Eddie MacDonald Sr

28/1/1930 - 18/12/2018

Record updated 27-Sep-21

In his 31 years in racing Eddie MacDonald has done it all from driver to car owner and to crew. He raced up to 6 times a week, winning well over 1000 races during his career.

Eddie MacDonald Sr
Born in Dayton, Maine, Eddie was the youngest of 13 children and was employed as a mechanic.

He started racing in 1949 at Beach Ridge Speedway in Maine at the age of 18 and raced at many tracks in the north.

In 1950 he had his first bad crash. Whilst only half concious, he managed to convince the safety crew not to use a torch to cut him out while petrol was spilling everywhere. However he was badly injured and was told he would never walk properly again.

He served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. Taken prisoner he was released as part of the prisoner of war swap during the Korean War. In 1955, he came to Fort Benning in Columbus and, while there, started building and driving cars for Jimmy Thomas.

He also built his own car to drive at Daytona in 1959, the first year they opened. He won the 1959 Georgia Modified Championship and in 1960 ventured into NASCAR Grand National (Nextel Cup) and finished in top 20 at Daytona. In 1964 he won Georgia Sportsman Championship.

He also raced at many other tracks throughout the south, such as Darlington, Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee.

Eddie built and drove for other owners such as Laverne Kendrick, Speedy Spears, John Hipps, Bruce Brantley, Wally Masters and Milt Henery (midget champion). He also raced for and with the late Tiny Lund.

His last race was in 1980 at Oglethorpe Speedway in Savannah, Ga.

Eddie was inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in May 2004; the Jacksonville Raceway Hall of Fame in 1993; and the ThunderBowl Speedway Hall of Fame in 1992. He also enjoyed woodworking.

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