning to drive the class. He believes Hagen’s success as a business owner would have worked in his favor during this era.

“He understood it,” Anderson said. “He had a business and he understood it, grasped it, and he wanted to race full time he just didn't have the corporate funding to do it. And, at the time he passed, he was close to landing the deal. He understood it was going to take more than him and a group of volunteers.”

But, as Anderson describes, Hagen’s charismatic nature and ability to never meet a stranger made those around him strive to be their best, if only to see him succeed. Anderson believes this would have made him a champion in today’s nip and tuck Pro Stock world.

“He understood people,” said Anderson. “He understood who he hired to help him, and what he needed to do, to do the job. I really think if he could have devoted 110% of his time to it, we do nowadays he'd be right at the top of his class.”


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GREG ANDERSON: THE APPRENTICE
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