SRN Contributor Matt Payne has written a stirring and outstanding tribute to Grenville Anderson, read on: GRENVILLE ANDERSON - THE ULTIMATE IMMORTAL Widely regarded as the greatest sedan driver in Australian Speedway history, Grenville Anderson has completed his final lap in life, passing away peacefully on May 31, 2004. The revere with which Anderson is held among the Sedan fraternity is unsurpassed in any other form of Speedway competition in this country. The time immediately following the accident that almost claimed Anderson's life eleven years ago saw an outpouring of emotion not seen in this sport previously, such was the hold that Grenville Anderson had on those in it. Growing up in the New England Region of New South Wales, Anderson began his illustrious career in the mid 1970s with a Torana XU-1. Soon after his competition debut, he took out the inaugural Grand National for Sedans at Lismore Speedway. Anderson had arrived. It was soon after that Peter Croke stood on the hill at Lismore Speedway and watched the young Grenville compete against a top line field of Super Sedan competitors from Brisbane and Newcastle. Croke commented to East Coast Speedway Monthly in 1981 - “He absolutely destroyed them. Grenville did things that I had never witnessed before. I decided I had to have that car!” Croke completed negotiations with Grenville's father (not actually meeting the younger Anderson), before racing with a modicum of success himself. After a crash at Lismore, Croke decided that it was time to step back from behind the wheel. Croke didn't want to sell the XU-1, so who was his choice of driver? Grenville, of course, a potent combination if ever there was one. In February 1975, Croke finally met Grenville, an agreement was formed and some eleven months later, Anderson entered his first National Sedan Title and won on debut at Adelaide's Rowley Park in front of Peter Timberlake and David House. His next two wins came in 1978 and 1980 in Perth and Darwin respectively. Anderson’s failures in title finals were almost as exciting as his wins. In 1980 he finished second after being sent to the rear of field for an infringement, 1977 he incurred the chief stewards wrath twice and still managed a fourth, and in 1981 his car ended upside down in front of the judges box. “We were looking good at the time too,” Anderson later lamented. The title won in 1980 was significant in that Grenville's brother Adrian finished second, completing the family quinella. Adrian was rated by Grenville as his toughest challenger. Amusingly, West Aussie veteran, Ben Ludlow, who finished third to Anderson in his 1978 title victory at Claremont Speedway, recounts that visiting drivers to the Lismore Speedway named a move by the brothers the “Anderson Shuffle” When they’d go to pass you, they’d tap you right along the side of your car when they were passing you,” Ludlow recounted. “We called it the Anderson Shuffle!” It was soon after his third title win that Anderson made the decision to retire. Anderson had more title wins than anyone else in Super Sedan history. Some years later, the three time Champion was coaxed back behind the wheel for another tilt at the title in 1992, at a rain soaked Speedway Park in Adelaide. Anderson was infinitely faster than the remainder of the field and had established such a points advantage on the field, he would start on the pole regardless of whether he competed in his final heat or not. Ever the racer, Anderson competed in the final heat and as only Murphy’s Law would have it, crashed. Cruelly, the damage was severe enough that he would be unable to start the final, ending the fairytale comeback. The following year was a different story. Down in Tasmania with the cream of Australia’s Super Sedan crop in attendance, Anderson was once again supremely fast. This time, however, there was no accident in the final heat and he took an emphatic victory from Allan Baker and Ron Pyne, completing a New South Wales trifecta. Not long after Grenville cemented himself into the history books as the greatest of all time, his career took a tragic turn. On May 8, 1993, during hotlaps at (the then) Archerfield Speedway, Anderson lost control on the back straightaway, riding the wall, before rolling heavily. The accident was one of the worst in Australian Sedan history and rendered the legend virtually incapacitated. The outpouring of emotion by competitors and fans alike was something unseen previously in Australian Speedway, one of our sport's legend's careers was over right when he was at his best. Sadly, Grenville’s injuries prevented him from attending the racetrack, nevertheless, his presence has remained strong in the eleven years since he turned the wheel for the last time that fateful night in Brisbane. Grenville Anderson has left an indelible mark on this sport in Australia. His star was extinguished when it was burning it’s brightest. Monday May 31, 2004 represents one of the darkest days in Australian Speedway, when Grenville’s star found itself a permanent home in our sky. If Australian Speedway adopted the Rugby League parlance for honouring its legends, Grenville would be the ultimate immortal. Join with Speedway Racing News as we honour and celebrate the life of one of Australian Speedway’s immortals. By Matt Payne, with Ben Daley and Rod Colquhoun contributing, quotes attributed to 1981 East Coast Speedway Monthly