His first involvement in the sport of Auto Racing came at age 14 when he became involved with the Super Modified race car of Tony Mortel who was racing on the CAMRA (Canadian American Modified Racing Association) series. Soon after that, he got the “bug” and built his own car for the Superstock Series in Victoria with Teddy Mortel driving. After one year, he joined the Ross Surgenor crew in the Superstock Open Series and the Northwest NASCAR Sportsman Series. The team was very successful winning many races from Portland, Oregon to B.C., including the Rainier 205 at Monroe, Washington. They also won the International Driver’s Challenge. One highlight was involvement in the Permatex 200 at Riverside, California.
During those years, he also worked racing in the Winston 500 in Riverside with drivers such as Roy Smith, Hershel McGriff, Ross Surgenor and Jimmy Means. After a successful career with Ross Surgenor, he was hired as a tire changer on Roy Smith’s crew. His primary specialty as a crew member was tire changing in which he won many contests over the years. He also prepared many race cars over the years by doing body work and paint. His first year with Roy Smith was very rewarding as they won the NASCAR North Sportsman Championship and placed 10th overall in the Winston West points.
In 1980 the team won the Winston West Championship and continued to do so the following two years. They went on to have a very successful 10 year period as a team known as the “flying aces”. They set many records, won many prestigious races and still today hold records at some tracks. Currently they still hold the Pit Crew Record for fastest time (14:89) at Western Speedway, which at the time was even faster than the Winston Cup record. His most memorable moment with Roy Smith was the opportunity they had to run in the Daytona 500 in 1982. He was instrumentally involved in the fundraising efforts for the “Pride of Victoria” ride where they finished a reputable 10th in the race.
Andy passed away in 2014.
