Special to the Toronto Star by Norris McDonald, Jun 23, 2007 Norm Mackereth 80 and still loves the ovals Norm Mackereth of Toronto, 80 next month and forever young, was thinking one day 60 or so years ago that he'd like to give motorcycle racing a try.
"I got hanging around with some fellows who were running the dirt tracks and saw a couple of them get pretty badly banged up – I saw one get his throat cut from ear to ear – and I said to myself, `Whoa, this is way too dangerous'."
So he went car racing instead.
And he's still at it. Last Saturday night, he was at Peterborough Speedway with his helmet and firesuit, just in case one of his two racing sons, Andy or Craig, or his racing grandson Tyler (Craig's son), needed some help sorting out one of their cars for a Can-Am Midget Racing Series feature event.
It was not to be - this time. He looked south after 1962, when the CNE track was closed. |
photographer and date unknown |
Norm qualified for the 1960 Oswego Classic via a consi with this car. He finished 17th in the race. Another photo photographers unknown |
photographer unknown.. 1961 or '62? |
photographer unknown.. 1961 or '62? |
photographer unknown.. 1961 or '62? |
photographer unknown.. 1961 or '62? |
Norm's #40 alongside Shampine's #8, lining up for the 1963 Oswego Classic |
Norm's first Oswego win, August 1st, 1964 another photo |
1964 |
1964 |
1965 "New Toronto Rocket" |
1965 |
1967 (another photo) |
1967, chatting with Wayne Landon |
1968 |
1968 at Heidelberg |
1968 Years later Norm recalled this crash |
Aug 1968 |
early in the '69 season |
1969 at Fulton Speedway |
In July of '69, Norm Hagen bought the highly successful former Todd Gibson "Flintstone Flyer" from Jim Quinn for Norm Mackereth to drive... ...and on July 26th Norm won with it, first time out at Oswego! Read more about the history of that car here |
1969 |
1969 |
2nd place in the '69 Classic Norm time-trialed 2nd quick for the 1969, '70 and '71 Classics with this car |
1970 opening day win image link will open in a new window |
Fulton win, 1970 |
1970 |
1970 track champ at Delaware |
1970 |
1970 |
Four weeks into the 1970 season and Norm just about destroyed the Gibson roadster in a grinding crash in turn one. Meanwhile the Hagen crew had built a back up car to the Gibson roadster and Norm drove that car for the balance of the season. |
1971 |
1971 Delaware program |
1971 |
August 14, 1971 win, Oswego's 20th anniversary |
1971 |
1971 Gibson cars |
September 18 1971 |
1972 |
1972 |
'72 Jun 10th win Story here |
1973 program |
Norm got the ride in the Ed Bowley "Flyin Five" for the first half of '73... |
...Then finished up the '73 season in this Hagan Howard machine |
Back in the Bowley machine in 1974 and a June 8th win link will open in a new page |
1974 |
Norm suffered a broken thumb in this crash during the July 6th '74 Grand Prix event |
1974, 6th in points |
Aug 16 1975 In 1975 Bowley went with a Lindblad Badger chassis but kept the ex-Swift car as a back-up |
1975 |
1976 |
1976 |
July 17 1976 |
1977 Norm fields his own machine |
1977 |
July 9 1977 |
1978.. and a career winds down |
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