Rollie MacDonald
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Roland "Rollie" MacDonald (born February 4, 1944) in
Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'' Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk: ''Piktuk'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) nor ...
, Nova Scotia is a Canadian businessman, racing team owner, and former racing driver. MacDonald is the owner/President of King Freight Lines Limited.


King Freight Lines

MacDonald started the excavating company MacDonald's Excavating in 1975. The transportation side of the business quickly outgrew the excavation side of the business, and the company was rebranded King Freight Lines Limited in 1986 to better reflect the company's new direction. King Freight Lines now operates mainly as a transcontinental transportation company that services
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, however they still do excavation work on the side. King Freight Lines is a member of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA), as well as the Nova Scotia Trucking Safety Association (NSTSA).


Racing career


Early career

MacDonald built his first race car in 1965, a ’55
Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...
, and started his racing career that year at Mountain Raceway, a dirt track near
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,471 ...
. He would then go on to rack up 21 straight victories at Mountain Raceway. In 1977, while trying to pick up his 22nd straight win, MacDonald's car struck the outside in what is considered the worst crash in the history of Maritime racing. MacDonald would spend a month in hospital following the crash. MacDonald went on to compete in the MASCAR series, winning the series championship in 1983. In 1986 he teamed up with fellow Maritime racing legend Junior Hanley, taking one of Hanley's cars to Quebec and winning the QUASCAR Championship.


NASCAR Busch North Series

In 1993, MacDonald purchased a Busch Grand National
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...
from
Jimmy Spencer James Peter Spencer (born February 15, 1957) is an American former racing driver, team owner, talk show host and television commentator. He is best known for competing in NASCAR. He hosted the NASCAR-inspired talk show, ''What's the Deal?'', o ...
and raced in the
Busch North Series The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are hel ...
forming MacDonald Motorsports. MacDonald made his Busch North Series debut at the 1993 New Hampshire 75 at
New Hampshire International Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway (formerly known as the New Hampshire International Speedway from 1989 to 2007, the Bryar Motorsports Park from 1965 to 1989, and as the 106 Midway Raceway from 1961 to 1964) is a oval track in Loudon, New Hampshire ...
. He started the race in 18th, and finished in 24th, two laps down. Over the next two seasons MacDonald competed in a total of six races, with five of them coming at New Hampshire. However, his best finish was 15th in his only start at Apple Valley Speedway in the 1994 Fisher Snowplow / Minute Mount 150.


King Racing

MacDonald formed King Racing in 1998 and continued to race on a part-time schedule, while quickly hiring two-time MASCAR Champion Scott Fraser as the team's full-time driver. In 1999 the pair competed at the World Series Of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, a series of 10 races in 10 nights at
New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt Oval track racing, oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller trac ...
in
New Smyrna Beach New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The downtown section of the city is located on the west side of the Indian River and the ...
,
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. Franser would win two of the ten feature races, and go on to finish third in the overall points standings. The team also won two of the six MASCAR races they entered. In 2000 the team made their
ASA National Tour The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt and dirt tracks in t ...
debut at
Chicago Motor Speedway The Chicago Motor Speedway at Sportsman's Park was a motorsports race track, located in Cicero, Illinois, just outside Chicago. It was built in 1999 by a group including Chip Ganassi, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2002 the oval shaped tra ...
. The team's debut was an impressive one, Fraser started on the outside pole on his way to an 8th-place finish. Two starts later the team picked up their first top five finish, finishing fifth at
Jennerstown Speedway Jennerstown Speedway Complex is a racetrack in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania. Built on land that was once home to the Jenners Fair the track had its start in the 1920s as a flat, half-mile dirt track. After several changes, advancements and owner ...
. In total the 2000 season was a success, with Fraser picking up two top fives and four top tens in six starts. That was enough to convince the team to run the full schedule in 2001 ASA season. The season started out with Fraser picking up three top five finishes, in the team's first four starts. A series of crashes and mechanical failures would limit the team to just 13 starts. Following Fraser's death in a snowmobile accident in
Wentworth, Nova Scotia Wentworth is a small Canadian rural community located in the Wentworth Valley of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. It is named after Sir John Wentworth, a former lieutenant-governor of the province. The community takes in the following hamlets: * ...
on March 20, 2004, MacDonald decided to return behind the wheel full-time. MacDonald won the 2005 Maritime Pro Stock Tour Championship, 21 years after his first career championship predecessing MASCAR series. MacDonald retired following the 2012 Maritime Pro Stock Tour.


Motor racing results


Maritime Pro Stock Tour


IWK 250 results

Event run as part of the Pro All Stars Series


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, Rollie 1944 births Canadian racing drivers Living people Racing drivers from Nova Scotia