After finishing sixth in the Williams Grove Speedway National Open driving legendary car owner Walt Dyer’s No. 461 in 1978, Rod Gross quietly retired as a driver at the age of 24.

Forty-six years later, in 2024, he returned to the sport as the owner of a High Limit team with Tanner Thorson as his driver.

“I was 23 years old with not much experience, and Walter put me in his car,” Gross outlined on Tuesday prior to his No. 88 competing in a High Limit Series race at Grandview Speedway.

“By the end of the year he gave me a good engine for the last six races. Ran four or five races, finished second or third, then at the National Open, we ran sixth, and I walked away from driving.”

Gross didn’t talk about his reasoning for leaving such a promising career opportunity until many years later.

“Back in those days, especially if you were a man, people didn’t understand what anxiety and depression were, so it was something you didn’t speak about or mention,” said Gross. “When I was in the race car, it was beautiful, but getting to the track was a task for me mentally, so I decided I was better off not racing and walked away. I didn’t come back to the track until 2023.”

Gross built and later sold off his successful business and retired with his wife Nancy in Florida when he was only 52. But when he returned home to Pennsylvania, he got hooked on racing again.

“We had lived in Florida for 20-some years but kept our home in York, PA. Two years ago, in June, we came back to live up here full-time. My brother-in-law is John Trone, who owns the No. 39 Sprint Car; he has a box at the Grove and got us to come watch one night,” said Gross.

“We had sold our property down south and wanted to do something, and John got us thinking. The only thing I had ever wanted to do was race, but I started a business, it was successful, retired early, and now, at 73, my life has gone full circle.”

Gross didn’t just jump into the fire. He knew being a car owner was tough, so he wanted the right driver and someone to run the team to keep him away from the anxiety he had gotten away from.

“I was kind of picky and waited a few months; I wanted Tanner Thorson to be my driver, so I went and watched every one of his races I could. His car control was incredible, and I found out he likes to do things his way and doesn’t play well with others, but that’s what I wanted.”

Before Gross sealed the deal, he talked to old friend Stevie Smith Jr., Thorson’s father-in-law, who builds Sprint Car components in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, under Smith Titanium.

“Stevie told me all the years he has been in business, he’s the hardest worker he ever ever had,” said Gross.

With Smith’s confidence, Gross then finalized the deal with Thorson with the stipulation that he would shield him from the day-to-day business of racing.

“I told him he was going to keep the car out there (Oklahoma), and you are the boss — that way, you can’t bitch or moan about anything — it will all be up to you, and he’s been a gem,” said Gross. “At the track, he is all business; this is where he makes his money; I think he’s misunderstood by people, but for me, he’s in the proper position — he’s in charge. We communicate all the time, but he’s the one that built this team to where we are a year and a half later.”

The team made its debut last year on the High Limit Series, picking up one win and five top finishes in 41 starts to finish 13th in the point standings. Following Tuesday’s race at Grandview, where they picked up their fourth top-ten finish of the 11 starts this year, the team sits tenth in the points.

“We’re not winning a lot, won a couple of races already, but we’re competitive, building on it,” said Gross. “He likes to do things different. We’re running coil-overs instead of torsion bars — but that’s Tanner — he wants to be different, and it’s beginning to work. We’re better than last year.”

Thorson left success in Midget car competition to chase the more lucrative 410 Sprints nationally with Gross. In a short period of time, he has built a solid race team from the ground up with the financial support from Gross.

Thorson, 29, made a name for himself in USAC Midget Car competition and the annual indoor Chili Bowl event in Tulsa, OK. That led to his brief audition in NASCAR, racing 11 events on the Craftsman Truck Series in 2018.

“This has meant the world to me. It’s been crazy, I built the entire team for him before I met him in person,” said Thorson.

“He took a chance on me, and I appreciate everything he and his wife have done for me more than they will ever know. They gave me a shot and let me live my dream doing what I love – what I know I can do.”

Running a national series wasn’t the original plan. The plan at first was to start slow, but that never happened.

“Tanner is really good friends with Kyle (Larson), and he and Sweet put together the High Limit Series last year,” said Gross.

 “It was our plan to run a 30 to 40 race schedule, but they were going to run 60. I told Tanner if I’m going to spend all this money, let’s go all in, and we did it pretty much without a sponsor. I was on my own; it was tough, but this year, we’ve gotten some help.”

JST Motorsports, Jason and Shantel Tessier, have come aboard as a team sponsor. Jason races Midgets and Micro Sprints. Shantel is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author. Her latest book, The Ritual, is being promoted on the race car wing.

“Thanks to them we are catching up with what everyone else has. Last year we were bare, now we’re good, still need another engine. Have three, can’t race on the road all year with that, need a fourth,” said Gross.

Sprint Car Hall of Famers Kramer Williamson, Smokey Snellbaker, and Keith Kauffman ran first, second, and third in the 100-lap Williams Grove National Open in 1978. Top runners from the era — Tommy Spriggle and Allen Klinger — were next, followed by Rod Gross in sixth. Gross enjoyed himself that day but did what he had to do for his own health and quit.

“Me and my wife are racers and there is nothing like racing people. We had great friends all the other years, but racing people are a special breed, and I’m glad to be back,” said Gross.

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. Gross won’t lie — it often comes back when his No. 88 is in competition.

“It’s still there, but I know how to deal with it now. It’s much better, they have medicine to deal with it now, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t walk away from racing,” said Gross.

“Sometimes anxiety can work to your advantage. It makes you not want to fail. It can be a good thing, I’ve learned to deal with it, still have ups and downs.”

Gross and his wife were enjoying the pre-race in the pit area, but they are gone to the grandstands before the car hits the track.

“I’ve been away from this for a long time, but I understand how a business can be run, and Tanner is doing a great job running the team,” said Gross. “We’re also the youngest team out there, three 20-something-year-olds going down the road racing. To me, that’s impressive. If we can keep them together, we’ll have something.”

Last year, the team ran out of Smith’s shop, but as it has grown in size, Gross has now found them a nearby race shop of their own.

“We got more cars now, so we rented a 5,000-square-foot building out there and bought a bigger trailer from Paul Silva to get us down the road,” said Gross, who travels to the races in his motorcoach as does Tanner in his with his wife and young child.

“I really have a bad back, so I can’t ride in the hauler. We have three nights at Port Royal this weekend, so I’ll probably take Friday off because I’ll have trouble walking that much,” said Gross.

“I have friends in worse shape than I am, have arthritis — just old age, but it’s been a good life, and I’m enjoying it, been very fortunate.”

Gross quit racing before he ever won a 410 Sprint Car race as a driver, and he’s yet to go to victory lane as a car owner.

“I started driving about two or three years before Walter (Dyer) put me in his car. I could afford to run about 20 races a year, so I was raw when I got in his good car, and at first, he didn’t give me a good motor,” said Gross. “But he was my shot, and I made the most of it once he gave me some power. He couldn’t believe it when I said I was quitting — but I told him I had to, but I never told him why, never told anyone. Today, people talk about it; look at Jacob Allen; he has talked about what he was going through.”

Tanner has won with Gross’s team, but he’s never been at the track to enjoy the winner’s circle celebration. Tanner’s first High Limit win came at Silver Dollar Speedway last year in the No. 88 on the West Coast, and the Grosses didn’t make the trip.

“He was in California when he won last year, he also won a POWRi race in Oklahoma this year, but I wasn’t there,” said Gross. “It’s okay, I’m just glad to be a part of it. I wish I could take credit, but it’s all about him and his guys who built this team. All I take credit for is believing in him — and paying the bills, of course.”