It’s the memory he cannot forget.
Greg Anderson, the winningest driver in NHRA Pro Stock history, still vividly remembers the weekend 42 years ago when his mentor, John Hagen, lost his life at Brainerd International Raceway.
Anderson, then 22, had strapped Hagen into his Mopar Pro Stock Dodge Charger moments before it barrel-rolled at 170 mph during qualifying.
“He’d kiss the picture of his two young kids in his helmet and then put his helmet on. I’d shake his hand, and away he’d go,” Anderson said. “I was definitely the last person to talk to him, see him, and touch him before it happened.”
The crash claimed the life of the personable Minnesota racer who had taken Anderson under his wing as a teenager. For Anderson, the loss not only left an emotional scar but altered his career path.
Born in Duluth, Minn., Anderson grew up watching his father compete in Modified Eliminator in NHRA Division 5. When his father retired from racing, Anderson began assisting Hagen, traveling across the country and learning the nuances of Pro Stock. “John was a great guy and — I can’t emphasize this enough — a super, super, super nice guy,” Anderson said. “I considered him like a second father.”
Hagen taught Anderson lessons that had little to do with horsepower or chassis setup. “I learned a lot of family values from him,” Anderson said. “We didn’t have the resources, so we worked very hard — every night until about midnight in the shop, and then we’d drive all night to get to the race track. He taught me how to treat people right whether it’s at the race track or in the grocery store.”
Though Hagen never won an NHRA national event, Anderson tuned his Plymouth Arrow to a qualifying spot in the first NHRA 500-inch Pro Stock race. The trust between them was deep, making the events of that day in 1985 even harder to process.
“I went running down the race track and got to the wreckage right away,” Anderson said. “It was the most gruesome scene that you’d ever seen in your life. There were no guard rails. We were at Brainerd, and there were no guard walls at the time.”
The trauma drove Anderson away from racing. He went to work at his family’s dealership and didn’t consider returning until a trip to the Brainerd Nationals two years later. There, a conversation with Kurt Johnson led to an opportunity with his father, six-time Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson.
“I always thought in the back of my mind if I ever decided to come back, it would only be to race with one of those kinds of teams,” Anderson said. “We did a great job with what we had, but we didn’t have those resources, so … when Warren offered me the opportunity, I jumped at it.”
Anderson has remained a fixture in Pro Stock ever since, winning multiple championships and races. He also witnessed safety improvements spurred by Hagen’s death. “His death led to the implementation of the Funny Car roll cage in the Pro Stockers,” Anderson said. “They also put guard walls up … never again have they run at a national event without guard walls.”
He stays in touch with Hagen’s family, who still attend the Brainerd race. The two children whose photos Hagen carried in his helmet are now grown with families of their own. “They were 9 and 12 years old then … they turned out to be great, so I’m very proud of them,” Anderson said.
Every time Anderson starts his Pro Stock car, he carries Hagen’s lessons with him. “I miss him every day,” he said. “Somewhere, looking down, I know he’s proud.”
