Roland "Rollie" MacDonald (born February 4, 1944) in

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') 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) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

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 ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, 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 may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

, 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 9,075 ...

. 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 or 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 pro ...

from Jimmy Spencer and raced in the

Busch North Series The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

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 is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...

. 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

Rollie MacDonald racing side-by-side with Ricky Craven at the 2007 IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway

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 racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in ...

in New Smyrna Beach,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. 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 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 trac ...

. 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 owners ...

. 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 well, With Fraser picking up three top five finishes, in the team's first four starts. Unfortunately that's where the success ended, and a series of crashes and mechanical failures would limit the team to just 13 starts. Following the unfortunate passing of Scott Fraser in fatal 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 stepped out of the car for good following the 2012 Maritime Pro Stock Tour, turning driving duties of the #13 King Racing Chevrolet over to 16-year-old Denver Foran for the 2013 season.

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