Yahoo Autos Norris McDonald 1942-2023
Norris McDonald made his living as a motor racing reporter, but he was so much more than someone who documented the sport with words and insights. He was trusted in the paddocks he covered, and treated like a member of the racing family.
After spending most of the year fighting an escalating number of illnesses, McDonald died on Monday, leaving an immeasurable void in his native Canada and for the many friends he made in the United States while covering IndyCar and other series that were featured in his longstanding works for the Toronto Star.
McDonald was old school in every way — the best ways — and used his voice and reach to support young Canadian driving talent and teams; he covered his first Indianapolis 500 in 1969, one year after the late Robin Miller made his debut at the Speedway. In many ways, they were versions of the same person as both devoted their lives to racing and to lending a helping hand or words of advice in their roles as stewards of the sport.
Generations of Canadian racers are indebted to the spotlight McDonald placed on their budding careers and in the years that followed.
“It’s definitely a sad day for Canadian motorsport,” said countryman and six-time IndyCar race winner James Hinchcliffe. “Norris was a once-in-a-generation kind of character. He was so insanely passionate about the Canadian racing community, and it didn’t matter if it was the top tier of the sport or your local dirt track, he was all in on it. There’s not a driver that’s made a dollar in this sport that didn’t get help and some words of encouragement – printed and face-to-face – from Norris.
“He wrote the first ever article about me that made it into a national newspaper in Canada, and I still have it framed! He spoke the truth, sometimes to people’s frustration, but it was because he cared and he wanted everyone to raise themselves up to his high standards. He was a racer and a true champion of motorsport back home.”
McDonald was also the rare breed of reporter who got behind the wheel, and raced super modifieds as well as serving as a team owner for many years. The experiences informed his writing, and with all of his overwhelming contributions to the sport to consider in the latter stages of his life, McDonald was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2013 along with 1992 Formula 1 and 1993 CART IndyCar champion Nigel Mansell and 2003 Champ Car champion Paul Tracy.
“I’ve known him since I was a teenager because he’d been around Canadian motorsports for forever,” said Tracy. “He always been a friend of the family, always at the at the races, always supported Canadian drivers and tried to do the best by everybody.
“One of the coolest things in my career is Norris and I, and Nigel Mansell, went into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame all in the same year. He was the first journalist to be selected to the hall, and I think that was one of the highlights of his of his whole life.”
Tracy, like so many others who knew McDonald, is left with a sincere appreciation for all he gave over seven decades in motor racing.
“Norris was a guy who was trying to help drivers in their career, rather than just report the news, who truly loved the sport and was in it for the long haul,” he said. “He was more famous in Canada than in America, but the people who know motorsports knew who Norris was, and he was well, well respected by everybody.”
