(Don Biederman celebrates in Flamboro's victory lane with (L to R) Miss Flamboro Speedway, Frank Casale, John Casale, Don, 'Dizzy' Dean Murray and Gary Scott, after Biederman's 1981 win // Dave Franks Photos)Yesterday, I heard the sad news that 'Dizzy' Dean Murray passed away. According to what I was told, it happened on Tuesday of this week.
I've been attempting to confirm his passing and news of the family's arrangements before posting anything, but I've received several more 'heads up' messages this morning and felt compelled to put something on our site this morning.
'Dizzy' wore many hats in the motorsports business. He was the publisher of Wheelspin News, the promoter of the Motion car shows. He also promoted racing series like the Goodyear Challenge Cup and major racing events like the American-Canadian Tour race at Flamboro Speedway in the early '90s.
When myself and my parters decided we were going to publish a Canadian motorsports magazine, in 1997, we went to Kleinburg, ON to visit Dizzy to get his advice. We also explored the possibility of reviving the "Wheelspin News" name that he had made so famous. In the end, no one could determine who 'owned' the name at that point, so we went with with Inside Track Motorsport News.
In the years since, I would regularly receive phone calls from Dizzy, just calling to chat about the state of Canadian racing, NASCAR, or his most recent trip to Oktoberfest in Germany. The first time I ever covered Speedweeks, in Daytona, it was 1990 and it was 'Dizzy' and Dave Franks who showed John Hopkins and I the ropes.
It was very gratifying to me that Dizzy liked Inside Track.... and he would say so almost every time we talked. Even though he didn't make it out to the track a lot during the past decade or so, he still seemed very connected and had his finger on the pulse of the community.
As everyone knows, Dizzy was a great promoter. But more than that, he was a true character who had as much fun as anyone I can think of during the time he spent on earth.
I'm planning to do several pages on the life and passing of 'Dizzy' Dean Murray in the next issue of Inside Track. Anyone wishing to contribute, please drop me a line at greg 'at' insidetracknews.com. Please feel free to post your memories of Dizzy here, as well.
I'll try to post some photos on this thread throghout the day, and I'll publicize the family's plans as soon as I hear them.
Here is Dizzy's inductee bio from the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame:
"Dizzy Dean Murray (Inducted in 1995)
No one who ever saw 'Dizzy' Dean Murray in his gold cowboy boots and 10-gallon hat, hawking copies of Wheel Spin News in the grandstands, will never forget it. Murray founded Wheel Spin with $15 in his pocket in 1965. It covered all forms of auto racing, becoming a resounding success and won several media awards. 'Diz' also ran the Motion Car Shows, was a motorsport consultant and sponsored races and racecars."
I've been attempting to confirm his passing and news of the family's arrangements before posting anything, but I've received several more 'heads up' messages this morning and felt compelled to put something on our site this morning.
'Dizzy' wore many hats in the motorsports business. He was the publisher of Wheelspin News, the promoter of the Motion car shows. He also promoted racing series like the Goodyear Challenge Cup and major racing events like the American-Canadian Tour race at Flamboro Speedway in the early '90s.
When myself and my parters decided we were going to publish a Canadian motorsports magazine, in 1997, we went to Kleinburg, ON to visit Dizzy to get his advice. We also explored the possibility of reviving the "Wheelspin News" name that he had made so famous. In the end, no one could determine who 'owned' the name at that point, so we went with with Inside Track Motorsport News.
In the years since, I would regularly receive phone calls from Dizzy, just calling to chat about the state of Canadian racing, NASCAR, or his most recent trip to Oktoberfest in Germany. The first time I ever covered Speedweeks, in Daytona, it was 1990 and it was 'Dizzy' and Dave Franks who showed John Hopkins and I the ropes.
It was very gratifying to me that Dizzy liked Inside Track.... and he would say so almost every time we talked. Even though he didn't make it out to the track a lot during the past decade or so, he still seemed very connected and had his finger on the pulse of the community.
As everyone knows, Dizzy was a great promoter. But more than that, he was a true character who had as much fun as anyone I can think of during the time he spent on earth.
I'm planning to do several pages on the life and passing of 'Dizzy' Dean Murray in the next issue of Inside Track. Anyone wishing to contribute, please drop me a line at greg 'at' insidetracknews.com. Please feel free to post your memories of Dizzy here, as well.
I'll try to post some photos on this thread throghout the day, and I'll publicize the family's plans as soon as I hear them.
Here is Dizzy's inductee bio from the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame:
"Dizzy Dean Murray (Inducted in 1995)
No one who ever saw 'Dizzy' Dean Murray in his gold cowboy boots and 10-gallon hat, hawking copies of Wheel Spin News in the grandstands, will never forget it. Murray founded Wheel Spin with $15 in his pocket in 1965. It covered all forms of auto racing, becoming a resounding success and won several media awards. 'Diz' also ran the Motion Car Shows, was a motorsport consultant and sponsored races and racecars."
UPDATE (12:30 p.m.): I just got off the phone with Dizzy's wife Lynn and his daughter Cheri. The family is going to hold a private ceremony on Saturday, and are in the process of planning a public 'Memorial Celebration' at their home in Kleinburg, in May. 'Dizzy' was originally from Moncton, NB and was 71-years-old at the time of his passing. We will publish the details for Dizzy's Memorial Celebration as soon as they are available.
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