Dave MacDonald is kind of like the "Marilyn Monroe" of race car drivers. He started off with a bang in the 50's, took the world by storm in the early 1960's, and then we lost him too early in 1964. His early career is most noted for his success in th... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Yup, him and Mark Donahue were the two I followed religiously....I was listening to the '64 Indy 500 on the radio with my dad. The crash that ended his life was horrible beyond belief. R.I.P.Davey
There are some really gnarly pics and video of the accident... I was gonna post them, but they just aren't fun to look at... Especially on a Thursday morning.
Dave MacDonald and the 00 Corvette were Really something to watch. I remember him at the Oakland airport and down at Laguna Seca. But I think what got him at Indy was the way he always drove. it was okay in a Corvette, but not an Indy Raoadster.
Several top drivers passed on driving Mickey Thompson's Allstate Special before MacDonald agreed to do it.Apparently the car had some bad handling characteristics.
A truly great race car driver and on of the greatest of all time ! His racing record speaks for himself and I can't think of anyone that would come close to his driving ability . A huge loss ! Retro Jim
Am i the only one watching the bumper of the coups to see how flat it's going to corner? I am much more interested in that than the scenery. ,,,but i do have a basset hound named Duntov. Great footage! I'll do well to get any work done.
One of my favorite memories of racing back in the day was watching Dave in the Shelby King Cobra go roundy round at Laguna Seca. After dinner we went down to the local Ford dealer in Monterey who loaned garage space to the Ford powered cars (Ford was on fire back then with the 289.) We stood behind the rope and watched the mechanics thrash on the cars...so cool!
Alright, answer my own question. It's a Shelby King Cobra, and I stand behind the statement that it has amazing lines. Very very wild.
Take a look at this video of the '63 LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside, the show later in the year at Laguna Seca was virtually the same. Check out Dave's "drifting " style as he throws the King Cobra through the turns. I have some 8mm of these cars from that era, but this video is nicely done, enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDbtiw5Emew
I think he was from El Monte, and reportedly did some drag racing before moving on to sports cars...legend was in Pasadena that he sometimes hung out at Shaps, a famous watering hole that used to be on Colorado Blvd (I think?)...
Yes, Dave was from El Monte, lived on Hallwood. He did some drag racing in a Corvette, a '58 if I remember correctly. He also worked as a mechanic at Service Chevrolet in Pasadena when Don Nicholson was there. Terry Prince, who used to have Dyno tune his 60 B/S Chevy, told me one of Dave's specialities was to install extra tail lights in the '61 Corvettes when owners wanted to go with 6 tail lights!
This is great footage! Dave is my grandpa, and I don't think I've ever seen this before! Would you mind sending me the footage of the crash please? I have seen a few pictures before but never the video. Thank you!
I remember at Oakland he was leading with his buddy Jerry Freitas in second and Dave spun out, on the last lap. Dave waited for Jerry to come around, and then he drag raced him to the finish!
The Jalopy Journal
