RPW Column: Racing Journey For Two Vets & A Rookie Honored At NYSSCA Banquet Saturday Night – Part Three

RPW Column By: LAURIE FALLIS / RPW – ALBANY, NY – As they say in racing, you are never too old to receive and your never too old to start.

This is exactly what happened in the 2019 Vintage season for three drivers that took different routes which brought them to the New York State Stock Car Association Awards Banquet Saturday evening.

Lets take a look back at the journey which brought our next driver to the stage.

Finally it’s the rookies turn, and by rookie I mean behind the wheel. However, this driver is no rookie to racing…just a man that is living his dream through vintage racing.

Alan McDonald, driver of the #33A on the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVMS), has been a fan since a young boy. By the number he races with, it’s not hard to figure out who his hero is…the great Bill Wimble.

Alan is a historian of the sport of dirt track racing. One could say he eats, sleeps and breaths the sport and when the opportunity came for him to purchase an authentic, “real deal” grassroots car, you could say he was like a kid in a candy shop.

Then things got even better when he learned that in 2019, MVVMS would be having a feature just for the Vintage Antique cars.

Well the ante went up! Not only would he have a car that represented his hero, with the colors and number, through Vintage Racing, he was now going to have a chance to drive it on the tracks that Wimble did as well. How spectacular is that?

Alan has given back in many ways, showing his gratitude to the Series with spreading the word on what it stands for.

“I’m having the time of my life,”McDonald said. “I’m having so much fun and can not wait to get the season started. This is a true honor being able to get this award. It’s something I’ll cherish forever.”

At age 64, Alan McDonald proudly made his way to the NYSSCA stage and received the Contributor Award for the series.

Congratulation to the three drivers, Stanley Wetmore, John Flach and McDonald. All three represented the MVVDMS at the New York State Stock Car Association for the 2019 vintage season. Each driver has made their own path but in the end its about the sport we love. Racing!