ANDY COTTYN HAD A DREAM
HISTORY OF THE SPEEDWAY
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
SPEEDWAY 1954-2022
THE FINAL LAP
Celebrating the Western Speedway and Westshore Motorsports Park
From all of us at Verity Construction, Thank you Western Speedway for bringing our community over 60 years of Family Fun & Entertainment.
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1954-2022
GROUP PUBLISHER Michelle Cabana michelle.cabana@blackpress.ca PUBLISHER Cathy Webster cathy.webster@goldstreamgazette.com MANAGING EDITOR - Katherine Engqvist CONTRIBUTORS Rick Stiebel | Bailey Moreton Archives from Louise Pollard-Grant Sean McIntyre | Jane Skrypnek | Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame | Barrie Goodwin
[INSIDE[ Mayor’s message.............................5 Langford had a speedway many years before Western......................7 Speedway fulfilled Andy Cottyn’s dream.......................9
ADVERTISING/MARKETING Joan Stiebel | Limara Yakemchuk Randi Page | Catherine Kennedy Patty Doering
Ex-racer keeps storied history on track.......................................... 15 Hall of fame born in the exhaust of legends........................ 17
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lily Chan GRAPHIC DESIGN Tammy Robinson ON THE COVER Track owner Andy Cottyn (wearing hat) poses with driver Bill Smith and crew members in 1955. Published by Black Press Media 101- 847 Goldstream Ave., Langford, BC V9B 2X8 The Speedway Guide was published as a souvenir guide to commemorate the years that the Speedway was in operation in Greater Victoria and celebrate the final season at the current location on Millstream Road in Langford (2022). The points of view or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or the speedway. The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright, including the design, editorial and advertising. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the Publisher or Group Publisher.
Western Speedway legend had all the tools.................................... 21 Nicknames from the past abound at the track.....................................25 Western Speedway exported many champions...........................27 Hall of fame inductees.................. 33
Did you know? The use of airplane seatbelts for early racecars........... 41 Catching the action at full speed.......................................43 Full throtle for speeway racer David Smith...................................47 Speedway racers, crews will never forget what the track gave them............................. 51 Westshore Motorsports photos.... 55 Did you know? Watching the races....................... 57 Final season revs up high-octane entertainment...............................59 2022 SCHEDULE.......................... 61 Autographs....................................62
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STEW YOUNG REMEMBERS GROWING UP AT THE RACETRACK Mayor hopeful there will be another 50 years of memories at the races BY BAILEY MORETON/NEWS STAFF
Langford Mayor Stew Young remembers the speedway as the biggest event in town for many of Langford’s early years. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)
Langford Mayor Stew Young is familiar with the sights and sounds of burning rubber and car engines roaring around the track at what is now called Westshore Motorsports Park. Having been born and raised in the community, Young estimates he’s been to more than a thousand races in his lifetime, seeing hundreds of racers win in dozens of categories. Throughout the track’s storied history, the Canada 200 events were a highlight – the Canada versus U.S. rivalry capturing his imagination. In the track’s earlier days, when it was known as Western Speedway, Young said it was the biggest event in town and thousands of people would make their way down Millstream Road to watch.
“We just all knew each other and there’s a great camaraderie here and it’s a history that a lot of people are a part of.” Just as the track and Young have changed a great deal, so has the community around it. Langford has grown and expanded, with its population surging and new housing developments springing up all over the city, including at the Westshore Motorsports Park site. That means 2022 is the last season of racing at that location. “Hopefully everybody in the region gets a chance to come here for the last year … (to) see the facility and take part in it. It’s pretty special.”
“It was just part of your life back then while I was growing up here in Langford.”
Young is also hopeful a group working on finding a new location for the track will be successful. The group’s aim is to have a location picked and a purchase deal struck by fall, with the new track opening in time for the 2023 season the following spring.
That lifelong fascination has morphed for Young over the years, from excitedly watching the fancy cars go by as a kid with a hotdog in hand, to hiring drivers from the track when he started his company as an adult.
“I’m sad to see it go, absolutely. It’s unfortunate, there are a lot of people that are sad to see it go. It’s a part of our history. It’s part of Langford. I’m hoping we get another chance to have another 50 years of memories.”
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Jim Laird #52, Howie Bianchi #2, and Jimmy Wilburn prepare for their race in 1935 in front of a capacity crowd at Willows Speedway in Oak Bay. (Photo contributed)
Photo courtesy of City of Victoria Archives
LANGFORD HAD A SPEEDWAY many years before Western BY GOLDSTREAM GAZETTE ARCHIVE FILES
Long before Western Speedway – now Westshore Motorsports Park – was on the map, fans got to watch thoroughbred racing one weekend and auto racing the next at at the old Willows Fairgrounds and Willows Speedway (between Foul Bay and Cadboro Bay roads), where the sport of auto racing first appeared in Greater Victoria in 1912. But it wasn’t until 1919 that the Willows became a full-fledged auto racing facility. The first big race took place Aug. 16, 1919. The track was a halfmile dirt oval and speed fiends from all over the Pacific Northwest came with such racing machines as the Kewpie, Duesenberg, Mercer, Maxwell, and Stutz. Auto racing continued at Willows over the years, although not regularly, but gained popularity as the drivers became accustomed to per-
forming in front of huge crowds. Auto racing continued there until the late 1940s when it finally closed down. The popularity of the Willows track gave rise to other tracks in Greater Victoria. In 1937, Jack Taylor and the British Columbia Automobile Sports Association began construction of Langford Speedway, on the site of which is now Ruth King Elementary School on Goldstream Avenue. There was also a racetrack on the current site of West Shore Parks and Recreation, known as Colwood Race Track, it was a one-mile dirt track. While it was in operation for only a short time, it remains part of the auto racing history in the area. Speedway
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Langford Speedway was very much a community project. To build the new dirt track, drivers, mechanics and local residents donated their time and labour. In 1946, Taylor wanted to get out of the speedway; so he sold his property to Bruce Passmore and the track became known as Bruce Passmore’s Langford Speedway.
Langford opener 1936, Victoria, B.C. Cars in pits including Ernie Spalding, #19 Jerry Willburn and Johnny McDowell.
Passmore also raced and owned a stable of race cars that helped get auto racing underway. He was responsible for some big changes at Langford Speedway, including having the track paved in the spring of 1947 – it had the distinction of being the only paved track in Canada. Passmore promoted the speedway by encouraging drivers from throughout the Pacific Northwest and California to come up and race against local drivers, a philosophy that helped put Victoria on the auto racing map and continues to do so. In 1950, Passmore’s property was expropriated to make way for the school. That situation left local racers with nowhere to race. They made their way over the Malahat to Shearing Speedway in Cobble Hill. It has been said that on occasion, drivers used their race cars to haul streetcars over the ‘Hat because the weight of the race cars was too much for the average car to handle at the time.
1956. #91 Bert Gilmore, and #25 Carmen Pascoe.
As time went by, Shearing Speedway closed its gates and once again local racers were without a place to race until 1952, when Andy Cottyn purchased a 62-acre parcel of wilderness in Langford off Millstream Road.
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Andy Cottyn receives recognition from Eric Foster (L) and track announcer Bing Foster (R).
SPEEDWAY FULFILLED ANDY COTTYN’S DREAM ‘I have experiences that money can’t buy,’ Cottyn would have done it all again in a heartbeat BY GOLDSTREAM GAZETTE ARCHIVES PHOTOS BARRIE GOODWIN/CONTRIBUTOR After the closing of the Langford and Shearing speedways, Andy Cottyn decided he needed to look for some land where he could build a race track to provide for local auto racing enthusiasts. His own interest in auto racing spanned back to the 1930s when he worked at the old Langford Speedway as a lap recorder. In the fall of 1952, the entrepreneur set out to look for land and bought a 62-acre site on Millstream Road for $12,000. With no money, he sold his logging equipment, got a loan from the bank, and a loan from his brother George to help start his dream. He sunk every penny he had into the track and he and his son George cleared 30 acres of land for the future site of the speedway.
1979 Sprint Cars. #6 Dave Carver. and #23 Barry Chamberlain
through the winter months to pay the bills, put food on the table, and pay taxes. Speaking with the Goldstream Gazette in March 1998, Cottyn recalled when people used to come around asking him what he was doing on the site. He simply told them he was building a race track. This was before the days when there were any regional district, municipality, or building regulations. Cottyn wasn’t quite sure how to go about building a speedway, so he began by touring other speedways in the United States to see if he could bring home some good ideas – which he did. The original speedway was dirt and measured a large 3/8 of a mile.
That time was financially tough for Cottyn, he worked in the bush Speedway
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Taking down the bleachers board by board is Andy Cottyn, who built the wooden structure at Western Speedway.
Construction on the original grandstands, which had a seating capacity of 3,500, began in January 1954. Cottyn then began working on the concessions, the track’s retaining walls, and parking area. At the time, paving the track was out of the question because of his limited budget. Looking back at the name of the speedway, which was originally going to be called the Cottyn Bowl, he decided because of all the dust the dirt track would create, people would end up calling it Cottyn’s Dust Bowl. He settled on Western Speedway, which turned out to be quite fitting for the area. The big day came on May 22, 1954, when Western Speedway opened its doors for the first time. It was a Big Car race (sprinters), with almost 3,000 cheering fans looking on. Opening night was a panic, at least that’s how Cottyn recalled in the 1998 interview with the Gazette. While he was installing the last set of lights, Bob Simpson, a top sprint car racer at that time, went whirling by him on the track during time trials.
1955, #25 Pascoe
Top drivers from Greater Victoria and the United States were on hand for that first race including Simpson, Del Fanning, Jack Spaulding, Dave Cooper, Ron Douglas, Ray Pottinger, Digger Caldwell, and Bill Heller. The track record was set at 2:30 by Simpson, who finished second in the main event behind winner Fanning. Cooper became the first stock car champion at season’s end, an honour he was to capture four of the first five years of the speedway’s operation. Competing in the stock car class that first year were Billy Foster, Digger O’Dell, Gerry Sylvester, and Dick Willoughby, to name a few. Foster began his racing career at Western Speedway, winning many of the big races in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before going on to Indy fame. Some of the other local drivers who got their starts at Western Speedway in the early ’50s were Jim Steen and Bill “Bullit” Smith. The types of cars that raced in the early days of the speedway were quite different from what is seen on the track today. The speedway had
Sprint cars, late ‘50s - Ray Laine (front),and Ray Pottinger (back). Speedway
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Celebrating the drivers that created motorsport history and the many fans and track supporters over the years.
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WHEN ASKED IF HE WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN GIVEN THE CHANCE, COTTYN REPLIED, “OH HELL YES. I WOULDN’T CHANGE MY LIFE. I HAVE EXPERIENCES THAT MONEY CAN’T BUY.”
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Following Andy Cottyn’s funeral service September 1998, it was fitting that his last ride was a two-lap tour around the speedway.
both sprint cars – which were Indy-type racing cars constructed from the ground up – and stock cars such as 1932, 1933, and 1935 Ford coupes with the fenders chopped off and racing on the street tires. In comparison to today’s standards of a race car, some of the early cars were quite primitive in design and lacked roll bars and other safety equipment. Even so, the cars were raced at nearly 80 miles an hour and remarkably, drivers were able to walk away from most crashes without serious injury. Races with female drivers competing in “Powder Puff” derbies were occasionally held, although it would be years before women would be allowed to race in regular competition at Western Speedway. In 1957, Cottyn had the track paved, constructing a flat oval with the size reduced to 4/10 of a mile, as it is today. Although Cottyn never raced cars, he had the chance to run a novelty race once with track announcer, Bing Foster, in borrowed cars. He admitted once that he was so far ahead of Foster that he slowed up and waited for him. Cottyn recounted in 1998, but “Foster ended up beating me.” Western Speedway was successful and well respected for the 12-year duration Cottyn owned it and in 1961, the Daffodil Cup was instituted, bringing the distinction that Western Speedway was a top-notch track. By 1964, a complete change was seen in the types of cars that raced at Western Speedway. The open-wheeled, chopped down stock cars were replaced with models that resembled street cars. This brought on more participation, drivers, cars and more spectators. Cottyn decided to sell in August 1966. Selling to a group of local businessmen and racing enthusiasts, it then became known as Western Speedway 1966. President of the new company was Geoff Vantrieght with Reg Midgley as vice president, secretary Ron Mayell, and a board of direc-
tors including Grant King, Tony Mortel, Frank Willie, Bob Vantreight, Jim Johnstone, Peter Mortel, Cliff Horwood, and the Vancouver Island Track Racing Association. Cottyn retained shares and continued to be involved by sitting on the board of directors from 1966 until the mid-’90s. In the late 1970s, Cottyn played a major role in the building of the new steel and cement grandstands, which still remain today. At the time, the project cost $250,000, making it one of the most ambitious privately financed undertakings in Vancouver Island sports history. The grandstands were dedicated to Cottyn during an opening race of the Langford oval in 1979. But there were a few speedbumps along the way. Vancouver Island Track Racing Association (VITRA) was the sole sanctioning body for Western Speedway from 1954 to 1991, except for a short period during the ’60s. In 1966, a rift flared up between VITRA and the speedway management and when the differences couldn’t be resolved, VITRA chose to run their shows for the year at Grandview Bowl in Nanaimo. This resulted in the formation of a new association to race at Western Speedway. Called the Victoria Auto Racing Association (VARA), it had 54 cars registered by midseason. By the fall of 1966, VITRA, wary of making the long trek over the Malahat to race in Nanaimo, had returned to Western Speedway. Subsequently, VITRA and VARA became co-sanctioning bodies until 1970 when both clubs merged as VITRA. Inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame during its inaugural ceremonies in September 1984, Cottyn is known for leaving his mark on Greater Victoria and the West Shore communities. In September 1998, Cottyn died at age 92. He is remembered for giving far more to the sport of auto racing than he ever took. When asked by the Gazette in 1998 if he would have still built Western Speedway, if he had the chance to do it all over again, he replied, “Oh hell yes. I wouldn’t change my life. I have experiences that money can’t buy.” Speedway 1954-2022 13
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1978 Western Speedway. Ross Rocket (left), and Dave Ireland.
EX-RACER KEEPS A STORIED HISTORY ON TRACK Dave Ireland got hooked on racing in his teens, discovered Western Speedway in early 1960s BY RICK STIEBEL It was a classic case of love at first squeal. Although he had developed an interest in cars a few months before, a memorable walk home from school in 1962 took it to whole other level for Dave Ireland. “A classmate had a ‘39 Chevy coupe,” he recalled. “He peeled out and his buddy skidded out behind him and that sort of lit the fire.” When summer rolled around, Ireland and a few friends were looking for something to do and someone suggested going to the stock car races at Western Speedway. “One of my buddies had two uncles who raced there,” he said. “I only saw one race that year, but it made quite an impression. My birthday was coming up and I said I’d like to go to the races, and that really started the ball rolling. I was a spectator until 1965, buying programs and scribbling notes in them.” Ireland joined the Vancouver Island Track Racing Association in 1966 and bought a ‘52 Chevy. “I worked on it but never raced that one,” he said. “I started out as a lap recorder working races in Nanaimo.” Once he met Dave Quissy later on, the two started rebuilding a ‘55 Chevy, which they raced a few times in Nanaimo before finishing the season at Western Speedway. Ireland teamed up with Gary Haskell the following year and ran three cars over two seasons in 1967 and ‘68 before he became intrigued with a new class of four-cylinder foreign stocks in 1970.
Dave Ireland in the “66” car taken at Nanaimo’s Grandview Bowl track. Second restoration and originally driven by Dave Cooper in 1961. (Robert G. “Bob” Hunter photo).
“That’s where I really started racing for two years,” he noted. Ireland was named chair of the Vancouver Island Track Racing Association and bought a Hudson Jet, which he ran in claimer classes for three years. “I came out $150 ahead,” he said. “That’s very rare, if not impossible.” Ireland eventually put the brakes on racing in 1975. “I got married and started a family and it was too expensive at the time,” he explained. “An interest in old stock cars kept gnawing at me. I met my future brother-in-law Ross Rockett and we spent two years restoring a ‘32 Chrysler coupe. A bunch of us brought out some cars for retired drivers to race for the track’s 25th anniversary in 1978. The group stayed together and it was lots of fun, the way things used to be.” One of the characters he remembers from that time is Howie Hilton, who drove the wrecker truck at Western Speedway for many years. “We called him Howie the Hook and he had a long history at the track,” Ireland added. “He ran one of the cars as well for a few years, and was always Johnny on the spot as a wrecker. Howie was usually there before the ambulance was.” Ireland saved all of the programs and memorabilia from the good old days and now devotes time to posting them online. His efforts covering 1963 to the present are part of the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame’s Facebook page. “It’s a real labour of love, but I’ve always loved the history.” Speedway
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1954-2022
Norm Wilcox in the #1 car. (Photo courtesy Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame)
HALL OF FAME BORN IN THE EXHAUST OF LEGENDS Norm Wilcox looks back at his start in racing, the establishment of the Victoria Auto Racers Hall of Fame BY RICK STIEBEL That first rumbling ride down a dirt hill was all it took to hook Norm Wilcox on chasing checkered flags. “My friend Harvey Chipper put together a go-kart,” said Wilcox, who was 15 or 16 at the time. “Harvey said ‘I built it, you drive it,’” he said regarding that first time behind the wheel roaring down the hill on Miller Road. Wilcox, who started working on stock cars when he was 19, wound up working with Gary Kershaw in 1968 on a 1955 Chevy. They took home three golds, winning the championship, the Billy Foster 100, and best-looking car at Western Speedway with that car. “You could say we achieved our goals,” Wilcox said. That led to building cars they raced at Western Speedway, in Nanaimo, and at the Oyster River track in Courtenay. “There were some interesting late-night drives home,” he recalled with a chuckle.
“We started building Old Timer’s stock cars in 1976 and that series worked out well. We started with just a few cars and I’m proud to say they’re still running the series today.” After building and selling four more cars, Wilcox decided in 1983 that it was time to move on to something different. “I had a weekly lunch with Ross Rockett and we came up with the idea for the Victoria Auto Racers Hall of Fame. We put together a group of people for the initial induction ceremony in 1984, and the seven people selected the first year received crests. We started handing out blue blazers for inductees after that, a tradition that still goes on,” added Wilcox, who was inducted in 2014. “Ross was a tremendous fellow,” he said. “We were joined at the hip and it was just devastating to hear he’s gone. He worked very hard at whatever he did, a true founding father of Western Speedway.” Speedway
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“WE STARTED BUILDING OLD TIMER’S STOCK CARS IN 1976 AND THAT SERIES WORKED OUT WELL. WE STARTED WITH JUST A FEW CARS AND I’M PROUD TO SAY THEY’RE STILL RUNNING THE SERIES TODAY.”
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Wilcox also started the 7-11 Race of Champions, which involves drivers competing in different classes of cars than what they earned championships in. “In my mind, I haven’t stopped racing,” Wilcox noted. “But I slowed down for 10 years to focus on the Victoria Racing Hall of Fame.” He was quick to include Dick Midgley and Larry Pollard as other major contributors to the success of racing locally and well beyond. “They put Western Speedway on the map, especially in the U.S. There’s so many great people in the Hall of Fame that established the racing community on the West Shore. They’re like a great family.” Wilcox has something special in mind after the last race at the legendary speedway is completed. “When the track shuts down in September my goal is to take the starter’s post, a section of the announcer’s booth, a 5x5 section of the grandstand and a piece of the track for the Hall of Fame because it meant so much to so many people for so many years.”
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Western Speedway legend Dave Cooper holds one of the many trophies from his racing days. (Black Press Media file photo)
WESTERN SPEEDWAY RACING LEGEND ‘THE FLYING PLUMBER’ HAD ALL THE TOOLS Dave Cooper recalls car crashes, his first win, and more BY GOLDSTREAM GAZETTE ARCHIVES
1970 late model #29 Dave Cooper. (Barrie Goodwin photo)
Dave Cooper ran his first race in 1941 but it wasn’t until 1946 that he really got revved up.
“From that moment on, I never looked back. It was a natural progression. All my worries would go away the moment the race flag dropped.”
Cooper is a legend in the speedway community. At 16, he won the first car race he entered with his father’s pickup truck. He started driving street stocks such as a 1936 Chrysler and later turned to the simpler sprint cars. He was the track champion at Western Speedway five years in a row and as a plumber by trade, was quickly known as the “Flying Plumber.”
In his first season, he won both the sprint car and big car points race. His overall win total was more than 200 races.
“A lot of my buddies said that I grew horns when I got behind a wheel,” said Cooper on the eve of his 98th birthday on Oct. 16, 2019, when reminiscing with the Goldstream Gazette.
Saanich-born Cooper never thought he’d end up in racing. At the age of five, he got polio, which affected his mobility while growing up. In high school, his right ankle stiff from polio pulled him back from most sports. “It was so bad that when I would play baseball, I would hit the ball and have someone else run for me,” he recalled. Speedway
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See you at the Finish Line
What a wild ride it has been! Since 1954, Western Speedway has been a staple in the community, by the time I arrived in Victoria in 1977, racing fans had long been enjoying Saturday Nights watching the cars whip around the track. I always enjoyed watching the races too, I would have loved to be at the track more often, but even watching the racers on Chek never failed to bring a smile to my face. In fact, one of my favourite memories of Western Speedway was getting to see what the drivers could accomplish with the incredible support our community always gives. Back in 1982, we were just finding our pace here at Dodd’s, but found great joy in seeing Victoria come together and support Western Speedway veteran Roy Smith as he made his way to Daytona – how cool was it to see everyone come together and “Ride with Roy”? That generosity of spirit that is alive and well here in Victoria is something we too have gotten to experience over the years and it makes our heart shine everytime we rally together, be it as racing fans, or just as people. We may be saying goodbye to Western Speedway, but the spirit and togetherness it fostered is here to stay. Thank you for the memories,
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Dave Cooper 1950. (Photo courtesy Cooper Family)
For more than 40 years, racing was his beloved hobby. He never owned the cars, he just drove them. By the time he reached his 50s, he was competing in the super stock division and working on his cars at any spare moment. Sometimes he would race for Nascar in California. “Automobiles were the big thing back then and auto racing seemed the natural thing to do,” he said back in March 1998 when speaking with the Gazette. Cooper was a natural at it – tearing up the track at the old Langford Speedway where he started, Shearing, Western Speedway and many other tracks along the U.S coast. He competed four times in the Shell 4000 Rally from Montreal to Vancouver. With Bob Low as his co-pilot, their best finish was second against more than 75 competitors. Cooper recalled safety regulations weren’t such an important factor back then. When he drove his 1936 Dodge plumping pickup in a race, he got his friend Roy Hingley to sit in the back of his truck for added weight on the back wheels. The Flying Plumber went on to win that race.
late the sport, it was normal for the race cars to be towed with just a rope tied behind the truck and to help the racers, the provincial police would hold up traffic to let them get through to their destination. When speaking with the Goldstream Gazette back in March 1998, Cooper said there was a time when he would have liked to have gone further in his racing career, but financially it was not feasible, and he always maintained his family came first. Yet it wasn’t the financial concerns that led to his retirement in 1974. “I was leading a race in Monroe (Washington) and I had led the race for over 100 laps when the engine blew and I went off the end of the track because I couldn’t see,” Cooper shared with the Gazette for the 45th-anniversary edition of the Western Speedway Guide, published in 1998. “Ted McKenzie was the first to reach my car and he lifted me out. It was then I decided it wasn’t fun anymore and I always said I would quit when racing wasn’t fun anymore.” Cooper was inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1984 and celebrated his 100th birthday in October 2021.
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NICKNAMES FROM THE PAST ABOUND AT THE TRACK From Len ‘Digger’ O’Dell to ‘Smokin’ Joe Liberatore, drivers have long attracted monikers BY GOLDSTREAM GAZETTE ARCHIVES
In 1986, Rocky Horne became the full-time track announcer, kicking off an impressive 23 and a half year announcing career. Rocky “silver-tongue” Horne coined many of the nicknames.
What would auto racing be like to fans without the nicknames attached to drivers and other members of the racing fraternity? Many of the nicknames (past and present) speak for themselves while others could be considered debatable. But you be the judge. In some cases, their nicknames are better known than the Real McCoy. The major leagues of auto racing have produced such household names as Dale “The Intimidator” Earnhardt, Richard “The King” Petty, Darrell “Jaws” Waltrip, “Handsome Harry” Gant, “The Rushville Rocket” Tony Stewart, and “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville,” Bill Elliott. There was also an abundance of nicknames at Western Speedway, many of them coined by speedway track announcer Rocky “Silvertongue” Horne, who became the full-time track announcer in 1986, kicking off an impressive career spanning almost 24 years. From the Lower Island Track Racing Association’s demos and claimers came such heavy-hitting monikers as Brian “Beefy” Baker, “Smokin” Joe Liberatore, “Dr. Death” Keith Hansen, Marty “Mcfly” Hansen, Robbie “Pig Pen” Haslam, “The Wild Thing” Jan Hansen and her son “Wild-Child” Sean Hansen, “Ready” Eddy Breuker, “Rockin” Roger Artel, “The Masked Banana” Keith Cahill, “Choice” Joyce Woodske, “Grandpa” John Aitken, and Troy “Muffin” Tarbuck. More toned-down monikers in the stock car class include “Gentleman” Jim Steen, “Pretty Boy” Kirk Peacey, “The Island Guy” Ron Eberle, “Up Town” Cody Brown, “The Dynamite Kid” Dean Bowers, “Flyin” Brian Clutchey, and “Rockin” Robin Trotter. Out of the sprint car ranks emerge the Montgomery Brothers – “The Tornado” Trevor and “Hurricane” Jeff. The old-timers provide such nicknames as Bob “Too Sexy” Exton, George “The Jet” Jensen, Jim “The Troll” Rankin, Tony “The Terminator” Spitari,
“Poor” Rich Bennett, and Dan Morneau who rated both “Hollywood” and “Pretty Boy.” The IMCA Modifieds have “Quaker” Gord Quaite and “Mornin” (upgraded from Compost) Dave Conway. Then there’s “The Black Assassin” Don Smith and his brother the “Exterminator” Gord Smith, as well as John “Fireball” Misener, Gary “Mad Dog” Madden, “Hazzy” Roy Haslam, “Hollywood” Geoff Robinson, “The Duck” Peter Quakenbush and his little brother “The Duckling” AJ. Quakenbush, “Rude” Rick Petillion, “Bad News Bowen” Ray Bowen, “Mr Ugly” Greg Sagmoen, “Bozo” Jason Beaulieu, Tony “Macaroni” Palister, and the Price brothers “Roundy” Randy and “Pudge” Robbie. Going back in racing history reveals such nicknames as “The Flying Plumber” Dave Cooper, Gerry “Pussycat” Sylvester, Frank “Corky” Thomas, “Thread the Needle” Billy Foster, “Wobbly” Dick Willoughby, and Len “Digger” O’Dell. And not as far back came “The King” Gary Kershaw, “The Rebel” Art Reedy, “Pig Iron” Pete Poderenko, Larry “Whiskers” Walker, “Flying Phil” Filapovic, Ron “Country Boy” Hancock, “Awesome Bill from Cobble Hill” Bill Price, “The Iceman” Kory Gronnestad, “The Rebel” Mike Greer, “The Hamster” Guy Barret, and “Pizza” Nick Newroth. The Speedway’s promoters over the years are also well known for their nicknames, such as Bill “Bullit” Smith, “Fatt Matt” Sahlstrom and Daryl “Little D” Crocker. And not to be outdone is the Denomination Derby’s man of the cloth, “The Pastor of Disaster” Tim Davis and the well-known WILROC sprint car racer and track volunteer Ross Rockett. A real cool nickname you might say – but it just so happens it was his real name.
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Jim Malloy#5 trying to hold back Billy Fister #27 in 1963 modified action. (Photo courtesy Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame)
WESTERN SPEEDWAY EXPORTED MANY CHAMPIONS From humble beginnings many managed to achieve international noteriety. BY GOLDSTREAM GAZETTE ARCHIVES Through its history, Western Speedway has enjoyed a reputation for producing champions who carried their home colours to almost every corner of North America. Billy Foster whose genius on the track paved the way for Canadian auto racers who followed him, began racing in 1954. He won many of the big races in the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as the Daffodil Cup and was CAMRA champion. In 1965, Foster proved that a Canadian could make it big outside of Canada when he became the first Canadian ever to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He was also selected for Indy Rookie of the Year. Foster’s career was unfortunately cut short at age 29 by a fatal crash while he was doing practice laps at Riverside, California in 1967. He was, at the time, preparing to race in his third consecutive Indy 500. Grant King’s initial racing career started in 1949 at the old Langford Speedway, Shearing Speedway and Western Speedway, where he built many successful cars. King’s great ability as a car builder and owner enabled him to graduate from Pacific Northwest fame to Indianapolis, where he built Indy cars. It was from his groundings in Victoria that he became a noted fabricator and engine builder. As well as his Indy career, King built midgets and sprint cars for many notable drivers and during the 1970s his dirt cup cars were championship cars.
King was responsible for bringing several northwest drivers to Indy as rookies, including Billy Foster, Tom Sneva, Art Pollard, and Jim Malloy. Gary Kershaw learned his trade at Western Speedway racing stock cars and modifieds in the early 1960s. He then moved up to full-fendered stock cars then to super stocks, local and open competition. Kershaw teamed up with noted Victoria car builder Harvey Chipper from the late 1960s into the 1970s. During these years, he was perennial champion at tracks throughout the northwest. In 1971, Kershaw took the Western Speedway name to the same track that claimed Billy Foster, winning the prestigious Permatex 200 on the 4.5-kilometre road course at Riverside, California. He was the first Canadian to win such a race. As crew chief and engine builder of Kershaw’s winning car at Riverside, he was honoured with the Nascar crew chief award, another first for a Canadian. In 1975, competing locally in a 1965 Chevelle, owned by Chipper, Kershaw won races in spectacular fashion at Western Speedway, amassing 16 consecutive main event victories as well as another championship. During his noted career, Kershaw was selected as male athlete of the year by the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame. Perhaps the best-known champion to get his training on the flat 4/10 mile Western Speedway oval is Roy Smith. He started driving stock cars in Speedway
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1964 and by 1967 he had graduated to the powerful A modified cars which he drove for the next few years, capturing Pacific Northwest championships driving Geoff Vantreight’s “Daffodil Special.” In 1980, Smith became the first Canadian to win the Nascar Winston West championship, a feat he repeated with equal success in both 1981 and 1982. In 1982, driving a daffodil yellow Pontiac called “The Pride of Victoria” and sponsored by the Victoria community, he drove to a remarkable 10th place finish against such Nascar contenders as Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Richard Petty and Ricky Rudd. Smith competed on a limited basis from 1983 until 1987 when he returned to the Winston West circuit, finishing the season third in points. In 1988, he was once again crowned the Winston West points champion Smith became the second driver out of Western Speedway to win the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame male athlete of the year award Over the years Smith could be seen concentrating on the racing of his son, Gary, who launched his Nascar racing career in the mid 1980s.
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GRANT KING’S INITIAL RACING CAREER STARTED IN 1949 AT THE OLD LANGFORD SPEEDWAY
Grant King (right) built cars for many notable drivers.
But Pollard wasn’t without options. His transmission and rear end business, in its infancy at the time of his accident, mushroomed. He had a reputation as one of the top-rear end differential and transmission builders in stock car racing. His “LP” gear operations, based out of Taylorsville, North Carolina, supplied racing components to teams in Nascar’s Winston Cup, Busch Grand National Craftsman Trucks and the Daytona Dash Series, and on the West Coast, Nascar’s Northwest and Southwest tours and the Winston West. After Pollard’s accident he continued to compete on a limited scale racing in the late model Sportsman Big 10 series at Concord, North Carolina. Roy Haslam, who has been considered the winningest stock car driver in Canada, learned his trade at Western Speedway in the early 1960s. Haslam was a name to be reckoned with throughout the northwest during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He was a consistent performer as a frontrunner winning many championships and open competition events. He also won many big races such as the Canada 200.
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Larry Pollard began his racing career at Western Speedway in 1970, and during his teens and early 20s. He established himself as one of Victoria’s top drivers, competing in stock cars, and in local and open superstocks.
He campaigned in the International Pro Stock series since its inception in 1985 and during the 12 years following, he was crowned champion eight times.
From his work as crew man on Roy Smith’s Nascar Winston West team in the early 1980s, and for his mechanical and behind-the-wheel experience, Pollard was hired in 1982 by North Carolina car owner, Richard Childress to work as crew man on Childress’ Nascar Winston Cup team, with Ricky Rudd as driver.
“Hasie” retired from racing but his sons Michael and Robbie carried on the tradition at Western Speedway.
In 1983, Pollard became crew chief for the “king” of stock car racing, Richard Petty. And in 1984, he signed with the US Tobacco Company as crew chief for the Skoal Team.
Surgenor’s smooth driving technique took him to many championship wins through his racing career. Competing throughout the northwest in the 1970s, He won many major races and championships including the inaugural Canada 200. In 1974 he won the International Drivers Challenge Championship Series without winning a single race in the series. Surgenor had stated back in 1998 that, one of his most memorable moments in his auto racing career had to be his first trip to California to run the Permatex 200 on the twisting 4.5 kilometre road course at Riverside. “It was just the
Pollard then returned to driving race cars in 1985. In 1987, he became the first Canadian to ever win a Nascar Busch Grand National race. In 1988, Pollard’s racing career came to an abrupt halt when he was seriously injured in a crash at Dover Down International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.
Ross Surgenor started racing at Western Speedway in 1964 in jalopys. He raced stock cars for several years before moving up to super stocks and open competition super stocks.
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being there,” he said, “and the experience of driving such a track and the competition against such Nascar legends as Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and Hershall McGriff.”
Hitchcox won back-to-back championships in late model sportsman class in the 1980s as well as earning the Rookie of the Year title. It was the first time a rookie ever won a championship.
Surgenor finished the interview back in 1998 saying “the best part of racing are the people involved, the people you meet and most of all the fans.”
Dick Midgley, as car owner and builder, began his involvement in racing in the mid-1950s. He built and owned stock cars, superstocks, modifieds, and Nascar cars. Midgley’s cars have appeared throughout the West Coast as well as Australia and Japan. Many drivers have driven Midgley’s cars, they include Roy Smith, Ross Surgenor, Terry Forsythe and Gary Smith, to name a few. Nascar drivers Derek Cope, Dave Marcus and Mike Alexander also drove his cars.
Driving a “Petty Blue” Dodge, Rick O’Dell’s racing career started at Western Speedway in 1966. He won the Rookie of the Year award that year, but narrowly missed the championship by a 1/4 of a point. Points were tallied in fractions those days. O’Dell’s father, Digger O’Dell, a veteran racer from the 1940s, served as his crew chief and car builder during the 1960s. For five years in a row, the young O’Dell was voted by fans as Western Speedway’s most popular driver. After winning back-to-back championships in the super stock class in 1971 and 1972, O’Dell went on to open competition and Nascar racing in the northwest where he was a consistent front-runner. He then went on to race on the West Coast Grand National Circuit in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the early 1990s, O’Dell returned to Western Speedway and for the next three years competed in stock cars and in the International Pro Stock Series. O’Dell became the second member in his family to be inducted in the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1997. His dad Digger, was inducted in 1986. Bill Hitchcox drove stock cars in the mid-1970s at Western Speedway before going on to bigger things in the 1980s. He competed in the Winston Nascar North West late model class in a car with a chassis set-up by Russ Lejeune and the engine built by noted Victoria engine builder, Bob Collins.
Lance Wade had a love affair with auto racing and by age 16 he was driving in the Bomber class at Western Speedway. From bombers, he advanced to street stocks then to the International Pro Stock Series. In 1991, he took the checkered flag at the Montana 200 at Kalispell, Montana, driving his IROC Camaro to pick up one of his biggest pay days of his career - a cool $10,000. He competed on the Nascar Winston West circuit and the Nascar Northwest Tour. He had some good wins and finishes, such as the big “super car” event at Yakima Speedway, and a third at the Coors 500 where he netted $12,000. The highlight of Wade’s career came in 1994, when Indianapolis Speedway hosted its first Nascar race, The Brickyard 400. “It was the greatest experience of my life just being at Indy,” Wade told the Gazette back in 1998. “I was running fast enough to make the field, but in qualifying I didn’t complete the lap!”
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Coquitlam . Langley . Abbotsford . Chilliwack C g soon Victoria . Kamloops . Kelowna . Prince George Comin aimo! V algary . Red Deer . Edmonton . Grande Prairie Cal to Nan
We gather together at the Hall of Fame. To reminisce and remember names. Some now are gone, but we’re all the same. The friendship, the stories, the tracks we tamed. The races we won, or how close we came. And when we retire, a place remains. That stirs the mind and fans the flames at the “Racers Place” THE HALL OF FAME. ~The Rand Family
VICTORIA AUTO RACING HALL OF FAME Formed in 1984, the first of its kind in Canada solely dedicated to the sport of auto racing.
The Hall of Fame has continued to grow and eventually moved into the museum facility adjacent to Western Speedway in 1991.
Dave Ferguson “rubber man”, president of Vancouver Island Racing Hall of Fame helps look after museum. Also crewed for more than 25 years for Denny Rand, Roy Haslam, and Montgomery.
1984 AL SMITH
1984 ANDY COTTYN
1984 BILLY FOSTER
1984 BING FOSTER
1984 DAVE COOPER
1984 DICK WILLOUGHBY
1984 GARY KERSHAW
1985 BOB VANTREIGHT
1985 DICK VARLEY
1985 FRANK KITTO
1986 GEOFF VANTREIGHT
1986 JIM HASLAM Speedway
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1986 LEN “DIGGER” O’DELL
1987 REG MIDGLEY
1987 RON MAYELL
1988 ROSS SURGENOR
1989 BRUCE PASSMORE
1989 PHIL HENDRY
1990 DICK MIDGLEY
1990 NIBBS ANDERSON
1991 BILL SMITH SR.
1991 JIM STEEN
1992 JACK SMITH
1992 ROY SMITH
1993 FRANK “CORKY” THOMAS
1993 HARVEY CHIPPER
1994 GRANT KING
1994 TONY VAN DE MORTEL
1995 EARL POLLARD
1995 JACK “DIGGER” CALDWELL
1996 BUD GREEN
1996 NEIL MONTGOMERY
1996 PIKE GREEN
1997 BILL PRICE
1997 RICK O’DELL
1998 RAY POTTINGER
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1998 RUSS LEJEUNE
1999 ALLAN DALBY
1999 JOHNNY DALBY
1999 ROY HASLAM
1999 WALTER WAKELYN
2000 BOB SIMPSON
2000 MIKE CURRIER
2001 DENNY RAND
2001 GARY MADDEN
2001 TED MACKENZIE
2002 BARRY RANKIN
2002 JACK TAYLOR
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2003 KEITH CAHILL
2003 LARRY POLLARD
2004 DAN WADE
2004 DON SMITH
2004 EDDIE KOSTENUK
2005 BILL HITCHCOX
2005 G. B. STERNE
2005 JOHN EDGETT
2006 GERRY VANTREIGHT
2006 ROB SCOTT
2006 ROCKIE COLLINS
2007 DAVE SMITH
2007 RICHARD GRAHAM
2007 TOM HAMILTON
2008 ANDY YOUNG
2008 FRASER CARMICHAEL
2008 TREVOR MONTGOMERY
2009 BILL VATER
2009 JACK SPALDING
2009 ROCKY HORNE
2009 TERRY FORSYTH
2009 TONY JOHNSON
2010 DAVE FERGUSON
2010 GORD STONE
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2010 LOU MELIN
2011 BERT SWEETING
2011 DAVID SMITH
2011 ROSS ROCKETT
2012 AL CLARK
2012 GORD ALBERG
2012 TIM CHRISTY
2013 BILL DRUMMOND
2013 BOB COLLINS
2013 HAROLD SJOSTROM
2013 JOHN BIGGS
2014 DICK MILLER
2014 HANK NEILSON
2014 JOE MACMURCHIE
2014 JOHN COPP
2014 KEN SVENDSON
2014 NORM WILCOX
2015 DON GORDON
2015 FRED BEST
2015 HARRY ROBERTS
2015 WALTER ILOTT
2016 BUTCH BEHN
2016 GERRY FLESH
2016 TRACY & TERRY CESSFORD Speedway
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2017 DARREN YATES
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2018 KEN EMERSON
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2020 GEORGE JENSON
2020 JASON BEAULIEU
2020 ROBBIE HASLAM
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CATCHING THE ACTION AT FULL SPEED Speedway photographer Barrie Goodwin shares life behind the lens BY RICK STIEBEL That first photo was a smashing success. Although Barrie Goodwin took his inaugural photo at Western Speedway sitting in the stands as a fan on Victoria Day in 1955, his love of racing began even earlier than that.
“I thought having a car would be cheaper than photography,” he recalled. “Boy, was I wrong.” Goodwin became the official photographer for Western Speedway in 1967 and kept at it until 1989.
“I saw my first race at the old Langford Speedway in 1946,” he said. “My uncle was a mechanic there.”
“I took a few years off at that point,” he said, but he started up again until 2017, when he stepped away because of health issues.
Goodwin had his own car for a while in the 1960s but changed gears after a few years to focus on taking pictures of the action.
“What kept me going back is that it’s an addiction,” he explained. “It’s like soccer or football, something people get hooked on for life. The speedway has a great history, and it’s really good to be a part of it.” #21 Dave Robson, Tacoma, Wash. #23 Evertt Koch, Federal Way , Wash.
Robbie Dunn (left) with Bobby Allison,Nascar Champ (right),
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Mini Stock
Late 1980s Hobby Stock
Daryl Crocker (right) and Barrie Goodwin (left).
Janet Guthrie (Indy Driver)
Mid 1980s Drag Racing
1981 midgets - #7 Arlon Stebbins, Kent, Wash.; #98 Jack Roberts, Des Moines, Iowa.; #18 John Hunter, Tagart, Oregon.; #79 Matt Rosler, Seattle, Wash.; #73 Mick Shaughnessy, Gladstone, Oregon.
1987 Ted Cooper (Stock Car)
1982 Mini Stock. #11 Pat Monaham, #71 John Kendrew, #8 Bill O’Kell
See more Barrie Goodwin photos on page 45
Speedway
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Thank you for the many years of fun & entertainment at the speedway! Darrell McCollom, Mortgage Expert and Proud Sponsor of Dylan Ross’ & Meghan Mrozinski’s cars.
250-590-5558
darrell@victorymortgage.ca victorymortgage.ca https://victorymortgage.ca/
A Sad Farewell to Western Speedway We will miss you!
112-1010 McCallum Rd, Victoria, BC V9B 4C6 (250) 474-2688 44 Speedway
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August 1989. #66 (Mod) Gerry Vantreight, #23 (SS) Rob Scott
1980 jalopys. #74 Dean Daniels,; #6 Pat Phillips
1964 Roy Smith
1986 Nascar Tour. #04 Chad Little
1971 Larry Pollard
1961 Jalopys
Over 30 years of racing, towing, and creating memories at Western Speedway
250-514-4694 • info@eagleeyetowing.ca
• Over 23 years Of experience • available 24/7 • lOcally Owned & Operated Speedway
1954-2022
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Western Speedway, thank you for the memories!
Hon. John Horgan
Hon. Mitzi Dean
Hon. Rob Fleming
MLA, LANGFORD JUAN DE FUCA
MLA, ESQUIMALT METCHOSIN
MLA, VICTORIA SWAN LAKE
John.Horgan.MLA@ leg.bc.ca
Mitzi.Dean.MLA@ leg.bc.ca
Rob.Fleming.MLA@ leg.bc.ca
250-391-2801
250-952-5885
250-356-5013
Grace Lore
Hon. Lana Popham Hon. Murray Rankin
MLA, VICTORIA BEACON HILL
MLA, SAANICH SOUTH
MLA, OAK BAY GORDON HEAD
Grace.Lore.MLA@ leg.bc.ca
Lana.Popham.MLA@ leg.bc.ca
Murray.Rankin.MLA@ leg.bc.ca
250-952-4211
250-479-4154
250-472-8528
Your South Island MLAs— here to help you 46 Speedway
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FULL THROTTLE FOR SPEEDWAY RACER DAVID SMITH Entrepreneur, adventurer and race car builder lives life at top speed BY SEAN MCINTYRE PHOTOS BY DON DENTON David Smith is a hard man to reach, but that should have been obvious based on his bio: “entrepreneur, builder, racer, adventure-seeker and so much more.” Smith has been an entrepreneur on the Saanich Peninsula since the early 1980s. His company, Professional Components Ltd., employs more than 50 full-time workers in the Sidney area and produces high-end, custom marine suspension seating for power boats and off-road vehicles. “I’ve always had a passion for racing,” he says, and indeed, Smith’s life of speed dates back to the 1970s, when he got a job building chassis for race cars on the Nascar circuit. The gig lasted nearly 20 years and paved the way for his marine suspension seating company on his native Vancouver Island. The early years saw Smith assembling the cars, but in building his company, he’s had the opportunity to get a whole lot more hands-on. These days, he tests the marine seating products that excel in choppy seas at high speeds in some of the world’s most isolated regions. “The racing industry is just right at the forefront of technology. It’s virtually a melting point for all the best technologies in the world,” he says. “Shockwave Motorsports, a division of Professional Components, was an opportunity for us to get even more hands-on and for myself, to be not just the person who was setting up the cars and building the cars, but to actually be the one who was out there and driving the vehicles.” As an inductee to the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2011, Smith is described as a bit eccentric and a little wild, but as someone who could design and build a race car unlike anyone else. That same year, he teamed up with Bear Grylls to set a new world record by crossing the 12,000-kilometre Northwest Passage in fewer than 300 hours in a 33-foot RHIB equipped with the first iteration of the ICE Console, a fully suspended, triple-axis marine suspension unit, designed and patented by Smith himself. Always on the lookout for a challenge, three years ago, Smith thought it would be interesting to get behind the wheel of some high-level racing, which led to the 71-year-old’s participation in the Trans Am racing series, which visits cities across the United States. Closer to home, islanders may have spotted him as a regular at The Keg Drivers Challenge and the Canada 200 at Langford’s Western Speedway.
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Proud supporters of Western Speedway
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48 Speedway
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We will miss you
Western Speedway!
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Longtime Supporters of Western Speedway
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“IT’S BEEN A LOT OF WORK, AND IT’S REALLY SOMETHING TO HAVE YOUR LIFE OUT THERE ON DISPLAY FOR EVERYONE,”
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If it sounds like Smith’s personal biography has all the elements of a movie — or at least a television mini-series — that’s because it does. Part of the reason it’s so hard to get Smith to sit down for an interview is because he’s got a film crew trailing him for a good portion of his life these days. Smith’s work as been shocased on the Discovery or National Geographic network. “It’s been a lot of work, and it’s really something to have your life out there on display for everyone,” he says. “The average person does not want to be David Smith. There are times when I’m tired.” Part of the impetus for the show came from Smith’s latest battle: fighting and overcoming cancer. The road hasn’t always been easy and Smith readily admits that his good days may be great, but that the bad days can get really bad. Perseverance, he adds, has always been a part of his life, so this latest fight has tapped into his innate skillset to overcome a formidable opponent. He hopes his story will inspire others facing similar hurdles in life. “This isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and there are all sorts of mountains to climb in life, but I find that if you don’t ask, you rarely get, and if you don’t put yourself out there, you’ll never really know what’s possible,” he says. “You don’t really live life unless you put yourself out on the fringes.”
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Victoria, B.c.’s Home for auto Parts Celebrating 80 years of High Quality Auto Parts and Service 945 Dunford Ave., Victoria, B.C., V9B 2S4 250-474-3141 Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm Wayne@sandysauto.com Speedway
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THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES WE’VE MADE SOME GREAT ONES AT THE SPEEDWAY! MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT COWICHAN-MALAHAT-LANGFORD
Alistair.macgregor@parl.gc.ca http://alistairmacgregor.ndp.ca Phone: 1-866-609-9998
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4386 West Shore Parkway Victoria British Columbia V9B 5Z1
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Celebrating over 60 years of racing at Western Speedway
Thanks for the Memories
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4730 Sooke Rd 250-642-4044 https://www.westcoasttires.com/
A 1957 photo shows Six Mile House-sponsored #4 1932 Ford stock car with Frank Morris (from left), Ted Mackenzie, Bill Sim and driver Gerry Sylvester. (Bud Glover/Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame)
SPEEDWAY RACERS, CREWS WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT THE TRACK GAVE THEM Drivers, organizers reflect as final season revs up BY JANE SKRYPNEK Picture a carnival-type atmosphere. The air is electric with excitement as thousands of people pack into the grandstand sporting the colours of their favourite racing teams. Below the stands, on the paved 643-metre oval track, adrenaline is pumping through the crew members and drivers as they prepare. Being there is an addiction to them, a high they can’t find a fix for anywhere else. This is what it felt like to be at the Western Speedway at the height of its popularity, said Langford Coun. Matt Sahlstrom. Back then, he said, Langford was “just a small town with a big show.” Built by A. J. Cottyn and opened in 1954, the speedway is the oldest in Western Canada. The first time Sahlstrom saw it he was four years old. His uncle drove him by one day and, if his memory serves, he was absolutely entranced. Not long after, his dad got hired as a ticketer and what resulted were 42 of the best years of Sahlstrom’s life. “It was our lives back then,” he said. “You couldn’t drive down any street in Langford hardly without seeing a race car.” Sahlstrom’s first gig came when the STP motor oil guy showed up at the track. A hot new product, the guy wanted stickers promoting the oil put on the race cars, and Sahlstrom got the job. Next, it was working the concession stand, ticketing, flagging, trackside announcing and then managing. And, for 15 odd years in there, Sahlstrom raced. He bought his first car – a 1956 Ford with a six-cylinder engine – for about $250 at age 16 and was lucky enough to have his engine built in the
garage of one of his favourite drivers, Tony Johnson. Sahlstrom said he’ll never forget his first race. “I thought my heart was gonna pop out through my ribs,” he said. He was instantly hooked on the adrenaline. “There’s a lot to be learned at the speedway for young people,” Sahlstrom said. “When you get a race car as a kid, you got no money left over to be blowing on drugs and booze and doing stupid things. All your money goes into that race car.” The biggest lesson though is speed where it belongs. Sahlstrom fears there will be an uptick in accidents after the speedway goes. Similar to Sahlstrom, Gary Smith – son of the late Nascar driver Roy Smith – got his start young. “I think I was about a week or a week-and-a-half old when I first went out to the racetrack,” Smith said with a chuckle. At age three, he was barreling around in go-karts and by 18 (1986) he was taking part in his first official race. An endurance race of 200 laps or two hours, whichever came first, there were 117 cars on the track to start, Smith said. “It was the craziest thing I’d ever seen,” he said. “They started at the start line and went halfway around the track.” Smith came in fourth. Like his dad, he also went on to become a Nascar racer. Still, some of his fondest memories remain at Western Speedway. He and Sahlstrom said the first time CASCAR came to the speedway in Speedway
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Thank you Western Speedway for providing excitement and entertainment since 1954
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We will miss Western Speedway!
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2001 – it was broadcast live – stands out in their minds. Smith said that night he was the only racer from Langford and it felt like all of Greater Victoria was behind him. “The whole grandstands were cheering for me,” he said.
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Excitement emanates from the men as they talk. They could go on for days. But, the time of Western Speedway – now called Westshore Motorsports Park – is drawing to a close as this season will be the last. At least in its current location. “Yeah, it’s disheartening,” Smith said. “There’s so much history and so many great race car drivers that have come out of this town. Even if they get a new track it’s not going to be the same.”
“WE’RE LOSING A LOT OF OUR CULTURE AND HERITAGE,” SAHLSTROM SAID. “THE SPEEDWAY, THAT’S WHERE EVERYBODY WENT. IT WAS TRUE IN-PERSON ENTERTAINMENT.”
The City of Langford has earmarked $2.5 million for a non-profit organization that demonstrates it’s able to construct and operate a long-term motorsport park. That funding came from Strand Properties Corp. and Bastion Development Corp. – the current owners of Westshore Motorsports Park – as a result of negotiations over their planned business park and residential development on the 81-acre site. “We’re losing a lot of our culture and heritage,” Sahlstrom said. “The speedway, that’s where everybody went. It was true in-person entertainment.”
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It’s not a sound easily forgotten. Dave Ferguson, who’s been crewing since 1972 and now serves as president of the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame, said the crowds would get so loud, even in the pits you could hear them over the sounds of the cars.
He hasn’t set foot on the track since 2006 when he stepped down as general manager, noting that the speedway is akin to a cigarette addiction. “If you’ve ever smoked and you quit, you don’t even want to smell a cigarette,” Sahlstrom said. “You need to go cold turkey.”
“Just phenomenal,” said Norm Wilcox who also crewed through the mid to late 1900s before helping to found the hall of fame and Old Time Racers Association. “It was just tremendous.”
Now, with the speedway’s days numbered, he’s not sure if he’ll go back for just one more taste.
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Thank Thank you, you, Western Speedway, Western Speedway, for for years years of of fun fun and entertainment! and entertainment! From From everyone everyone at at Big-O Tires Tires Victoria! Big-O Victoria!
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HOW TO WATCH RACING Racing has its own special list of terms and important actions to watch for. Familiarize yourself with those background facts and you’ll better understand the action, perhaps even forecast the race winner. And remember, the next time you come to the races, be sure to bring a pencil, binoculars and stopwatch, or watch with a sweep second hand. These tips and simple aids can help you become a more knowledgeable race watcher. BLUE OR BLACK SMOKE: Oil smoke usually indicates something is wrong with the engine. A little smoke may mean simply a small drip on a hot exhaust pipe; that kind of smoke can go on the entire race and cause no real harm. Lots of smoke usually means a piston or piston ring has broken, perhaps even a connecting rod or oil pan has been fractured. Look where the smoke is coming from. Up front means the engine is hurt, from beneath the driver, perhaps the transmission, while smoke from the rear of the car indicates oil leaking from the differential. WHITE OR STREAMING SMOKE: Most of us have had a car overheat, probably on a hot day. Race cars sometimes overheat when the radiator is blocked by debris on the track, but normally the damage is caused by front end accidents, often when cars bump going into the corners. But parts do break; radiators split, heater pumps seize and often cylinder head gaskets break. Many race fans don’t realize that radiators send up that cloud of smoke because a head gasket gives way. The water is literally boiled away because the heat from the combustion chamber passes right to the cooling system.
WHAT FLAG COLORS MEAN AT THE TRACK
BLACK RUBBER SMOKE: Have you ever “laid rubber” with a family car? Tires also smoke when a race car slides into a spinout. Watch that car after it starts the race. If the driver falls off his pace, they’ll probably soon pit for new tires because he “flat-spotted” when they smoked in the spin. Flat spotted tires cause vibration, hurting the handling and speed of the car. HANDLING: Horsepower is not enough to win races. Cars must be able to go quickly through the turns as well as fast down the straights to gain the winner’s prize. When a car does not handle well, we say it either pushes or is loose. PUSHING: Here the front end of the car cannot grip the road. You can spot a car with push by its tires pointed sharply into the turn and the front end of the car sliding up to the guardrail. A car with push is usually passed on the inside by a faster car. LOOSE: Here the back end of a car cannot hold the road properly. The tail hangs out and the driver actually has to turn the front tires to the outside of the track to control it. “Loose” cars are exciting to watch but they too lose speed in the turns and often spin out when rear traction totally deteriorates. WEDGE: Wedge or change in chassis weight can correct handling problems like push or looseness. Wedge is changed by a wrench adjustment either before the race or in the pits.
The flagman in any given race has an important job. Simply by keeping an eye on him occasionally, you’ll know what is going on.
GREEN Just like a stoplight, green means “go.” It signals the official start of the race.
YELLOW The caution flag. It tells drivers to slow down and hold their position until the green flag is thrown again.
BLACK This is known as the “consultation” flag. A driver seeing this is waved at him knows it’s time to pull into the pits on their next lap. Getting the flag more than twice means instant disqualification from the remainder of the race.
BLUE WITH DIAGONAL STRIP The passing flag. A driver seeing this knows that a faster car is about to lap them and they are to hold their groove until they are passed. The driver knows when they are passed that they are behind a lap.
WHITE This means there’s one lap remaining in the race.
RED Again, just like the traffic lights, this one means stop - right now. It indicates danger on the track ahead.
CROSSED FLAGS This means the race is at the half-way mark. The flaman holds the cloth of the flags along the handle so there is no confusion about his meaning.
CHECKERED The one every driver hopes to be under first - it indicates the race is over. Speedway
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“MEMBERS OF OUR NON-PROFIT, VANCOUVER ISLAND SAFE SPEED ASSOCIATION, ARE WORKING TIRELESSLY TO SECURE A NEW LOCATION AND BUILD A NEW TRACK ON THE SOUTH ISLAND,” CROCKER STRESSED.
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FINAL SEASON REVS UP HIGH-OCTANE ENTERTAINMENT General manager Daryl Crocker looks ahead at final season’s schedule BY RICK STIEBEL PHOTO COURTESY OF DARYL CROCKER The driving forces behind Westshore Motorsports Park have shifted into high gear to serve up high-octane entertainment for the final season.
Although last year’s schedule was shortened due to COVID-19, Crocker said the spectator and car count was good.
The Opening Night of Mayhem on April 9, sponsored by Slegg Building Materials, offers lots of excitement, including fireworks, destruction races and rollover contests.
“There’s a lot of positives going into this year,” he added. “The elephant in the room is that it’s the last season, so it’s very bittersweet. It’s such an incredible part of our community, and it’s unfortunate it has to end. The first time I was there I was about 11 days old. Being involved in racing, whether it’s racing building cars, working in the pits or managing is all I’ve ever done.”
Some other season highlights include the monster trucks, featuring the legendary fire-breathing Megasaurus, on the last weekend in May. “It’s been a couple of years since people have had a chance to see them around here,” Crocker noted. The Strawberry Cup in June – featuring the Northwest Sprint Tour winged cars as well as Coastal Trucking Wilroc sprint cars – is another popular long-time event that draws people from all over, as well as the Daffodil Cup in August, Crocker said. Labour Day weekend features the Canada 200, sponsored by Shockwave Seats.
There may be good news for racing fans in the future, however. “Members of our non-profit, Vancouver Island Safe Speed Association, are working tirelessly to secure a new location and build a new track on the south Island,” Crocker stressed. Steer over to westshoremotorsportspark.com for information on events, schedules and tickets. Speedway
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Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm 250-642-6665 https://www.dumonttire.com/ dumonttire.ca 60 Speedway
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2022 SCHEDULE
For more information visit www.westshoremotorsportspark.com
MAIN SCHEDULE: APRIL 9 - “OPENING NIGHT OF MAYHEM” WITH FIREWORKS!! Featuring FIREWORKS, Destruction Races, Rollover Series, Burnout Series, Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, Mini Figure 8s), Bombers, and Claimers
JUNE 17,18 - “STRAWBERRY CUP WEEKEND” Featuring Northwest Sprint Tour Winged Sprint Cars,Wilroc Sprint Cars, Island Dwarf Cars, and Old Timers Racing Association
SEPTEMBER 4 - “CANADA 200 WEEKEND” Featuring BC Late Models Canada 200, BC Street Stocks 75 Lap Main, IMOD Modifieds, Island Outlaw 4s Gates at 330, Qualifying at 430, Racing at 530
APRIL 16 - “NIGHT AT THE RACES” Featuring Wilroc Sprint Cars, Stock Cars, Island Outlaw 4s, Hornets, and Island Dwarf Cars
JUNE 25 - ”FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT” Half Price Tickets!! Featuring Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, and Mini Figure 8s), Bombers, Claimers, Hornets, and Burnout Series
APRIL 23 - “DEMO NIGHT” Featuring Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, Mini Figure 8s), Bombers, Claimers, and Capital Drift
JULY 1,2 - “DRIFTING/KARTING WEEKEND” Featuring Capital Drift and VIKA GoKarts Gates at 430, FanFest at 530, Racing at 6
SEPTEMBER 10 - “DEMO CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT” Featuring FIREWORKS, Wayne the Train Stunt Productions Car Jump, Destructions Races, Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, and Mini Figure 8s), Rollover Series, and Total Destruction
APRIL 30 - “NIGHT AT THE RACES” Featuring Wilroc Sprint Cars, Island Outlaw 4s, Island Dwarf Cars, and Old Timers Racing Association
JULY 9 - “EVE OF DESTRUCTION” Featuring Crazy Train Stunt Productions Car Jumps, Boat Race, Chain Race, Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, and Mini Figure 8s), Bombers, Claimers, and Small Car Total Destruction Derby
MAY 7 - “DEMO NIGHT” Featuring Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, and Mini Figure 8s), Bombers, Claimers, Burnout Series, and Rollover Series MAY 14 - “NIGHT AT THE RACES” Featuring Old Timers Racing Association Twin 40s, Stock Cars, Hornets, Victoria SuperMoto, and Capital Drift MAY 21 - “SPRING SPECTACULAR” Featuring BC Late Models Qualifying/Heats, Stock Cars, Island Outlaw 4s, and VIKA Oval GoKart Series MAY 22 - “SPRING SPECTACULAR” Featuring BC Late Models Main Event, Stock Cars, Island Outlaw 4s, and VIKA Oval GoKart Series Gates at 4, Qualifying at 430, Racing at 530 MAY 27 - “MONSTER TRUCK WEEKEND” Featuring Malicious Monster Truck Tour, Megasaurus, and Junkyard RallyCross Gates at 5, Pit Party at 6, Racing at 7 MAY 28 - “MONSTER TRUCK WEEKEND” Featuring Malicious Monster Truck Tour, Megasaurus, and Junkyard RallyCross Gates at 5, Pit Party at 6, Racing at 7 MAY 29 - “MONSTER TRUCK WEEKEND” Featuring Malicious Monster Truck Tour, Megasaurus, and Junkyard RallyCross Gates at 130, Pit Party at 2, Racing at 3 JUNE 4 - “TOTAL DESTRUCTION NIGHT” Featuring Total Destruction Derby, Demo series (Cars, Trucks, Mini Figure 8s), Bombers, Claimers, and Capital Drift JUNE 11 - “NIGHT AT THE RACES” Featuring Late Model Twin 50s,Stock Cars, IMOD Modifieds, Island Outlaw 4s, and VIKA Oval GoKart Series
JULY 16 - “NIGHT AT THE RACES” Featuring IMOD Modifieds Twin 30s, Island Dwarf Cars, Island Outlaw 4s, and Hornets JULY 22 - “WESTERN 150 WEEKEND” Featuring Super Late Models Qualifying and Heats, and Stock Cars JULY 23 - “WESTERN 150 WEEKEND” Featuring Super Late Models Qualifying and Heats, and Galaxy Motors Stock Cars, and Old Timers Racing Association AUGUST 5 - “NIGHT AT THE RACES” Featuring Late Model Twin 50s, Stock Cars, and Island Outlaw 4s AUGUST 6 - “NABRA BIG RIG NIGHT” Featuring NABRA Big Rigs, Bombers (Madden Cup), Hornets, and Burnout Series AUGUST 13 - “DEMO NIGHT” Featuring Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, and Mini Figure 8s), Claimers, Rollover Series, and Capital Drift
SEPTEMBER 16 - “GRAND FINALE WEEKEND” Featuring Wing Sprint Cars, Late Models, Non-wing Sprint Cars, Stock Cars, Outlaw 4s, OTRA, Dwarf Cars, Bombers, Claimers, Hornets, and GoKarts (Qualifying and Heats Only) SEPTEMBER 17 - “GRAND FINALE WEEKEND” Featuring Wing Sprint Cars, Late Models, Non-wing Sprint Cars, Stock Cars, Outlaw 4s, OTRA, Dwarf Cars, Bombers, Claimers, Hornets, and GoKarts (Trophy Dashes and Main Event Only)
WEDNESDAY HORNET DATES June 22, June 29, July 6, July 13, July 20, August 10, August 17, August 24
WEDNESDAY NIGHT HORNETS Back Gates Open at 5pm, Practice at 530pm, Grandstands Open at 530, Qualifying at 630, Racing at 700
VIKR KART RACING DATES March 19, April 16, May 1, June 19, July 1/2, July 17, August 14, September 11
CAPITAL DRIFT DATES March 5/6, July 1/2, July 29/30
SISLRA DRAG RACING DATES
AUGUST 19, 20 -”DAFFODIL CUP WEEKEND” Featuring NSRA Winged Sprint Cars, Wilroc Sprint Cars, Old Timers Racing Association, and Island Dwarf Cars.
April 24, May 15, June 5, June 26, July 24, August 7, August 28, September 11
AUGUST 27 - “SUPERHERO NIGHT” Featuring Demo Series (Cars, Trucks, and Mini Figure 8s), Bombers, Claimers, and Burnout Series
Grandstands Open at 430pm, Qualifying at 530pm, Fanfest at 6pm (Time permitting), Racing at 630pm
SEPTEMBER 3 - “CANADA 200 WEEKEND” Featuring BC Late Models Qualifying and Heats, BC Street Stock 75 Lap Main, IMOD Modifieds, and Island Outlaw 4s
GENERAL START TIMES
Every Thursday - Open Practice 5:00 - 8:00 PM: Mar 31 - Sep 15 (Except July 28) (June 16, July 21, & August 18 Practices are restricted to Cars competing that weekend) Admission Prices:Practice Pit Passes: $30.00, Grandstand Spectators: FREE
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AUTOGRAPHS
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THANK YOU WESTERN SPEEDWAY for more than 60 years of fun, entertainment and great memories! From all of us at WESTSHORE TOWING
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Sooke Disposal has been proud to sponsor Western Speedway for more than 10 years
THANK YOU
FOR THE GREAT ENTERTAINMENT AND MEMORIES! Sooke Disposal Ltd. is a locally owned and operated business for the past 37 years. We provide residential and commercial garbage service for the community as well as recycling and roll off bin rentals.
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250.642.3646 sookedisposal@shaw.ca