Dave MacDonald

David George MacDonald (July 23, 1936 – May 30, 1964) was an American road racing champion noted for his successes driving Corvettes and Shelby Cobras in the early 1960s. At the age of 27 his career abruptly ended after a crash in the 1964 Indianapolis 500 in which he and fellow driver Eddie Sachs were killed. The fiery crash directly led to safety changes at the Speedway including a change in fuel type from gasoline to methanol.^[1] In his brief 4 year racing career MacDonald competed in 110 races with 47 victories and 69 top 3 finishes.^[2] In 2008 Carroll Shelby told Hot Rod magazine that "Dave MacDonald had more raw talent probably than any race driver I ever saw".^[3]

MacDonald will be inducted into the 2014 class of the National Corvette Museum's Corvette Hall of Fame.^[4]

Sports Car and NASCAR racing career

MacDonald began racing in 1956 running his ’55 Chevrolet Corvette on the dragstrips of Southern California and by the end of 1959 had won over 100 trophies. He moved to the road racing circuit in 1960 and his first race was Saturday Feb 13, 1960 at Willow Springs Raceway, he finished 4th behind winner Bob Bondurant. The following day MacDonald edged Bondurant to gain his first of many victories. By the end of 1962 he had driven his Corvettes to 28 victories in 63 races, including 42 Top 3 finishes. His style of drifting through turns at full speed made him a crowd favorite and he was dubbed "Master of Oversteer" by the press.^[5]

Carroll Shelby hired MacDonald away from Chevrolet to drive his new Ford-powered Cobra Roadster in the 1963 season. In MacDonald's first outing for Shelby American he drove Cobra CSX2026 to back-to-back victories at Riverside International Raceway on February 2-3, 1963. These were Cobra’s first wins. Ken Miles finished 2nd both days in Cobra CSX2002. On February 17, 1963 MacDonald finished 4th in Cobra CSX2026 at the Daytona Continental FIA giving Ford Cobra its first top 5 finish in international competition. Shelby retired the 260ci and debuted the new 289ci engines in his Cobra Roadsters at Dodger Stadium March 3-4, 1963. MacDonald in CSX2026 and Miles in CSX2002, finished 1-2 respectively on both days and gave the 289 its first wins.^[6]

In the fall of 1963, MacDonald rose to national prominence during a five-week stretch where he dominated both the USRRC and NASCAR circuits. During that period, he won the two biggest and richest road races in America - the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix and the Monterey Pacific Grand Prix in Shelby King Cobra CM/1/63,^[7] finished 2nd at the Hawaiian Grand Prix in Cobra Roadster CSX2136, 2nd at NASCAR’s Golden State 400 in the Wood Brothers #21 Ford and 2nd in NASCAR’s Augusta 510 behind teammate Fireball Roberts. MacDonald was awarded the Helms Athletic Foundation’s "Athlete of the Month" medallion for October 1963.^[8]

1964 was MacDonald’s final year in racing and while still committed to a full Cobra schedule with Shelby, and an Indy 500 run with Mickey Thompson, he signed with Ford factory member Bill Stroppe to run 21 NASCAR races. On February 23, 1964 he finished 10th in the Daytona 500 against a field NASCAR.com calls the "Greatest Field in NASCAR History"^[9] Richard Petty was race winner capturing his first of seven Daytona 500's.

March 1, 1964 MacDonald won the United States Road Racing Championships at Augusta International Raceway in Shelby King Cobra CM/1/63. His average speed of 97.653 MPH was 11 MPH faster than the previous track record set by Fireball Roberts in the Augusta 510.^[10] After this race veteran motor sports journalist Chris Economaki wrote "Dave MacDonald of El Monte stamped himself as one of today's road racing greats".^[11]

March 21, 1964, MacDonald and Bob Holbert drove Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX2287 to a 1st in GT & 4th OA finish in the 12 Hours of Sebring international endurance race. It was the highest ever finish for an American team and the first-ever win for the Daytona Coupe.^[12]

April 19, 1964 MacDonald won the Phoenix FIA Open at Phoenix International Raceway in Shelby King Cobra-Lang Cooper CM/1/64. This was the debut outing for CM/1/64 and its first win..^[13]

May 10, 1964 MacDonald won the United States Road Racing Championships at Kent WA in King Cobra CM/3/63. The victory put him in a tie with Jim Hall for the United States Drivers Championship standings.^[14] This would be MacDonald's last race prior to his death three weeks later in the Indy 500.

Indy 500

MacDonald had become one of America's top drivers when Mickey Thompson hired him to drive the radical #83 "Sears-Allstate Special" in the 1964 Indy 500. The car was a Ford-powered rear-engine design specifically built to run on low-profile 12" tires. Thompson debuted two of these revolutionary cars at the '63 Indy 500 and they became known as the "Super Skates". They were far ahead of their time, but badly designed, poorly built and difficult to drive.^[15] Graham Hill tested the car before the '63 Indy race and refused to drive it because of its poor handling, a condition made worse for 1964 when Thompson was forced to completely redesign the cars to accommodate the new USAC-mandated 15-inch (380 mm) tires. Several top drivers declined Thompson's offer to drive the cars in the '64 race including Mario Andretti. Andretti though turned it down over concerns of his lack of experience and the fact that the ride was only for Indy. Thompson selected MacDonald, Masten Gregory & 15-time Indy 500 competitor Eddie Johnson. Johnson was assigned the #82 car, MacDonald the #83 car and #84 went to Gregory, all three cars crashed in practice. When Gregory took the #84 car out for its initial test with the larger tires he quickly lost control and crashed into the wall. He told Thompson the larger tires made the car too high, causing it to lift in the turns. Gregory then abruptly quit the team. Thompson found it difficult to find a replacement as other available drivers took the advice of Gregory and stayed away. Days later Eddie Johnson nearly totalled the #82 car when he took it into the wall during a practice session. Jim Clark, the 1963 world driving champion, was out practicing with MacDonald on Carb Day when he noticed strange movement from MacDonald's car. Clark followed him into the pits and urged his friend to "Get out of that car, mate - just walk away." ^[16] According to long-time motor sports journalist Chris Economaki, MacDonald never practiced with a full load of fuel due to Thompson's focus on high speeds.

MacDonald qualified the Thompson #83 car at an average speed of 151.464 mph, placing him in the middle of row 5 and in 14th position. Johnson qualified Gregory's rebuilt #84 car and placed it on the outside of row 8 and in 24th position. Neither Gregory nor the #82 car ran the race.

Death

On the first lap of his first Indy 500 race in 1964, MacDonald passed at least 5 other cars. As MacDonald passed Johnny Rutherford and Eddie Sachs, Rutherford noticed that MacDonald's car was very loose. Rutherford later said that, watching the behavior of MacDonald's car, he thought, "Whoa, he's either gonna win this thing or crash."^[17]

On the second lap, MacDonald spun coming off the fourth turn. As the car began to slide, he came across the track and hit the inside wall, igniting the 45 gallon fuel load which caused a massive fire. His car then slid back across the track and six more cars became involved. Ronnie Duman crashed, spun in flames and hit the pit lane wall. He was burned but survived. Bobby Unser hit Johnny Rutherford's car on its left rear tire and crashed into the outside wall. Chuck Stevenson and Norm Hall also crashed. Eddie Sachs, blinded by the smoke, broadsided MacDonald's burning car and according to reports died instantly due to blunt-force injuries. Dave MacDonald was transported to Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis where he died two hours later. Eddie Johnson retired the other Thompson car after only 6 laps.

1964 marked the first time the Indy 500 was broadcast nationally to a closed-circuit TV audience. ”MCA” (Music Corporation of America), now Universal Music Group, used 8 camera locations to provide a live signal to theaters and arenas in 53 key US cities.^[18] Also, for the first time in its history the Indianapolis 500 was stopped because of an accident. Partially in response to media pressure, USAC required that cars carry less fuel, a change that also led every team to switch from gasoline to methanol prior to the next year's Indy 500.

Carroll Shelby, Mickey Thompson, Bill Stroppe and Don Steves served as pallbearers at MacDonald's funeral.

Noteworthy

• At the 1958 NHRA Western US Drag Racing Championships at Chandler Air Force Base in Arizona MacDonald set two standing start speed records in his stock '58 Corvette - 104.68 mph in the ¼ mile and 123.11 mph in the 1/2 mile. From 1958-1962 he set six more speed records in the 1/4, 1/2 and mile distances at annual speed trials in the US - all in Corvettes
• In 1962 Zora Arkus-Duntov selected Dave MacDonald and Dick Thompson to test-drive the new 1963 Corvette Stingray at the General Motors Proving Grounds in Milford Michigan. GM used footage of the two drivers testing the cars, and speaking with Mr Duntov afterward, to create a promotional film entitled “Biography of a Sports Car”. The film was distributed around the globe as part of a marketing campaign promoting the new coupe.^[19]
• In 1963, the Helms Athletic Foundation named MacDonald "Athlete of the Month" for October. The award was first issued in 1936 and given to the athlete who dominated his or her sport through outstanding performance. MacDonald was only the ninth auto racer to receive the prestigious honor and the first to receive it during the US football season.
• In 1964, MacDonald made a cameo appearance in Universal Pictures', The Lively Set. The movie starred James Darren, Pamela Tiffin and Doug McClure. MacDonald also performed racing scenes in the movie.
• In 2005, the Augusta International Raceway Preservation Society (AIRPS), in conjunction with city officials and homebuilders, named the main road looping through the new Diamond Lakes housing development Dave MacDonald Drive. A portion of the community is built on old speedway land. AIR was constructed in 1963 but only three races were ever run - two USRRC events and one NASCAR race. MacDonald competed in all three; finishing 1st in King Cobra CM/1/63 and 2nd in a Cobra Roadster in the USRRC races, and 2nd in NASCAR's Augusta 510.^[20]
• In 2010, the Riverside International Automotive Museum posthumously honored MacDonald at the "Legends of Riverside" event. Carroll Shelby, Richie Ginther, Phil Hill and Chuck Daigh were also honored at this event.
• In 2014, Dave MacDonald will be inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame.^[21]
• MacDonald drove each of the legendary Shelby Cobras — Cobra Roadster, King Cobra, King Cobra-Lang Cooper and Cobra Daytona Coupe — to their first-ever victories.
• The MacDonald family actively participate in tributes to Dave, Carroll Shelby, and other motorsport-related activity. Widow Sherry, along with son Rich, actively participate.

Sports Car and NASCAR results

Year	Races	Wins	Top 3 Finish
1960	15	3	10
1961	24	15	18
1962	25	10	14
1963	34	16	22
1964	12	3	5
Totals	110	47	69

Gallery

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File:dave macdonald cobra roadster.jpg| File:Lang cooper.jpg| File:Dave MacDonald street dedication in Georgia.jpg|

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Indy 500 results

Year	Car #	Qualify	Started	Finished	Laps
1964	83	151.464	14	29	1

• MacDonald at the 1964 Indianapolis 500

References

External links

• Dave MacDonald Homepage

Persondata
Name	Macdonald, Dave
Alternative names
Short description	American racing driver
Date of birth	July 23, 1936
Place of birth
Date of death	May 30, 1964
Place of death