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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 San Gabriel Valley California to the winner's circle at Willow Springs, Riverside, Stockton, Tucson, Cotati, Del Mar, Pomona, Dodger Stadium, Palm Springs, Nassau, Augusta, Elkhart Lake, Kent, Sebring and Laguna Seca. Along the way, he not only coaxed and cajoled his cars across the finish line; he got them there in record-breaking times. 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 1955 model, from the dealership where he worked as a new car mechanic; he took it to the drags and quickly began winning. A newspaper article dubbed him “Local Corvette Racer Fastest in the West.” Dave was repeatedly challenged after winning to prove his car's stock status. At a cost to the challenger of $25, Dave’s engine was torn down in front of track officials and certified absolutely stock every time. To further his racing career, Dave moved to Don Steves Chevrolet in La Habra, California in late 1959 and Don sponsored him to the tune of $50 per race plus winnings. In February of 1960, Dave, an accomplished mechanic, race prepped his white, blue-striped 1957 Don Steves' Chevrolet Corvette and went racing. He entered his first road race at Willow Springs, California and won! This time the newspaper article read: “In the big car production race, 22-year-old David MacDonald, driving his first race, took the checkered flag in a Corvette.” Dave was building a name for himself on the West Coast and the press began to take 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 seven 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 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 … the car was lightening quick. It debuted at Riverside in March of 1962 in two separate modified races against Maseratis, Porches, Ferraris and others. Dave, in his newly painted and pinstriped Corvette Special, cleaned up as usual in winning both races. This creation would later turn out 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 Testing Grounds in Michigan. Mr. Duntov called a press conference 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 an Anaheim Corvette show in 1991, Zora approached Dave's wife Sherry and said "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 picked up the cars and drove them cross-country back to LA. Dave’s wife Sherry accompanied Dave on the memorable drive and recalls “heads turning the entire way”. The cars were then prepped and ready for their first race later that month at Riverside. 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 left the race with mechanical failures but Dave was impressed with the Cobra’s performance. Carroll Shelby was equally impressed with Dave – so much so that he went to car owner Jim Simpson and asked if he could hire Dave away to drive for his Cobra team. Simpson was torn, he knew his team needed the talented driver behind the wheel of their Corvette, but he knew in his heart that joining Shelby was best for Dave. He reluctantly agreed and remembers his parting statement to Carroll - “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 first-ever victory! Dave dominated an impressive field at Riverside International Raceway that day and never looked back. He drove the Cobra 260ci twice and won both times. As top racing speeds continued to climb throughout the sixties, it was obvious that to win, you had to keep up. In late 1963 Shelby introduced the new Roadster 289ci to further Cobra's assault on racing. In the 289’s maiden race at Dodger Stadium 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 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 at the 1963 LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside Raceway. The event drew the largest crowd in the history of American road racing and 85,000 roaring fans saw Dave dominate a star-studded international field. Racing champions AJ Foyt, Jimmy Clark, Rodger Ward, Parnelli Jones, Graham Hill, Jim Hall, Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant, John Surtees, Pedro Rodriguez, Lloyd Ruby and Roger Penski were no match for Dave that day and he won in spectacular fashion - finishing a lap ahead of everyone - a feat that had never before been accomplished in the Grand Prix. After the race Carroll Shelby told 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?" Dave followed that win with an equally impressive victory in the Pacific Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Raceway giving him back-to-back victories in the two most prestigious road racing events in America. Dave MacDonald was now the hottest driver in the country and the racing world was taking notice. 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 - an award given to the athlete who demonstrates outstanding performance in his or her sport. A race car driver had never before received this prestigious honor but Dave had so thoroughly dominated the sport of racing that month that his achievements could not be ignored. Shelby was also working on a new creation – the Cobra Daytona 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 2,000km Daytona Continental race 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. Shelby then entered the Daytona Cobra in the 12 HRS of Sebring 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 class, 4th overall finish closely behind the three Ferraris. This was an historic victory for American racing - and also for Dave MacDonald as he would distinguish himself as the man who drove each of the Shelby Cobras - Cobra Roadster, King Cobra & Daytona Cobra - to their first-ever victories. Dave was making his mark and offers from all types of racing were coming his way. He accepted an invitation from the Wood Bros racing team to drive in NASCAR's Golden State 400 event. Despite losing third gear (the cars highest) midway through the race, Dave was able to muscle his Ford to a 2nd place finish behind winner Darel Dieringer. Glen Wood praised Dave for having the presence of mind to back off the gas when the RPMs got too high on Riverside's long backstretch and not drive pedal-to-the-metal and blow the transmission. Three gears and Dave would have won. Marvin Panch drove the second Wood entry and this 2-3 finish gave the Woods Bros their best showing to date and the team took off from that point. Dave finished this 400 mile race ahead of many drivers already famous on the NASCAR circuit: Marvin Panch (3rd)Fireball Roberts (4th) Junior Johnson (5th) Joe Weatherly (7th) David Pearson (13th) Fred Lorenzen (32nd) Ned Jarret (34th) Richard Petty (36th) Rex White (37th) Two weeks later Dave drove for Holman/Moody in the Augusta 510 NASCAR race at Augusta International Raceway. It was the first and only NASCAR event held on the 3 mile, 21 turn, banked road course and Dave placed 2nd again, this time behind NASCAR legend Fireball Roberts. Notable finishers in this race were:
Joe Weatherly (4th) Dave would make only one appearance in the Daytona 500 NASCAR event before his death - a 10th place finish in the 1964 race won by Richard Petty. Note: Dave MacDonald competed in six NASCAR events and went head-to-head with King Richard Petty in all of them - in 4 of the 6 Dave finished ahead of Richard. In the 1960's every racer's dream was to make it to the big show – the Indy 500. That dream became a reality for Dave when Mickey Thompson asked the 27 yr old rising star to drive for him in the 1964 race. Dave was still racing for Shelby and Carroll agreed to let him race at Indy as well. During the month of May, Dave flew back and forth for time trials at the Brickyard and King Cobra driving duty in the US Road Racing Championships at Kent, Washington. The race at Kent was memorable -- Dave MacDonald and his King Cobra were victorious after a grueling race-long battle with 2nd place finisher Jim Hall and his high-flying Chaparral. Like the true sportsman he was, 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 Indy 500.
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