DAVE MacDonald COBRA MAN

The Will to WIN

One of the most highly respected and well liked racing drivers, Dave MacDonald was born in El Monte, California. As a driver during the glory days of Corvette racing, MacDonald had a better win percentage than any other Corvette racer. He was a fierce competitor which earned him the respect of everyone who drove against him. At the start of the 1963 season, Carroll Shelby hired MacDonald away from Chevrolet to drive his Cobra Roadster. His first outing for Shelby American was at Riverside International Raceway where he drove a Cobra roadster in back-to-back victories. In the fall of 1963, MacDonald rose to national prominence after driving a Shelby King Cobra to win the two biggest and richest road races in the world, The Los Angeles Times Grand Prix and the Monterey Pacific Grand Prix. Those were the first wins for the Shelby King Cobra.
On May 10, 1964, MacDonald won the United States Road Racing Championship in Kent, Washington in a King Cobra . The victory put him in a tie atop the USRRC Drivers’ Championship standings with Jim Hall. This would be MacDonald’s last race before his death three weeks later in the 1964 Indianapolis 500.