former Carolina Crusher driver Gary Porter in early 2001. In late 1998, due to his financial difficulties, Anderson sold the Grave Digger team to SRO/Pace, then-owners of the USHRA, leading to controversy and accusations of rigged races due to Anderson driving for the same company that runs the events. In 1999 he won his first championship in the USHRA series. In 2001, he drove Mr. Destruction into a wall of cars as a special stunt for a show in the Louisiana Superdome. Anderson won the inaugural Monster Jam World Finals freestyle championship in 2000, and scored a racing championship win at the 2004 World Finals. He won another racing championship at the 2006 World Finals driving Grave Digger 20. Anderson has also won the 2010 World Finals Racing Championship also driving Grave Digger. Anderson was also a co-host on History Channel's Around the World in 80 Ways. His final event as a competitor took place in Tampa, Florida, at Raymond James Stadium on January 14, 2017, as he was injured and forced to miss the rest of the season. During Monster Jam's 2018 Season Kickoff Show on September 18, 2017, Anderson announced his retirement from the sport. He stated he would remain "behind the scenes" at events, working in the pits with his team. Injuries Anderson has had several injuries over his career. In late 1991 he broke his kneecap when he hit a wall at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, forcing him to sit out the 1992 winter season. He recovered and beat Jack Willman Jr. in Taurus at Carter Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. Later in 1992, a hard side hit on the wall of Louisville Motor Speedway in Louisville, Kentucky broke several ribs near his backbone and caused recurring problems throughout his career. A nose-dive, AKA the lawn dart, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans in 1999 aggravated the injury and caused Anderson to miss several shows over the next couple of years. He reinjured himself at a Special Events show in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. A broken hand from a non-driving accident in Philadelphia 2003 sat him out for half of the year. A lesser-known injury happened during the summer of 2006 in a non-monster truck accident when Anderson injured his wrist. He also suffered a shoulder injury at the Metrodome in late 2006, in which his son Adam Anderson drove Grave Digger at shows in