CLASS OF 2022

The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) induction gala returned to the Canadian International AutoShow (CIAS) on Saturday, February 25, after a three-year hiatus.

Presented by co-sponsors Clubine Motorsports and OTSFF, the gala was the second to be held at the CIAS, in the John Bassett Theatre, but was the first to be held at the show since 2020. The covid pandemic forced the cancellation of the CIAS in 2021 and 2022, while the CMHF inducted two classes last May, at an alternate venue.

The reunion came at a perfect time, with the CMHF celebrating 30 years at the 50th edition of the CIAS. Emcee Todd Lewis, CIAS General Manager Jason Campbell and CMHF Board Chair Peter Lockhart each made opening remarks before two International Inductees, Wally Dallenbach Sr. and Pfaff Motorsports, were honoured. Dallenbach will be considered a Class of 2021 member.

The Class of 2022 inductions followed, in alphabetical order, with AIM Autosport, Bruce Biegler and Uli Bieri up first. Biegler, a drag racing photographer, was the only media member in this year’s class and was also the only inductee to accept the honour virtually, from his new home in Australia.

FEL president Chris Bye was noticeably emotional during his speech, but that didn’t stop him from cracking jokes throughout his time on stage. He reflected on his career and those who supported him along the way, including his wife, Cathy. When returning home from their impromptu marriage in Jamaica, the couple received money from their parents.

“I did what any reasonable, responsible, newlywed husband would do to secure the financial future of his new family,” said Bye. “I took every dollar out of those two bags of money and I invested them soundly – oh yes, I did, to those of you who said ‘no I didn’t’ – in a race car.”

Veteran stock car racer Gary Elliott plans to suit up again this season, continuing a pair of historic streaks. He’s competed on 859 consecutive race nights, dating back to 1987, and has been sponsored by Quaker State for 49 years.

Elliott recorded 260 wins in his 2,914 races. He told the audience that people would be surprised to see his team celebrating a top-five finish but explained that winning is not the only metric for success.

Canadian Motorsport Hall Of Fame Welcomes 13 New Members At Toronto Gala

“People ask me ‘are you going to win tonight?’ and I say ‘well, I don’t know if I’m going to win, but I know one thing, I’m going to race and that’s what I want to do and that’s what I love doing,’” said Elliott. “So, when we can pass 20 cars in a race, that’s pretty cool; you don’t have to hold a checkered flag to count the victories that you get during a race.”

Long-time CASC executive and Targa Newfoundland organizer Robert Giannou emphasized the importance of supporting amateur motorsports. He noted that the professional level of the sport receives a lot of support but that the next generation of drivers, crew members and officials need to come from somewhere.

“I spent last Monday at Centennial College, touring the place, and they come to Targa Newfoundland every year in support of the teams there,” said Giannou. “We need to set up things like this where young kids can come into the sport, regardless of what their income is or anything else, and be guided through the sport from go karting to whatever (series or level of motorsport) they choose…and I hope you’ll all join me with that effort.”

Stock car racer Derek Lynch was one of the inductees who had a large section of reserved seats at this year’s ceremony. He took a moment to recognize those who came to celebrate the honour with him.

“It’s quite a thing to stand here, (where) every great memory in your life is sitting in rows G and H,” said Lynch. “I’ve got 28 people here tonight, supporting me, and I can’t think of a laugh, a story or a race that one of those people weren’t involved in, so I thank you guys very much for being here, it means a lot, and I’m looking forward to having a good time afterwards.”

Carl Harr, whose efforts were based out of Alberta, told a story about a four-to-five-week racing road trip, where he charged everything to a credit card.

“We got home and I said to my wife, why don’t we go out and have dinner and a movie,” said Harr. “The next morning, I got a phone call from Visa saying they had noticed some unusual activity on my card. I’d spent tens of thousand of dollars, (but) I bought my wife dinner and a movie and it was unusual activity.”

Bob MacDonald, the 11th inductee to take the stage, started by insisting that everyone in the audience stand up and stretch out to get the “blood circulating in your buttocks.”

MacDonald sponsored drivers, major races and grassroots events through his sales role at Sony of Canada, which included the use of the Sony Handycam for in-car television footage. He mentioned that there needed to be a business case in order for Sony to support racing.

“When I learned the (Players GM series) was going to have a TV package and national coverage, that’s when the wheels started turning, no pun intended,” said MacDonald, before addressing the lack of laughter in the crowd. “I thought (the joke) was better than that.”

One joke that did catch on came at the expense of Lockhart, in his first year as CMHF Board Chair, who was one of the drivers sponsored by Sony.

The ceremony’s production crew, led by TV producer and CMHF board member Joel Robinson, displayed a photo of Lockhart’s car, resting upside-down on a street course, on the big screen during portions of MacDonald’s speech.

Terry Epp, Dave Lloyd, Dick Midgley and Scott Spencer were also inducted in the Class of 2022.

The ceremony then concluded with the Rising Star Award, presented this year to open wheel racer Mac Clark, who will compete in USF2000 this upcoming season.

Beyond the inductions, cash bar and silent auction, a change to the CMHF nominations process was announced at the gala. Nominations will now be open year-round, with a cut-off at the end of July for the current year’s class of inductees. Further information about nominations will be made available at CMHF.ca.

AIM AUTOSPORT – BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

AIM Autosport experienced success in sports cars and open-wheel during a quarter century of operating multi-car teams. The organization started in Formula 1600 in 1995, winning four championships before expanding efforts to other series, winning two titles between USF2000, Formula Renault, Formula BMW and Star Mazda.

The team finished fifth in their debut 24 Hours of Daytona appearance in 2007. In total, they recorded two overall wins and five podiums over five seasons in the Daytona Prototype class. AIM Autosport won three straight GT class championships for Ferrari from 2012 to 2014 before winning a championship in IMSA GTD Sprint Cup with Lexus in 2020.

Many notable drivers have competed for AIM over the years, including L.P. Dumoulin, James Hinchcliffe, Kyle Marcelli, Daniel Morad, Andrew Ranger and Mark Wilkins. The organization closed shop in 2022, with AIM partners Andrew Bordin, Ian Willis and Keith Willis deciding to move on to new adventures.

ULI BIERI – COMPETITOR / BUILDER

Uli Bieri raced professionally from the early 1980s to mid-1990s, competing in over 57 events, including nine appearances in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He was the Canadian Endurance Champion in 1985 and 1986 and has also driven a BMW M1 factory race car. In 1991, Bieri purchased Toronto Motorsports Park with a group of four investors. The drag strip was reopened the following year, while a road course was added in 2003. The track hosted IHRA for five years in the early 2000s and gained NHRA sanction in 2011, starting the NHRA National Open in 2015.

Bieri consistently hired consultants to help with track improvements over the years. He also launched several programs to give anyone with a driver’s license the opportunity to strap into a race car, from F-2000 to muscle cars, and has worked with local police and the OPP on safe driving initiatives.

CHRIS BYE – COMPETITOR / BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Chris Bye started racing in the Players GM series in 1986, before scoring multiple wins and podiums in the Firestone Firehawk Endurance series and the Canadian Endurance Championship between 1989 and 1991. He finished runner-up in the F1600 Championship in 1991 and initially retired five years later, before racing a Prototype for Brumos Porsche in the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona.

After a second retirement from driving, Bye supported other Canadian drivers, through his role as president of FEL. The company was James Hinchcliffe’s first sponsor in Formula BMW in 2004 and has sponsored other notable drivers, including James Vance, Daniel Morad and Scott Hargrove. From 2015 to 2017, FEL’s sponsorship of F1600 helped increase car counts by roughly 15 entrants.

Most recently, Bye led FEL through the creation of FEL Motorsports, which launched a pair of sports car touring series in 2021, including the Sports Car Championship Canada.

GARY ELLIOTT – COMPETITOR

Gary Elliott has raced stock cars for 53 seasons, including a historic 49 years with sponsor Quaker State. He raced at 46 tracks across Canada and the U.S., in various divisions and touring series, including Mini Stock, Canadian Vintage Modified, Pro Late Model and OSCAAR Modifieds. Most recently, he raced in the Maritime Pro Stock Tour. Elliott competed on 859 consecutive race nights in the divisions that he’s run, which dates back to 1987. He’s recorded 260 wins, 40 feature wins, 25 top-five points finishes and two championships in his career. He is also a 12-time winner of Most Sportsmanlike Driver honours.

Away from the track, Elliott has made presentations to high school auto shop groups and has helped with racing seminars at a summer racing camp. He’s also served on the Canadian Vintage Modified committee for 25 years, spending seven years as president of the Canadian Vintage Modified Club.

TERRY EPP – COMPETITOR / BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Terry Epp started his involvement with rally as a navigator/co-driver in 1967 and competed for 35 years, highlighted by winning the 1986 Canadian Rally Championship for co-drivers and the North American Rally Cup for the 2WD co-driver championship.

Most of his 55 years in the sport was also in a leadership role as a club president, the Ontario Rally Director for CASC-OR, the national rally director for both CASC and CARS, the national series manager for CARS and as a director of ASN Canada FIA for over thirty years responsible for both Canadian rally and solosport activities.

He oversaw the transition from navigational rallies (which still continue) to performance rallies that evolved into stage rallies. His focus for safety standard improvements was continuous throughout the years as well as the welfare of the Canadian Rally Championship (*est 1957).

He also helped bring rally racing to national television on TSN and RDS (30 years and continuing). He retired from the sport at the end of 2022.

ROBERT GIANNOU – COMPETITOR / BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Robert Giannou joined the St. John’s Motor Club in 1958, where he began organizing rally, solo and hillclimb events in 1962. He brought the club into the CASC ranks and negotiated with the U.S. Embassy in Newfoundland to use two of their properties for events, including runways at Naval Station Argentia, where he eventually brought the Molyslip Endurance Series.

Giannou has held various roles with CASC over the years, including Race Director Atlantic Region and Assistant National Race Director. In 2002, he organized the first Targa Newfoundland and worked with others to develop 30 event operating manuals. In 2010, he worked with Janet Brake to create a safety protocol that made Targa Newfoundland the safest of the three main Targa events, with incident rates being reduced from 17% to 1.5%.

Giannou has also raced himself, winning titles in club karting and rallying, hillclimb and B Sedan.

CARL HARR – COMPETITOR / BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Carl Harr started his racing career out west, winning multiple events at Edmonton International Speedway and in NHRA drag racing in the 1970s, before winning multiple slalom and rally events run by the Northern Alberta Sports Car Club in the 1980s. He joined the Players GM Challenge Series in 1986, running full-time until 1992. He then shifted to national stock car racing from 1994 to 2010. He started 80 races between the CASCAR Super Series, CASCAR West, CASCAR East and NASCAR Pinty’s Series since 1998, recording 32 top-five finishes, four CASCAR West wins and a CASCAR West championship during that span. He also made 78 starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West between 2001 and 2014.

Harr founded the Edmonton Corvette Club in 1979 and has spent one season each as a team owner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Pirelli World Challenge.

DAVE LLOYD – COMPETITOR / BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Dave Lloyd has been involved in motorcycle racing for 60 years. He finished runner-up in his first race, in the Canadian Junior Championship at Harewood Acres, and was soon promoted directly from the Junior to Expert class by the Canadian Motorcycle Association. He progressed through the ranks and made his FIM World Championship debut in 1965.

From 1966 to 1968, Lloyd raced across Europe, against world champions and the stars of the day, in locations ranging from England and Isle of Man to the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia. He had several mid-field finishes in Europe and won both a Bronze TT Replica Trophy and Silver TT Replica Trophy during that time.

Lloyd then returned to Canada and rode in various disciplines in the 1970s. More recently, he made land speed record attempts in 2009 and 2011 and competed in the VRRA Period 1 350cc class Championship in 2021, winning the class title at 81-years-old.

DEREK LYNCH – COMPETITOR / BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Derek Lynch started his career racing karts in eastern Ontario, where he won four championships. In 1986, at 14-years-old, he made the jump to Late Model Sportsman racing at Peterborough Speedway, where he won five features and the track championship in 1987.

Lynch raced in the ACT Pro Stock Series from 1988 to 1995, where he recorded a pair of top-five points finishes and three wins, including a victory in the prestigious Oxford 250. Away from the driver’s seat, he worked as a fabricator for NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Truck Series teams in the late 1990s, including Darrell Waltrip Motorsports and Bobby Allison Motorsports.

Lynch raced in a variety of late model series over the last two decades. He made 30 starts in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series between 2007 and 2016, winning at Cayuga Speedway in 2007. He also worked as manager/promoter of Kawartha Speedway from 2004 to 2012.

On behalf of Clubine Motorsports Canada, congratulations to Mac Clark on being named the recipient of Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame ‘Rising Star Award’ for 2022.

Mac is truly ‘the full package.’ He’s obviously an incredible racer. But he also has the demeanor, intelligence and drive to go a very long way in the sport.

Canada has a long, proud history of producing racers who have competed, and won, against the best in the world.

Clubine Motorsports was founded to perpetuate that legacy, by supporting talented, upand coming Canadian racers - like Mac Clark - to achieve their full potential and dreams.

We were extremely proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of this year’s CMHF Induction Gala.

We’re also proud to be associated with this impressive young man and his family. Thank you to the Canadian Motorsport Hall of

Fame for recognizing him with the prestigious Rising Star Award. And while some of you may be hearing the name “Mac Clark” for the first time. We’re confident that Canadian racing fans around the country will soon be very familiar with - and proud of - Mac Clark, too.

BOB MACDONALD – BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Bob MacDonald competed in multiple Ontario regional road racing series and the Firestone/Firehawk Endurance Championship, but his greatest achievements in motorsport came through his sales role at Sony of Canada. He was an integral part of the company’s sponsorship of motorsports through race cars, billboards, print advertising and television, where the Sony Handycam was used for in-car footage.

Several notable drivers were supported by Sony of Canada in their racing efforts, including Robin Buck, Paul Tracy, Ron Fellows and Scott Maxwell. MacDonald worked to bring Sony sponsorship to the grassroots level as well, through local karting clubs and an annual event held by the Simcoe Kart Club. He served on multiple boards of directors at the grassroots level.

MacDonald also worked directly with tracks and events to include Sony banners and product support at notable circuits, including the Toronto and Vancouver street courses and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

DICK MIDGLEY – COMPETITOR

Dick Midgley has primarily served as a mechanic, car builder and car owner during his motorsport career. In 1958, he co-owned a car with his older brother in the Jalopy class at Western Speedway, where they won the track title in their first season. Dick continued to field cars in local divisions into the 1970s, when he expanded his efforts south of the border.

More than 70 drivers competed for Midgley in the NASCAR West Series from 1972 to 2014, including 2002 CMHF inductee Roy Smith. Between 1974 and 1992, Midgley fielded cars in 26 NASCAR Cup Series races, where he made two Daytona 500 starts, with Smith as the driver, in 1976 and 1977.

Midgley has also run cars in international events, including a third-place finish with Dave Marcis in a NASCAR exhibition race at Australia’s Calder Park Thunderdome in 1988 and winning the NASCAR-affiliated Australian championship with Jim Richards in 1996.

SCOTT SPENCER – COMPETITOR / BUILDER / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR

Scott Spencer started his career in NHRA Sportsman Racing, competing in Stock, SuperStock and Super Gas between 1972 and 1980. He designed and built a full-chassis Plymouth Arrow for NHRA Super Gas in 1977, which won a pair of awards at The International Car Show. In 1975, he opened a speed shop, which provided support for several CASCAR teams to begin racing on road courses.

Spencer worked as an NHRA technical inspector in the 1980s before racing in the GT class of the Canadian Firestone/Firehawk series in the early 1990s, with a best finish of third on the streets of Toronto in 1991. He continued road racing in various events until 1997.

Spencer joined Grand Am full-time in 2000, where he was responsible for the KONI Challenge Series technical department, later working with Multimatic to introduce the Mustang. He also worked with Grand Am and IMSA in leadership roles at the NASCAR R&D Center.

BRUCE BIEGLER – MEDIA

Bruce Biegler started his media career as a self-taught photographer, working as a track photographer and reporter at Saskatoon International Raceway in 1974. He focused his work on drag racing in the years that followed, spending time as a photographer and writ- er for National Dragster and Wheelspin News. He was Drag Racing Editor for Performance Racing News from 1989 to 2008 and for Inside Track Motorsport News from 2009 to 2014.

Biegler was a contributing editor for Chrysler’s official factory publication, Mopar Magazine , for 30 years and has worked on content for other drag racing and industry publications over time.

Biegler founded DragRaceCanada.com in 1999, which has become a reputable and popular website for drag racing in Canada. He continues to serve as editor for the website and has travelled to cover races across Canada and the U.S. throughout his career, including major events, such as the NHRA U.S. Nationals. IT

WALLY DALLENBACH SR. (INT’L CATEGORY - 2021)

PFAFF MOTORSPORTS (INT’L CATEGORY - 2022)

MAC CLARK - RISING STAR AWARD