Don MacTavish

Athlete

1942 –

48

Who is Don MacTavish?

Donald Charles MacTavish started his racing career at the age of 15 racing in nearby Norwood, Massachusetts at the Norwood Arena. He quickly earned popularity for driving demolition derby cars, and appeared on ABC's Wide World of Sports. He competed in more than 100 Sportsman Car Series races on the East Coast. In 1963 he progressed to NASCAR's Sportsman Division and in 1966 he won the NASCAR National Sportsman Division Championship, a precursor to today's Nationwide Series, by beating out Ralph Earnhardt among others.

In the late 1960s, MacTavish set his sights on competing in NASCAR's top series, The Grand National Series. On February 22, 1969 MacTavish made his debut at the Daytona International Speedway, driving the #5 1966 Mercury Comet in the Permatex 300 Sportsman race. On lap nine of the race, his vehicle tangled with a car driven by Bob James. Out of control, MacTavish's car hit the outside crash wall at a point where a metal guard rail covered an opening in the wall. The impact with the butt end of the concrete sheared off the whole front of the car, up to the firewall; its engine was thrown 100 feet from the wreck.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Aug 22, 1942
Dover
Died
Mar 28, 2024

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Don MacTavish." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/don_mactavish>.

Discuss this Don MacTavish biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net