Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame facts for kids
The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to Canadian motorsport as drivers, owners, team members, motorsport builders, sponsors and significant contributors, as well as those who have distinguished themselves in the new Media category." It was established in 1992 by Gary Magwood and Lee Abrahamson, with assistance by Automobile Journalists Association of Canada founding president and motorsport reporter Len Coates, to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of the various Canadian motorsports communities. The CMHF has moved location six times over the course of its history due to difficulties garnering sponsorship and community support creating financial trouble, and has been housed at The Canadian Motorsport Heritage Museum, in Toronto's Downsview Park since 2010.
Inductees are received by a panel of motorsport experts from the CMHF Nomination Committee. Normally, all inductees have to been retired from competition for at least three years or have been active in motorsports for about a quarter of a century. The long, public nomination process allows submissions to be sent to the nomination committee of the CMHF's legal administrators, the Canadian Automotive Collection (CAC), which passes the successful nominees to its independent, expert Selection Committee. A subsequent ballot determining the submissions list by an independent scoring process system for nomination evaluation by each Selection Committee member is presented to the CAC and the CMHF for ratification following the conclusion of the public nomination procedure. The board subsequently determines a cut-off score when it opts to identify all candidates in a given year and then the inductees' names are presented to them. Each successful inductee is contacted by the chair of the board before their names are publicly released. Before that, Abrahamson and Magwood wrote to associations and senior Canadian motorsports clubs asking for nominees, with an eight or ten-person experienced journalist standing committee choosing the inductees.
There are five main types of category of which inductees are placed into: Competitors, Motorsport Builders, Team Members, Significant Contributors and the Media. The CMHF established an additional international category in 2009 to recognize "significant contributions to motorsports in Canada" and "prominent international figures". Each inductee receives a personal plaque bearing the CMHF logo and one on the mezzanine inside the CMHF for listing purposes. Articles and photographs detailing the inductees' achievements are put on display in the hall of fame and there are various displays inside it. The inaugural induction gala dinner ceremony to honour inductees took place at the Four Seasons Hotel Yorkville, in Toronto, Ontario, August 19, 1993, and since 2019 has been held annually as part of the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto after it was staged as a late-year unincorporated ceremony for most of its history. There was no induction in 2009 as a result of the economic constraints caused by the Great Recession in North America forcing the CMHF's board of directors opting to postpone the ceremony to the following year.
Since 1993, a total of 294 individuals from the world of motorsport have been inducted, with between five and fifteen auto racing figures added each year. The vast majority are men; there have been eight women who have been elected to the CMHF. Kay Petre became the first woman racing driver to be named an inductee in 1995, and the two most recent women to be added to the CMHF were Nathalie Richard and Anne Roy in 2020. The first inducted physician was Hugh E. Scully in 2000. Hydroplane drivers Robert Theoret and Jean Theoret are the only two brothers to have been inducted individually in 2006 and 2010 respectively. The 2018 class was the first to composed wholly of print and broadcast motorsport journalists. The CMHF contains nine organizations and on seven occasions there have been two or more inductees grouped for their combined work. Of the international inductees, they include Carroll Shelby (2009), Bobby Rahal (2010), Sid Watkins (2010), Michael Andretti (2011), Mario Andretti (2012), Nigel Mansell (2013), Jackie Stewart (2014), Multimatic Motorsports (2015), Legendary Motorcar (2016), Honda (2017) and McLaren (2019).
Inductees
Indicates posthumous induction | |
* | Denotes international inductee |
Year | Inductee | Occupation | Category | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Bill Brack | Competitor | Road racing | |
John Cannon | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Billy Foster | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Imperial Tobacco | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Bob McLean | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Chuck Ratheb | Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
Peter Ryan | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Bill Sadler | Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
Gilles Villeneuve | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Eppie Wietzes | Competitor | Road racing | ||
1994 | Dave Billes | Motorsport builder | Road racing | |
George Chapman | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Ross de St. Croix | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Mike Duff | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
George Eaton | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Bob Hanna | Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
Jimmy Howard | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Horst Kroll | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Norm Namerow | Competitor | Road racing | ||
John Ross | Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
1995 | Dale Armstrong | Competitor | Drag racing | |
Francis Bradley | N/A | Road racing | ||
Trevor Deeley | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Brad Francis | Motorsport builder | N/A | ||
Frank Hawley | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Ted Hogan | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Norm Lelliott | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Harvey Lennox | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Dean Murray | Motorsport builder | Stock car racing | ||
Derek Oland | Competitor Motorsport builder |
Grand Prix | ||
Kay Petre | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Ron and Eve White | Motorsport builder | Motorcycle racing | ||
1996 | Warren Coniam | Competitor | Stock car racing | |
Doug Duncan | Motorsport builder | Stock car racing | ||
Bernie Fedderly | Motorsport builder | Drag racing | ||
Craig Hill | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Harvey Hudes | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Graham Light | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Molson Brewery | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Ted Strugess | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
John Williams | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Walter Wolf | Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
1997 | Wallie Branston | Competitor | Stock car racing | |
Craig Fisher | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Jim Gunn | Motorsport builder | Rally racing | ||
Billy Kydd | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Ed Leavens | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Roger McCaig | Competitor | Road racing | ||
The Mehlenbacher Family | Significant contributor | Drag racing | ||
David Wildman | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Scott Wilson | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
1998 | Tom Burgess | Competitor | Rally racing | |
Sandy Elliot | Motorsport builder | Drag racing | ||
Ron Farmer | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
David Greenblatt | Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
Tom Johnston | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Tom Jones | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Jim Kelly | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
David T. Morris | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Al Pease | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Ross Pederson | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
1999 | Gary Beck | Competitor | Drag racing | |
Maurice Carter | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Castrol North America | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Yvon Duhamel | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Grant King | Motorsport builder | Stock car racing | ||
Ray Peets | Motorsport builder | Drag racing | ||
2000 | Gordie Bonin | Competitor | Drag racing | |
Jacques Couture | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Junior Hanley | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Bob Hayward | Competitor | Powerboat racing | ||
Ludwig Heimrath | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Ron Hodgson | N/A | Drag racing | ||
Gordon Jenner | Motorsport builder | Drag racing | ||
Ernie McLean | Significant contributor | Stock car racing | ||
Greg Moore | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Earl Ross | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Hugh E. Scully | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
2001 | Art Asbury | Competitor | Powerboat racing | |
Don Biederman | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Jean-Paul Cabana | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Terry Capp | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Eldon Rasmussen | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
David Sehl | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Bill Sharpless | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Richard Spenard | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Jacques Villeneuve | Competitor | Snowmobile racing | ||
2002 | Ken Achs | Competitor | Drag racing | |
Dick Baker | Competitor/Significant contributor | Road racing | ||
Pete Bicknell | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Jake DeRosier | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Scott Goodyear | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Jim Hallahan | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Guy Lombardo | Competitor | Powerboat racing | ||
Barry Paton | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Bob & Leone Stack | Significant contributor | Stock car racing | ||
Roy Smith | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
2003 | Walter Boyce | Competitor | Rally racing | |
British Empire Motor Club | Significant contributor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Jack Canfield | Competitor | Motorcycle racing/Road racing | ||
John Cordts | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Harry Greening | Significant contributor | Powerboat racing | ||
Taisto Heinonen | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Bert Straus | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
2004 | Larry Bastedo | Competitor/Significant contributor | Motorcycle racing | |
Alice and Jim Fergusson | Competitor/Significant contributor | Motorcycle racing/Rally racing/Road racing | ||
Jack Greedy | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Bob and Helen Harvey | Significant contributor | Drag racing | ||
Doug Kennington | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
George LeMay | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Rollie McDonald | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Jean-Paul Perusse | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Gordon Reelie | Motorsport builder | Stock car racing | ||
Mark Rothmarel | Competitor | Powerboat racing | ||
Brian Stewart | Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
2005 | Bill Adam | Competitor | Road racing | |
Frank Allers | Competitor | Road racing | ||
John De Gruchy | Competitor/Significant contributor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Pete Henderson | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Brian Robertson | Competitor/Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
Jack Smith | Competitor/Motorsport builder | Stock car racing | ||
Jim Thompson | Motorsport builder | Powerboat racing | ||
Harold Wilson | Competitor | Powerboat racing/Rally racing/Road racing | ||
2006 | Bob Atchison | Competitor/Motorsport builder | Drag racing | |
Alec Bennett | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
John Bird | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Jacques Dallaire | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
John Duff | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Lorne Leibel | Competitor | Powerboat racing/Road racing | ||
Dan Marisi | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Ted Powell | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Lloyd Shaw | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Bruce Simpson | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Robert Theoret | Competitor | Powerboat racing | ||
2007 | Jack Christie | Motorsport builder | Road racing | |
Scott Fraser | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Geoff Goodwin | Competitor/Motorsport builder/Significant contributor | Drag racing | ||
Ted Gryguc | Competitor | Power boat racing | ||
Alan Labrosse | Significant contributor | Road racing/Stock car racing | ||
Bill Mathews | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Tony Novotny | Significant contributor | Stock car racing | ||
2009 | Carl Bastedo | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | |
C. Alan Bunting | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Canadian Race Communications Association | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Doug Fairchild | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Wayne Kelly | Competitor/Motorsport builder | Road racing | ||
Bill Lefeuvre | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Norm Mackereth | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Michel Mercier | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
Jim O'Donnell | Significant contributor | Road racing | ||
F.J. Smith | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Bruce Vessair | Competitor | Snowmobile racing | ||
Gary Vessair | Competitor | Snowmobile racing | ||
Carroll Shelby* | Significant contributor | International | ||
2010 | Paul Cooke | Competitor/Significant contributor | N/A | |
Jacques Duval | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Bob Elliott | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Roger Peart | Competitor/Significant contributor | Road racing | ||
Bobby Rahal* | Competitor/Motorsport builder | Road Racing | ||
Herbie Rodgers | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Jean Theoret | Competitor | Power boat racing | ||
Sid Watkins* | Significant contributor | International/Road racing | ||
John Webster | Competitor/Significant contributor | Power boat racing | ||
Norm Woods | Competitor | Power boat racing | ||
2011 | Michael Andretti* | Competitor | Significant contributor | |
Rudy Bartling | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Ben Docktor | Competitor/Significant contributor | Road racing | ||
Robin Edwardes | Competitor/Significant contributor | Rally racing | ||
Norm Ellefson | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Dick Foley | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
Paul Manson | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Greg Sewart | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
2012 | Mario Andretti* | N/A | N/A | |
Bob Armstrong | Competitor/Significant contributor | Road racing | ||
Jimmy Carr | Motorsport builder/Significant contributor | Stock car racing | ||
John and Sharon Fletcher | Significant contributor | Drag racing | ||
Ron Fellows | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Tom Walters | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
2013 | Diana Carter | Competitor | Road racing | |
John Magill | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Nigel Mansell* | N/A | N/A | ||
Scott Maxwell | Competitor | Road racing | ||
Norris McDonald | Competitor/Journalist | Stock car racing | ||
Paul Tracy | Competitor | Road racing | ||
2014 | John Chisholm | Competitor/Significant contributor | Stock car racing | |
Ralph Luciw | Competitor/Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Jackie Stewart* | N/A | N/A | ||
Alex Tagliani | Competitor | N/A | ||
Don Thomson Jr. | Competitor/Motorsport builder | N/A | ||
2015 | Peter Gibbons | Competitor | Stock car racing | |
Antoine L'Estage | Competitor | Rally racing | ||
Multimatic Motorsports* | N/A | N/A | ||
John Edgar Petrie | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Jordan Szoke | Competitor | Motorcycle racing | ||
David Whitlock | Competitor | Stock car racing | ||
2016 | Jacques Bouchard and Ronald Denis | Significant contributor | N/A | |
Terry Dale | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Peter Lockhart | Significant contributor/Competitor | Road Racing | ||
David Mathers | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Lewis MacKenzie | Competitor | Drag racing | ||
Legendary Motorcar* | N/A | N/A | ||
Chris Pfaff | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
John Powell | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
Sid Priddle | Significant contributor | N/A | ||
2017 | Doug Crosty | Formula Atlantic Championship winning engineer | ||
François Dumontier | Canadian Grand Prix promoter | |||
Honda* | N/A | N/A | ||
D. J. Kennington | Double NASCAR Pinty's Series champion | |||
Jim Robinson | Television filmmaker and producer | |||
John Sambrook | Championship driver | Race association official | ||
Scott Steckly | Quadruple NASCAR Pinty's Series champion | |||
Jim Tario | Official at the Grand Prix of Toronto | |||
Jacques Villeneuve | Formula One World Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner | |||
2018 | Len Coates | Canada's first motorsport reporter | ||
Gerald Donaldson | Motorsports journalist and writer | |||
Dave Franks | Motorsports photographer | |||
Graham Jones | Motorsports writer and columnist | |||
Pierre Lecours | Motorsports journalist | |||
Dean McNulty | Motorsports journalist | |||
Tim Miller | Motorsports reporter | |||
Jeff Pappone | Motorsports reporter | |||
Dan Proudfoot | First motorsport beat reporter | |||
Erik Tomas | Raceline radio host and producer | |||
2019 | Allen Berg | N/A | N/A | |
Robin Buck | N/A | N/A | ||
Larry Caruso | N/A | N/A | ||
Ed Hakonson | N/A | N/A | ||
Normand Legualt | N/A | N/A | ||
Gary Magwood | N/A | N/A | ||
McLaren* | N/A | N/A | ||
Bruno Spengler | N/A | N/A | ||
2020 | Myles Brandt | Builder | N/A | |
Jim Bray | Competitor | N/A | ||
Danny Burritt | Competitor/Team builder | N/A | ||
Kevin Dowler | Competitor/Builder | N/A | ||
Louis-Philippe Dumoulin | Competitor | N/A | ||
Mike Miller | Builder | N/A | ||
Alex Nagy | Competitor/Builder | N/A | ||
Lawrence Partington | Media | N/A | ||
Nathalie Richard | Competitor | N/A | ||
Anne Roy | Builder/Contributor | N/A | ||
Steve Robblee | Competitor | N/A | ||
Robert F. Seal | Builder | N/A | ||
Ron St. Clair | Builder/Contributor | N/A | ||
Kenny Wilden | Competitor | N/A | ||
Doug Woods | Builder/Competitor | N/A | ||
2021 | John Bondar | Builder | N/A | |
Patrick Carpentier | Competitor | N/A | ||
Wally Dallenbach Sr. | Competitor/Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Bertrand Godin | Competitor | N/A | ||
Brian Graham | Competitor/Builder/Team Member/Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
John Graham | Competitor/Builder | N/A | ||
Colin Hine | Builder/Team Member | N/A | ||
Kandy Mitton | Competitor/Media | N/A | ||
Howie Scanell | Competitor | N/A | ||
Glenn Styres | Competitor/Builder/Team Member/Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Bill Zardo Sr. | Competitor/Builder/Team Member/Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Philippe Brasseur | Media | N/A | ||
Clare Dear | Media | N/A | ||
Gerry Frechette | Media | N/A | ||
James Martyn | Media | N/A | ||
Frank Orr | Media | N/A | ||
Allan de la Plante | Media | N/A | ||
2022 | AIM Autosport | Competitor | N/A | |
Uli Bieri | Competitor/Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Chris Bye | Competitor/Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Gary Elliott | Competitor | N/A | ||
Terry Epp | Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Robert Giannou | Competitor | N/A | ||
Carl Harr | Competitor | N/A | ||
Dave Lloyd | Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Derek Lynch | Competitor | N/A | ||
Bob MacDonald | Competitor/Team Member | N/A | ||
Dick Midgley | Team Builder | N/A | ||
Scott Spencer | Team Member/Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Russ Urlin | Competitor/Special Contributor | N/A | ||
Bruce Biegler | Media | N/A | ||
2023 | Claude Aubin† | Competitor | N/A | |
Jeremy Dale | Competitor | N/A | ||
Mark Dilley | Competitor | N/A | ||
James Hinchcliffe | Competitor | N/A | ||
Ernie Jakubowski | Competitor | N/A | ||
Norman Jennings | Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Brad Moran | Significant Contributor | N/A | ||
Patrick Richard | Competitor | N/A | ||
Didier Schraenen | Competitor | N/A | ||
Dan Sprongl | Competitor/Team Builder | N/A | ||
Frank Sprongl | Competitor/Team Builder | N/A | ||
Bill Vallis | Builder | N/A | ||
Jordan Waldie | Competitor | N/A | ||
Kuno Wittmer | Competitor | N/A | ||
John Massingberd† | Media | N/A | ||
J. Wally Nesbitt | Media | N/A |