Dave Macdonald

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David George MacDonald (July 23, 1936 – May 30, 1964) was an American road racing champion best known for his victories in the early 1960s with Corvettes and Shelby Cobras.

In the 1964 Indianapolis 500, he was killed at the age of 27.

MacDonald was inducted into the National Corvette Museum's Corvette Hall of Fame in 2014 and the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) Hall of Fame in 2016.

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Sports car and NASCAR racing career

MacDonald began racing in 1956, running a '55 Chevrolet Corvette on Southern Californian drag strips. Between 1956 and 1959, he won nearly 100 medals, all in Corvettes.

MacDonald set two old record times in a stock '58 Corvette at Chandler Air Force Base in Arizona, 104.68 mph in the 14 mile and 123.11 mph. He drove Corvettes to six more speed records in the 1/4, 1/2, and one-mile distances at annual US speed trials from 1958-1962.

MacDonald made his first run in 1960, and the first race was held at Willow Springs Raceway on February 13-14. He rode a '57 Corvette to a fourth-place finish in Saturday's preliminary run, second behind champion Bob Bondurant, and then won the inaugural race on Sunday for his first ever victory. He had led Corvettes to 28 victories in 64 races, including 42 top-three finishes in 1962. MacDonald's unique way of drifting through turns at a breakneck pace made him a crowd favorite, earning him the nickname "Master of Oversteer."

When Zora Arkus-Duntov introduced all new 1963 Corvette Sting Rays, the designer selected Dave MacDonald and Dick Thompson to do the shakedown testing during production of the all new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. At the GM Proving Grounds in Milford, Michigan, four days of all-out road testing were carried out on a coupe and a convertible. GM created "Biography of a Sports Car" from a video obtained from these studies. The film was distributed around the world as part of GM's advertising campaign to market the new sports car. In September, Duntov and other Chevrolet executives presented MacDonald with the first ever 1963 Z06 Sting Ray, which he raced at Riverside Raceway on October 13, 1962. Carroll Shelby's new Ford Cobra Roadster debuted in the highly awaited race. During the first hour, MacDonald and Cobra driver Billy Krause exchanged leads before both cars were halted due to mechanical issues.

Carroll Shelby took MacDonald away from Chevrolet to drive his Cobra Roadster at the start of the 1963 season. Shelby American's first outing came on February 2–3 at Riverside International Raceway, where he led Cobra CSX2026 to back-to-back victories. These were the Cobra's first victories. In Cobra CSX2002, teammate Ken Miles finished second for both days.

MacDonald finished fourth in Cobra CSX2026 at the FIA Daytona Continental on February 17, 1963, bringing the Cobra its first top-five finish in international competition. After this competition, Shelby retired the 260ci engines and unveiled the new Ford 289ci engine at the SCCA sanctioned races at Dodger Stadium on March 3–4, 1963. MacDonald won both days in Cobra CSX2026 for the first time in 289's first victories.

MacDonald returned to national prominence in the fall of 1963 after winning in the two biggest and richest road races in the world – the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix and the Monterey Pacific Grand Prix. These were the first victories for Shelby King Cobra. In his next three races, he finished second in the Hawaiian Grand Prix in Cobra Roads CSX2136, second in NASCAR's Golden State 400 in the Wood Brothers No. 2. In NASCAR's Augusta 510, 21 Ford and second were second, behind Holman/Moody teammate and race winner Fireball Roberts. MacDonald was named the Helms Athletic Foundation's "Athlete of the Month" medallion for October 1963. The award was first given in 1936 and was given to the athlete who dominated his or her sport due to outstanding results. MacDonald was the ninth auto racer to be honoured and the first during the US football season.

MacDonald's last year in racing would be 1964. He remained committed to a full Cobra schedule with Shelby American, but Bill Stroppe also signed up for 20 races in the NASCAR series. MacDonald has also signed a two-year deal with Mickey Thompson to produce the 1964 and '65 Indianapolis 500.'s

Dave MacDonald, 1964, qualified for his first and only Daytona 500, finishing 10th in a series NASCAR considers the best in NASCAR history Richard Petty claimed the '64 race, taking his first of seven Daytona 500s.

MacDonald, 1964, captured the United States Road Racing Championships in Shelby King Cobra CM/1/63. His average speed of 97.653 MPH was 11 MPH faster than the previous track record of Fireball Roberts in the Augusta 510. "Dave MacDonald just stamped himself as one of today's top road racing legends" after this triumph, according to Chris Economaki, a hall of fame motor sports journalist.

In the 12 Hours of Sebring international endurance race, MacDonald and co-driver Bob Holbert rode Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX2287 to victory (fourth overall) on March 21, 1964. This was the first victory for the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes, as well as ending Ferrari's six-year winning streak in the Grand Touring Division.

MacDonald defeated the Phoenix FIA National Open in Shelby, Born in 1964, 1964. King Cobra-Lang Cooper CM/1/64. This was CM/1/64's debut outing and its first victory.

MacDonald came in second place in the United States Road Racing Championships at Laguna Seca Raceway in Shelby, King Cobra CM/1/64, on May 3, 1964. He finished in third place between race champion Jim Hall and 3rd-place finisher Roger Penske in the Chaparrals.

MacDonald, 1964, captured the United States Road Racing Championships in Kent, Washington, CM/3/63. The victory placed him in a tie for the first time in the United States RRC Drivers' Championship standings with Jim Hall, who was invited to share the victory lap. This will be MacDonald's last run before his tragic Indy 500 victory three weeks later.

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