There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about Norris McDonald, who was my friend and mentor and someone who would have been a significant contributor to the The Car Magazine.
Norris made his mark in both the Canadian automotive and Canadian journalism industries before passing away November 26, 2023 at the age of 81. He had been battling health issues for two years.
Norris and I met quite by accident or maybe it was serendipity, coincidence, fate or whatever means caused this connection. I was working as a poll clerk for Elections Canada in the 2015 election and my job was to cross off the names of the voters from a list. I asked them each for their driver’s license to confirm their identification, and when Norris handed me his I said: “Are you Norris McDonald of the Toronto Star? He said, “yes.” I told him my name and he said he knew of me. I then asked him if he was looking for any writers for the Toronto Star Wheels section he edited, even though I knew nothing about cars or the automotive industry. A month later he gave me an assignment and immediately I started to panic. But I got through it – with Norris’ help and nurturing – and came to admire him in so many ways.
Norris was the greatest story-teller I have even known, both in conversation and more specifically as it applied to car reviews. He knew everything about specs and features, but he managed to weave some of his life experiences into his pieces that often read like something more out of a John Steinbeck or Ernest Hemingway novel than a review.
No sooner would he come back from a road trip in some city throughout the world where he and other automotive journalists test drove a new car and were wined and dined by a manufacturer and it would be off on another journey. He loved them, but I could see it was starting to wear him down. Ultimately it was the COVID outbreak that ground him and other car journalists to a halt.
Norris had a tremendous work ethic. When the Toronto Star became the title sponsor of the Canadian International AutoShow in 2015, Norris assembled and moderated several panel discussions a day on behalf of the newspaper. He always cobbled together an interesting and eclectic lineup of guests and he made all of them feel comfortable and at ease.
He also pounded out and edited stories for the AutoShow’s daily supplements produced daily by the Star. Similar to many people who worked in the AutoShow office, General Manager Jason Campbell marvelled at hearing Norris diligently tapping away on his keyboard like a pianist on the piano. If Billy Joel was known as Piano Man for the song he wrote, Norris was the Keyboard Man.
And each day he awoke energized with the enthusiasm of someone half his age. He was like a revved up car ready to cut loose.
He was organized and efficient and I admired him from a journalistic perspective. Nothing seemed to faze him.
Jason trusted Norris’s guidance to implement new ideas to continue to make the AutoShow current and relevant. In 2017, the AutoShow featured an exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada with historic cars and driving legends. Jason had a background in Formula One racing and he relied heavily on Norris to create the exhibit.
Norris lent his expertise toward the AutoShow creating a Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame Tribute, in which the annual inductees were celebrated the night before the show opened with Norris doing the MC duties.
In 2024, the AutoShow had a special vehicle exhibit showcasing some of Canada’s top drivers in the Hall of Fame to have raced in the IndyCar series. Norris had been looking forward to it and I believe it was the medicine he needed to battle through his illness, but it was not to be. The exhibit included a tribute to Norris. The media room was named in his honour.
In 2013, he was the first journalist inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. He covered all aspects of the sport from the grassroots level all the way to the highest pinnacles of the sport, finding his way into paddocks and the pits to develop ideas. He also used his platform to champion car safety and motorsport racing safety and helped develop motorsports and automotive writers because of his generosity and experience.
I always considered Norris a car reviewer and thought that was his first love, but his longtime partner Susan Greene said first and foremost he was a car racing writer. He was a onetime driver in Supermodified Racing who only stopped because he realized his limits. He subsequently transformed his interest in racing into owning a team which he named Ride Like The Wind in honour of a song written by Christopher Cross. Norris admired him and often saw him in concert.
Norris was inducted into the Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame because of his many talents. He regularly rode inside the first response truck providing reports to the crowd of any accidents. He also did an annual walkthrough of pit lane for Oswego’s signature race, The Classic, providing nuggets of information on the drivers, live and off the cuff in lickety-split style.
Ron Fellows, one of Canada’s most decorated race car drivers and also a member of the Hall of Fame, marvelled at Norris’ enthusiasm for all forms of auto racing.
“You probably won’t see another guy like him,” said Fellows. “There was such an appreciation for the old tracks. He was a huge fan of it and a great friend to the sport, everything from continuing to write about it to help where it was needed. Just a fun guy to sit around and talk racing.”
Following Norris’ passing, NASCAR sent out a statement calling him a “true giant in motorsports journalism.”
In 2022 Norris received the Lifetime Achievement from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. It happened because I asked Stephanie Wallcraft, then the AJAC President, if something could be done for Norris for all he had done for the industry. A week later Stephanie told me the AJAC Board of Directors gave the idea the green light. I was supposed to drive him to the event, but I was battling the flu. It just so happened I won an award that night, too, for a story about David Suzuki driving from his home in B.C. to Ontario in an electric vehicle. Norris immediately texted me with the news.
Norris and I lived on the same street, though I only came to know that after we first met. We’d often go on road trips in his beloved bright red Ford F-150 XTR 4×4. He’d regale me with some of his many life experiences that often had me spellbound.
I often spent Wednesdays with him when his health started to decline. It was sad seeing this giant of a man succumb to sickness.
When Norris passed, it affected the many people who knew him personally or knew of his work and his contributions to the journalism and automotive industries.
Susan had a small funeral for Norris that included some of his closest friends in the journalism and automotive fields, including several from motorsports. Susan put together a slide show that really defined Norris as a father, husband, journalist and friend. She also had some interesting memorabilia for people to see, including the racing helmet from his days as an owner. It had the words Ride Like The Wind.
I think it summed up his life.
Norris, may your spirit forever ride like wind. I really miss you.
Perry Lefko is the Content Manager of The Car Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. Feel free to forward any story suggestions or comments.
