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Index by last name:
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Index by year:
[1993] [1994] [1995] [1996] [1997] [1998] [1999] [2000] [2001] [2002] [2003] [2004] [2005] [2006] [2007]
Dan Marisi (2006)
Dan Marisi and Jacques Dallaire - Builders All
Daniel Marisi was born and raised in Saskatoon where, as a teenager, he
gained considerable fame as an athlete (football, basketball, and
wrestling). He got his master's degree in phys-ed at Saskatchewan and then a
PhD in educational psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He
joined the Department of Physical Education at McGill in 1971 and helped
define the department's curriculum in motor learning, sport psychology, and
research methodology. Jacques Dallaire was born in Oshawa and spent most of
his early teenage years at nearby Mosport Park. He got his master's in
exercise science at the University of Ottawa and his PhD in exercise
psychology at the University of Alberta. He joined McGill, where he met
Marisi, and in 1983 they co-founded the McGill Motor Sport Research Group.
From '83 through '99, they guided the mental training of nearly 500
high-performance racers from 35 countries, including 60 Canadians (Ron
Fellows, Miguel Duhamel, Patrick Carpentier, Greg Moore and Scott Goodyear,
among them). They were founding members of the International Council of
Motorsport Sciences and their understanding of the role of physical
conditioning and cognitive function, the limits of the human body and the
opportunity to improve contributed in many ways to the significant
developments in driver safety seen in recent years. In 1999, Dan Marisi died
and Jacques Dallaire was faced with some difficult choices. In the end, he
remained true to the vision created by the two of them. Since then, Jacques
has made many television appearances to talk about their work and numerous
TV and magazine features have focused on the work of Marisi and Dallaire.
More about this member :: Back to top Bill Mathews (2007)
Bill Mathews career grew from hillclimbs near Hamilton to dirt ovals across Ontario through the dirty 30's. Late in the 1930's he had moved on to compete in Canada and the U.S. by competing in American Motorcycle Association events, racing up to 3-5 times per week.
In 1940 he entered his first Daytona 200, the biggest motocycle race then and now, finishing 23rd on the venerable beach course. He put that experience to good use coming back in to win in 1941 becoming the only Canadian and first rider on a non-American bike to win the Daytona 200. He set a new record for the race at 78.08 MPH and his 500 cc Norton was the smallest engine to win at Daytona up to that point. He also won the last race in Canada before war activity brought racing to a close, winning a special Canadian US Challenge at Lindsay in front of a crowd of 10,000 people.
In 1947 he ventured to England with fellow Canadian Eric Chitty to race on the West Ham Speedway team but 1948 found him back in North America at Daytona where he recorded a 2nd place finish. 1949 saw him finish 2nd again as part of a 1-2-3 Norton team finish. 1950 saw him record his second win and establish him as the premier Canadian motorcycle racer. Billy was part of a tour from 1948 through 1950 that raced at Dayton, Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis. His 1949 record of 51 1st's, 23 2nd's and 17 3rd 's were indicative of his competitive nature.
The 1952 Daytona was his final attempt at that famous venue.. 1953 saw him move to the west coast to work with fellow Inductee Trevor Deely and then on to a long career with BC Department of Highways.
Prior to his death of cancer in 1980, Bill Mathews set a standard for motorcycle racers to dream of matching.
More about this member :: Back to top Roger McCaig (1997)
Roger McCaig competed successfully in the Can-Am and Continental 5000 series in the late '60s and early '70s in a series of McLaren Group 7 and Formula 5000 cars. He became a full-time racing driver in 1969, the same year he was diagnosed with cancer. Despite the disease, he was top Canadian in the Can-Am series in 1970 as well as sharing successes with brother Maurice in major endurance races. Roger died in 1976, just 43 years old.
More about this member :: Back to top Rollie McDonald (2004)
Rollie MacDonald's love for racing cars and speed has kept him in the racing game for nearly 40 years. He's raced on tracks in Canada and the United States against some of the racing world's toughest competitors, breaking both local and national records and winning numerous races and championships. As a boy growing up in rural Pictou County, Nova Scotia, his love for fast cars began when he would race old cars around the fields of the family farm. In 1965, he built his first real race car, a '55 Pontiac, and started his racing career that year at Mountain Raceway, a dirt track near New Glasgow. From there he went on to race at speedways throughout the Maritime provinces, Quebec and the northeastern United States. He was only injured once, but it was a dilly: he was bedridden for a month in 1977 after hitting the wall while trying for 22 straight victories at his local speedway. In 1983 he won the three-province MASCAR championship and was a strong runner in that series for many years afterward. A friend and customer of fellow Maritimer Junior Hanley, MacDonald took a Hanley car to Quebec in 1986 and won the QUASCAR title. MacDonald says his most memorable victory came in 1989 when he won the Nissan 200 International at the newly built Scotia Speedworld near Halifax. In 1994, MacDonald purchased a Busch Grand National car from Jimmy Spencer and raced in the Busch North series. Never content with racing in just one series, he continued to race locally and in selected MASCAR events at the same time - a pattern throughout his career. In 1998, Rollie MacDonald - a successful business as well as sportsman - made a major change: he went from driver to owner. He continues to compete today with a local fellow, Scott Fraser, in the car.
More about this member :: Back to top Bob McLean (1993)
Bob McLean came barnstorming across the country in 1965, winning the Canadian Driving Championship and proving to the eastern establishment that western drivers could run with the best. He did his own mechanical work and stretched every dollar to do it. It seemed that getting a ride the next year in a Comstock Ford GT-40 for the Sebring 12 hours was his big break. But it ended in tragedy when he crashed and died during the race.
More about this member :: Back to top Ernie McLean (2000)
Stock ear racing in New Brunswick was literally invented, nurtured and propped up by this dynamo of a promoter. Originally from Chatham, N.B. Ernie got into racing in Ontario when he started hanging around the Pinecrest Speedway in Toronto. He bought his first jalopy-type stock car from Jim Hallihan. Like many people behind the scenes Ernie realized his talents lay in other areas. Taking his wife and family back to the Maritimes, he settled in River Glade N.B. There was no racing in New Brunswick at the time; so Ernie put up posters and held meeting to gauge interest in Moncton and other locales. As a result, he plowed out a quarter-mile track behind his barn on his River Glade property and River Glade Speedway was born in 1964. In 1965 he paved the place and thus was born the first asphalt oval speedway in the Maritimes. His extra-distance "International" was born in 1965 and many a Canadian and U.S. driver has claimed this race as their first "big win," among them Earl Ross, Junior Hanley and Don Biederman. As other tracks opened, Ernie responded to the competition by bringing in the NESMRA supermodifieds and other attractions. As other tracks fell into disrepair or neglect, Ernie stepped in to rescue them - among them Miramichi Speedway, Fredericton's Brookside Speedway, Bathurst's Danny Speedway and Riverside Speedway near New Glasgow, N.S. Due to the unwavering work of Ernie, those tracks continue to flourish today. Ernie was instrumental in forming the MASCAR touring series. He also brought the NASCAR North and American-Canadian Tout to Maritime ovals. Not one to sequester himself in the racing fold, Ernie also sponsored courEt1ese local hockey teams from kids to old-timers. He was twice honoured by Toronto's Promoters Workshop, once with the Achievement Award for Dedication to Racing Promotion and a second time as Promoter of The Year. In short, Ernie introduced a sport to an area of the country where none existed, he initiated hundreds of drivers to this sport, he gave thousands of fans the opportunity to enjoy the sport. His nickname, "Father of Maritime Canadian Stock Car Racing", is richly deserved.
More about this member :: Back to top Greg Moore (2000)
One of Canada's finest young Indycar drivers, Moore lost his life in a CART race in California in 1999. In 1990 he won the North American Enduro karting championship; in 1992 he was the USAC West Formula 2001 champion. His first year in Indy Lights (1993), he had eight top 10 finishes. In 1994 he finished third in the Indy Lights championship and in 1995 he won the Indy Lights title, winning 10 of 12 races, thus breaking a record set by Paul Tracy (who won 9 of 14). In 1996, he went to CART and had two podiums and one front-row start. In 1997 he became the youngest driver, 22years, 1 month, 10 days just edging Al Unser Jr. by 19 days, ever to win a National Championship race in CART (including when the series was sanctioned by USAC and the AAA) when he won the Milwaukee 200. He had one other win that season and finished fifth in points. He continued to win races and to finish on podiums (he was third in the standings in 1998) and, at the time of his death, had been signed by Roger Penske to team with Gil de Ferran on Team Penske in 2001
More about this member :: Back to top Dave Morris (1998)
Dave Morris was a fine racing driver in his own right. In four years of driving Formula Fords, Dave chalked up 29 victories in 65 races including the 1973 Canadian Formula Ford championship. By 1976, Dave was supplying Formula Atlantic engines for Gilles Villeneuve, who won 12 of 13 races and both Canadian and North American titles. In 1977, Dave owned the team that fielded Villeneuve. Gilles clinched another Canadian title and finished up the year driving for Ferrari in Formula 1. Dave Morris can take some of the credit for getting him there.
More about this member :: Back to top Dizzy Dean Murray (1995)
No one who ever saw 'Dizzy' Dean Murray in his gold cowboy boots and 10-gallon hat, hawking copies of Wheel Spin News in the grandstands, will never forget it. Murray founded Wheel Spin with $15 in his pocket in 1965. It covered all forms of auto racing, becoming a resounding success and won several media awards. 'Diz' also ran the Motion Car Shows, was a motorsport consultant and sponsored races and racecars.
More about this member :: Back to top
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