He was bitten by the racing bug in the early 1960’s in Nanaimo. His auto racing career began at Nanaimo’s Grandview Bowl in the mid 1960’s when he drove Stock Cars. He became very well known for driving late 1950’s Fords which were purple in colour. After racing Stock Cars (which were often called jalopies at the time), he moved into the newly formed Old Time Racers Association (O.T.R.A.) in 1978.
He drove a 1932 Chev coupe which was owned by Victoria’s Norm Wilcox and sponsored by Coca Cola. This combination proved to be very successful netting many fast times and wins throughout the Pacific Northwest in this car. In 1985, he ran in a 7/11 Race of Champions series at Victoria’s Western Speedway. A group of past champion drivers competed in five events driving different types of cars at each event. On September 1st, 1985, he was the total points winner for this yearly series.
He continued competing in the O.T.R.A. until 1989. As well as his coupe, he also periodically drove a couple of sedan race cars. In addition to his driving skills, he is very involved in the sport of Auto Racing. He and a handful of others were instrumental in the re-establishment of Auto Racing in the mid-Vancouver Island area. After the untimely closing of Grandview Bowl, he and his group set about acquiring suitable property in the Nanaimo area to build a racetrack. This was eventually accomplished and the Cassidy Speedway was born.
He wore all the various hats in this operation at one time or another. He also once again donned driver suit and helmet to help get the newest class, the winged sprint cars, up and running at Cassidy. His tireless efforts in all aspects of the sport have done much to enrich motor racing on Vancouver Island. He continued to own and sponsor a sprint car until the political closure of Cassidy Speedway. As of today, he is still involved as a sponsor and an ambassador to the Sport of Auto Racing. It is with great pleasure that we honour Fraser Carmichael with induction into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
