Drag Racer's Life Changes Fast After Heart Attack

WHITELAND, Ind. - Bob Glidden took a break from his preparations for the upcoming drag-racing season and reflected on how much his life has changed in the past month.

"I feel pretty lucky," the winningest driver in National Hot Rod Association history said. "I was on the verge of dying, and now I feel better than I have in years."

Glidden, 51, hade a massive heart attack the day after Christmas. Three days later, he underwent three hours of open-heart surgery. When the NHRA season opens this month, it will be Glidden's son, Rusty, behind the wheel.

But the elder Glidden doesn't expect to be a spectator for long.

"My goal is to be racing again by the third week of the season. I'm feeling better every day," he said, targeting the March 5 Slick 50 Nationals in Houston for his return.

Glidden has won 10 Pro Stock national titles and a record 84 NHRA events.

"For 20 years, I worked 16 to 18 hours a day," he said. "But in the last several years, I would work 10 to 12 hours and go home and go to bed because I was simply that tired."

Then the day after Christmas it hit. Glidden had not felt well all day. His head throbbed and he had pain in his neck and chest. That night, he was admitted to Johnson Memorial Hospital and transferred the next day to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

Surgeons performed a bypass surgery.

"I was totally plugged up. I needed new oil lines," he said. "It's just amazing what they can do. Twenty years ago, I probably wouldn't have made it."

The operation not only relieved his heart problem, it also gave him a different view of maintaining his health. He has stopped smoking and changed his diet.

His cardiologist, Russell Valentine, says there is no reason why Glidden can't resume his career.

So he's getting ready to race, but still looking ahead to the day he can turn his family operation over to his sons, Rusty and Bill, while keeping the longtime financial sponsorship of the Ford Motor Co.

The past few years have been a struggle for Glidden, still a formidable competitor but losing regularly to drivers with better cars.

"If we were in a situation where we could win races right now, then I could (turn the racing over to (sons) Rusty and Bill)," said Glidden, who won only two races over the past two seasons. "We're more competitive than we were last year, but we still have progress to make."