Fraser Carmichael, a resident of Ladysmith, was bitten by the “auto racing bug” in the early 1960’s when he began attending the races at Nanaimo’s “Grandview Bowl”.
In 1967 he started driving in the track’s Stockcar division and continued to do so for a number of years, mainly in late 1950’s Fords which were purple in colour. From there he joined the fledgling “Old Time Racer’s Association” (OTRA) in 1978 where he took the wheel of the #1 car, a 1932 Chev coupe which was owned by Norm Wilcox and sponsored by “Coca Cola”. Fraser later purchased the car from Norm and successfully competed at various tracks in the Pacific Northwest, setting fast times and winning many races.
In 1985, he entered the “7/11 Race of Champions” series which saw a group of past Island track champions compete in five events driving different classes of cars and following the final event on September 1st, Fraser was crowned the winner of that series. He continued running with OTRA until 1990 competing at different times in a couple of sedans as well as his coupe.
Following the closure of Nanaimo’s Grandview Bowl, Fraser along with Joe Pullen and Dave Smith were instrumental in the birth of Cassidy Speedway. In addition to being heavily involved in all aspects of running the new track, Fraser again donned his driving suit and helmet to help establish the Speedway’s new “Winged Sprintcar” class and after later stepping away from driving, he continued his active support of the division as a car owner and sponsor until the political closure of the track in 1995. Following Cassidy’s closure, Fraser continued to be involved in Island auto racing as a sponsor and ambassador.
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- Possibly 1978 – Fraser Carmichael following an OTRA main event win (possible Barrie Goodwin photo).
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- 1981 – Fraser in the #1 OTRA 1932 Chev coupe (Bob Hunter photo).
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- 1981 – OTRA main event action at Western with (left to right) #1 Fraser Carmichael, #66 Davre Ireland, #24 Bill Bartley, #35 Ernie Schoor and #98 John Currier (Bob Hunter photo).
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- 1982 – Fraser in a grudge race with Pat Phillips (possible Bob Hunter photo).
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- Possibly 1983 – Fraser duels through Western’s first turn with Ernie Schoor (possible Bob Hunter or Barrie Goodwin photo).
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- 1985 – 7/11 Race of Champions series participants including Fraser who is standing second from the right (photographer unknown).
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- Year unknown – Fraser Carmichael (photographer unknown).
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- 1990 – Fraser and the #21 1933 Oldsmobile sedan OTRA car which was owned by Norm Wilcox (Bob Hunter photo).
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- Year unknown – Fraser during a Winged Sprintcar main event at Cassidy Speedway (photographer unknown).
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- Year unknown – Fraser following a Winged Sprintcar main event win (photographer unknown).
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- 1995 – “Nanaimo Free Press” newspaper article on the possible closure of Cassidy Speedway”. (Note: two “mouse clicks” will give a readable version)
