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One of the brightest lights to burst forth during the glory days of racing, Dave MacDonald took his love affair with the Corvette from the dragstrips of Southern California to the winner's circle at Willow Springs, Riverside, Stockton, Del Mar, Tucson, Cotati, Pomona, Dodger Stadium, Reno, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Augusta, Phoenix, Elkhart Lake, Kent, Sebring, Laguna Seca and the Bahamas. Along the way, he not only coaxed and cajoled his cars across the finish line; he got them there in record-breaking times. Dave MacDonald's impact on racing history is significant and racing fans would be hard-pressed to find a driver who better embodied the passion and determination of American racing in that era. Composed, soft-spoken, a gentleman on the track and off, MacDonald was nonetheless a fearless competitor: he was quick out of the gate and loved to please the roaring crowds. Dave bought his first Corvette, a new cherry red 1955 model, from the Arcadia California Chevrolet dealership where he worked as a car mechanic. He immediately began entering local drag racing events in Southern California and racked up one win after another in his souped up Corvette. A newspaper article dubbed Dave “Local Corvette Racer Fastest in the West.” Dave was so thoroughly dominating the Southern California drag racing scene that local Corvette dealer Don Steves offered to sponsor him in a road racing effort. He figured Dave's smooth, quick-shifting skills would translate well on a demanding road racing circuit. He offered $50 a race plus winnings and Dave, eager to further his racing career, quickly accepted. They race prepped Dave's new 57 Vette and in February 1960 towed the car up to Northern California for the weekend races at Willow Springs. Saturday's field was loaded with top-notch well-known west coast drivers who very quickly noticed that the "new kid" was fast. Racing great Bob Bondurant remembers it this way - "Willow Springs in 1960 was the first time I ever raced against Dave, and I thought, where'd this guy come from? He was so quick, a tremendous driver." Dave drove well in his first race and finished fourth, 35 seconds behind Bob who won the race. It was Sunday's feature race however that provided a glimpse of things to come as Dave MacDonald skillfully outdueled the entire field to record his first ever victory! Dave began to build a name for himself on the West Coast and the press took notice. Corvette News put Dave and his 00 Corvette on the cover and ran an article titled “From Dragster to Driver.” The Editor’s Note has this to say: “Dave MacDonald, a personable young Californian began drag racing with a 1955 Corvette at California’s San Gabriel Drag Strip. Since then, a string of Corvettes and expert driving has garnered more than 100 trophies in drag racing and road racing, well nigh bulging one room of his El Monte, California, home. Dave is quite modest when reciting his accomplishments, but his driving skill and mechanical know-how amply support his record. So far in 1961, Dave leads racing in the California Sports Car Club with more than twice as many points as his closest class competitor.” Dave rarely came in anything but first place but still he felt he could do better. Car owner Jim Simpson remembers Dave coming to him with an idea for a new look Corvette. Dave believed they’d be faster if they could design a Corvette that was smaller and lighter. The two collaborated with Max Balchowsky, of OL' Yaller fame, and used a mold of Jim’s 1961 Vette to come up with the “Corvette Special”. The finished product was eighteen inches shorter and over 1,000lbs lighter and boy was Dave right … it was lightning quick. At the cars debut at Laguna Seca in October of 1961 Dave was caught up in a five-car melee that took the car out of the race. After Laguna Seca, Dave drove the Corvette Special to victory in 4 of the next 5 races, including back-to-back wins at Riverside against a slew of Maseratis, Corvettes, Porsches and Ferraris. The Corvette Special would later prove to be the inspiration for Zora Duntov when he designed the Corvette Grand Sport. In October 1962 Dave was one of two racers hand-picked by Zora Duntov to test drive the new 1963 Corvette Stingray at the GM Proving Grounds in Michigan. Mr. Duntov assembled the press and asked Dave MacDonald and Dick Thompson to give the reporters a show. The PR event was a huge success and the world quickly fell in love with the new Stingray. Sidenote: At 1991 Corvette show in Anaheim, Zora approached Dave's wife Sherry and told her - "Dave best Corvette driver ever." High praise indeed from the “Father of the Corvette”. Two weeks later Chevrolet presented the top four Corvette drivers - Dave MacDonald, Bob Bondurant, Jerry Grant & Doug Hooper - with the very first 1963 Z06 Stingrays. GM flew Dave, Bob and Jerry out to their factory in St. Louis where the three personally received the cars and then drove them cross-country back to the LA. Dave’s wife Sherry accompanied Dave on the memorable drive and recalls “heads turning the entire way.” The cars were quickly race-prepped and entered in the Times Grand Prix at Riverside later that month. This would turn out to be a pivotal race for Dave as he, and the new Vettes, were to be matched against Carroll Shelby and his new Cobra Roadster. It was the first race for both cars and it provided some spectacular road racing in the early going. Dave and Cobra driver Billy Krause exchanged the lead several times before Krause eventually built a sizable lead. Both cars eventually left the race with mechanical failures but Dave was impressed with the Cobra’s performance. Carroll Shelby was also impressed - not just with the Cobra but with Dave too – so much so that he went to team owners Don Steves and Jim Simpson and asked if he could hire Dave away to drive for his Cobra team. Simpson knew in his heart that joining Shelby American was best for Dave's career and reluctantly let him go. He remembers turning to Carroll ans delivering this parting statement - “That kid is going to be the world's greatest racing driver, and you can put that in granite.” Shelby’s bold move paid immediate dividends as Dave, in his very first race, piloted the Cobra Roadster 260ci to its historic first-ever victory! Dave won going away against an impressive field at Riverside International Raceway on February 2nd 1963. He drove the Cobra 260ci once more and won again. As top racing speeds continued to climb throughout the 60's, it was obvious that to win, you had to keep up. In March 1963 Shelby introduced the new Cobra Roadster 289ci that he hoped would further Cobra's assault on road racing. The 289’s maiden race was at Dodger Stadium on March 2nd 1963 and Dave won again with Ken Miles finishing second - giving the Shelby Cobras a 1-2 sweep. Dave won several more races in the Cobra 289 and then in late 1963 moved into Shelby’s newest monster, the Cooper Monaco, which the media affectionately dubbed ” The King Cobra”. Dave, with his remarkable driving ability, promptly recorded the King Cobra's first-ever victory in the LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside on Oct 13, 1963. The event drew the largest crowd in the history of American road racing at that time as 85,000 roaring fans saw Dave dominate a star-studded international field. A record purse attracted racing champions that included AJ Foyt, Jimmy Clark, Rodger Ward, Parnelli Jones, Graham Hill, Jim Hall, Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant, John Surtees, Dick Thompson, Pedro Rodriguez, Lloyd Ruby, Billy Krause, Richie Ginther and Roger Penski - but these greats were no match for Dave that day as he won in spectacular fashion - finishing a lap ahead of everyone - a feat that had never before been accomplished in the Times Grand Prix. After the race Carroll Shelby said to reporters - "This is the happiest day of my life, I'm glad I took a chance with the kid and gave him the ride. He's just the greatest, isn't he?" The following week against most of the same drivers, Dave piloted the King Cobra to an equally impressive victory in the Pacific Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Raceway. The win gave him back-to-back victories in the two most prestigious road racing events in America.A week later he drove a Cobra Roadster to a 2nd place finish in the Hawaiian Grand Prix and suddenly Dave MacDonald was the hottest driver in the country. He was featured on several more magazine covers as well as being honored by the Helms Athletic Foundation as "Athlete of the Month" for October 1963. This award was given to the athlete who was most impressive in his or her sport through their outstanding performance. A race car driver had never before received this prestigious honor but Dave had so thoroughly dominated the sport of auto racing that his achievements could not be ignored. Dave MacDonald was making his mark and offers from all types of racing were pouring in. He accepted an invitation to drive for the Wood Bros racing team in NASCAR's Golden State 400 held at Riverside Raceway on November 3rd, 1963. Despite losing third gear (the cars highest) midway through the race, Dave was able to muscle the Ford Galaxie to a 2nd place finish behind winner Darel Dieringer. After the race Glen Wood praised Dave for a skillful performance under difficult circumstances. Marvin Panch placed 3rd in the other Wood Bros entry and this 2-3 finish gave the team their best showing to date. Dave finished the 400 mile race ahead of many drivers already famous on the NASCAR circuit, including: Marvin Panch (3rd)Fireball Roberts (4th) Junior Johnson (5th) Joe Weatherly (7th) David Pearson (13th) Marvin Potter (15th) Fred Lorenzen (32nd) Ned Jarret (34th) Richard Petty (36th) Rex White (37th) Two weeks later Dave drove another Ford Galaxie, this time for Holman/Moody in NASCAR's Augusta 510 held at Augusta International Raceway on November 17th. This was the first and only NASCAR event held on the 3 mile, 21 turn road course and Dave placed 2nd again, this time behind teammate and NASCAR legend Fireball Roberts giving Holman/Moody a 1-2 finish. Notable finishers in this race were:
Joe Weatherly (4th) The Augusta 510 ended a spectacular 5-week performance where Dave finished 1st or 2nd in all five marquee races on the USRRC and NASCAR circuits. In February 1964 Dave MacDonald drove a Bill Stroppe Mercury in his only appearance in NASCAR's Daytona 500. He finished 10th in a race won by King Richard Petty. Note: Dave competed in six NASCAR events and went head-to-head with Richard Petty in all of them - in 4 of the 6 Dave finished ahead of Richard.Around this time Carroll Shelby was putting the finishing touches on his new creation – the Daytona Cobra Coupe – a bigger, faster car that he hoped would challenge Ferrari’s dominance in endurance races. The car made a sensational debut in the 1964 Daytona Continental 2,000km at Daytona International Speedway. With Dave MacDonald and Bob Holbert sharing turns behind the wheel, the car set numerous track records and was a full five laps ahead of the 2nd place car when a freak fire in the pits stole a sure victory from Dave and the Shelby team. Carroll then entered the Daytona Cobra in the 12 HRS of Sebring on March 21, 1964 and again chose Dave MacDonald and Bob Holbert as his drivers. The two Americans stunned the racing world – and wobbled Ferraris knees – as they piloted the coupe to a 1st in GT, 4th overall finish behind three Ferraris. This was the best finish to date for an American team and gave notice that American motor racing was now a force to be reckoned with on the international endurance circuit. In April 1964 Carroll Shelby loaded the Cobra transporter and road out to Arizona for the inaugural race at newly constructed Phoenix International Raceway. He brought along three Cobra's for this effort - two Roadster 289's and a striking new bright-orange King Cobra that Shelby had built for Dave's good friend, and Olympia Brewery heir, Craig Lang. Lang owned the car and raced it as a team car under the Shelby American flag. Dave performed flawlessly at PIR's new road course and after powering the King Cobra Lang Cooper past Bobby Unser's Lotus, proceeded to lap everyone in the 29 car field except 2nd place finisher Skip Hudson; securing the Lang Cooper's maiden victory. This was an historic win for Dave MacDonald as he would forever distinguish himself as the man who drove each of Carroll Shelby's legendary Cobra's - Cobra Roadster 260ci, Cobra Roadster 289ci, King Cobra, King Cobra Lang Cooper and Daytona Cobra - to their first-ever victories. Shelby Cobra's were now dominating the road racing circuit and as Carroll's top driver, Dave's schedule was full. But in the 1960's it was every racer's dream to make it to the big show – the Indy 500. So when Mickey Thompson offered Dave an opportunity to make that dream a reality, and drive for him in the 1964 Memorial Day race, the 27 yr old rising star accepted. Shelby was on board with the Indy deal so long as Dave fulfilled his commitment to drive the King Cobra Lang Cooper in the US Road Racing Championships at Kent, Washington on May 10th. So while Dave was at the Brickyard running time trials, Bob Holbert was back at Kent tire testing the King Cobra's. Unfortunately, a day before the race, Bob lost control of the Lang King Cobra on a wet track and totaled the car. Shelby, now down a King Cobra at Kent, decided that Dave would step in and race Holbert's King Cobra.The race at Kent was memorable -- after a spectacular race-long battle with Jim Hall and his high-flying Chaparral, Dave MacDonald crossed first to grab the checkered flag and another victory. In a true display of sportsmanship, Dave invited Jim to share his victory lap … a victory lap which would be Dave’s last before his death two weeks later in the Indianapolis 500
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