Several years ago, Inside Track Motorsport News editor Greg MacPherson asked me if I would be interested in writing stories about fellow members of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. So far, I’ve written twenty Looking Back stories about people I know who are Hall members, with another dozen still waiting to be written. But I’m making an exception for this story—because this man, despite three nomination attempts, is not yet in the Hall. He is, without question, very deserving of entry.

I first met Jack “Speedy” Monaghan a little over fifty years ago at Delaware Speedway, when I was once again filling in for regular track announcer Sandy Harrison, who was recovering from another heart attack. (Sandy had many of them, but always bounced back to return to the track.) I made it a habit to head into the pits before a race to dig up any newsworthy tidbits to share on the mic. That night, there was a strong contingent of Windsor-based drivers competing in the 100-lapper—Don Mallat, the “Tasmanian Devil”; Bob Merrifield in his Chrysler Kit Car; Brian Setterington in the McColl Racing STP machine; Larry LaMay; and a laid-back, cool-smiling guy chewing on a toothpick. That was Jack Monaghan.

I liked him instantly, and we quickly became friends. I liked him even more after seeing him race. While other drivers banged up their cars, his was pristine at the end. My best descriptor then—and still now—was smooth. Very smooth. That trait defined his entire career.

I started joking around with Jack, and he’d always respond with a punch to my left shoulder and a big laugh. His wife Nan, a true sweetheart, would start laughing whenever I showed up, knowing we were about to get into some fun. Over time, announcers—including myself—started calling him “Speedy Jack,” which was a lot easier than the awkward “Jack Speedy.”

Jack’s racing career began in 1961 and lasted until 2004—a remarkable 43-year span. In that time, he racked up 326 race wins and 18 track championships. His championship tally includes:

• 10 at Checker Flag Speedway (1965–1988)
• 2 at Mt. Clemens, Michigan (1977 and 1978)
• 2 International Windsor/Mt. Clemens Series titles (1977 and 1978)
• 1 Delaware/Windsor Series (1982)
• 3 at Delaware Speedway (1974, 1982, and a tie in 1992 with Steve Robblee)

He finished second in the 1993 Delaware standings—to my son Paul—and several other times as well. Jack was so dominant at Checker Flag that the track placed a bounty on him in both 1977 and 1981, offering extra money to anyone who could beat him.

One standout memory was the 1972 Maple Leaf 250 at Bob Slack’s Cayuga Speedway. Jack took the win against a tough field, but what I remember even more vividly was Brian “Blimp” Setterington, competing in his first long-distance race in the STP car. After the race, four of us had to lift him out of the car and into the back of Burt McColl’s camper—completely exhausted. I’ve never seen a redder face. We cooled him down with bags of ice.

Another memorable moment came in the early 1980s, recently refreshed in my memory by Jim Bulmer. Jack had the Keytours sponsorship at the time, and they happened to be sponsoring the race that night at Delaware. But the No. 03 car was missing during qualifying. It rolled in late and had to start dead last. Jack put on an absolute clinic, slicing through the field and winning his sponsor’s race. The crowd went wild. When I asked why he was late, he said, “We broke our motor, and the spare was being rebuilt by Ron Beauchamp, so we borrowed a short block from Larry LaMay and had to piece everything together.” Classic.

Jack and Nan (who sadly passed away on March 3, 2017) ran a successful business, Hallmark Memorials, in Oldcastle, Ontario. Naturally, I had plenty of fun with the town’s name—especially the OLD part! Jack continued to win track championships on both sides of the border. His battles with Don Mallat and Larry LaMay at Windsor’s Checker Flag were the stuff of legend. Jack even became a part-owner of the track in 1972.

When CASCAR scheduled a race there in 1992, I joked that it would be a great spot to build a race track—shoulder punch and laughter, as always. Unfortunately, the track closed soon after under dubious circumstances. Built on former Ford foundry slag land, it was suddenly deemed “condemned,” and, just as suddenly, a subdivision appeared. Go figure. Jack just shrugged when I asked him about it. Always the cool guy.

He was voted Most Popular Driver at Checker Flag twelve times—including six years in a row.

He had long-standing sponsorship from Windsor Automotive and worked closely with talented, if volatile, engine builder Gary Custer—the polar opposite of Jack in temperament. Around 1987, Jack arrived at a CASCAR race at Cayuga with a Sportsman car. Since another 03 car was already in the series, Jack simply turned the 03 into a 63. Problem solved. I teased him: “Hey Jack, you’re the only guy whose number matches his age!” Shoulder punch, laughter!

Jack transitioned from Late Models to the CASCAR Series. My good friend, the late John Aarts, had been sponsoring Mark Wilson at the time, and he and I would watch races from the tower at Delaware almost every Friday. One thing led to another, and we started betting $20 on our respective drivers—his J-AAR Dodge, and the Motion T-Bird driven by my son Paul. That first year, John didn’t win any money off me. The next year, he came back with a new driver: “Speedy” Jack Monaghan.

“Great choice,” I told him. But lucky for me, John didn’t attend every race night. The ones he did? Paul beat Jack. Two years running. By the third year, John refused to bet—ironically, that’s when Jack had a strong season.

Years later, CASCAR announcer (and CMHOF member) Ron St. Clair arranged a pre-race interview on London radio featuring Jack and son Paul. When Paul was asked about his racing influences, he said Jack had always been one of his favourite drivers growing up. In fact, he and his best friend Shawn Brooks (both ten at the time) would stand in Corner 4 and race Jack—usually leading restarts—on foot down to the start/finish line. On race day, I got my usual punch and a big laugh from Jack, this time with Paul included: “Jack, you ARE old!” More punches, more laughter.

Jack raced in CASCAR for several more years before retiring, maintaining his J-AAR sponsorship even after John Aarts was tragically killed in 2002. That sponsorship legacy continues to this day. Ray Morneau, a third-generation racer, carries the Speedy Jack torch, running the same No. 03 and colours, with two Delaware Speedway track championships and strong results in the APC Series.

The Aarts family has kept the tradition alive, too. Jonathon Aarts, John’s son, recently purchased a Late Model of his own, maintained by the Morneau family and supported by various J-AAR Group companies. “I didn’t want the kids to have all the fun!” he joked. Jon had a solid rookie season and held his own.

Jack passed away on September 15, 2021, but his legacy remains strong. The Jack “Speedy” Monaghan Fan Page on Facebook has over 500 members, with new photos and stories still popping up. His daughter, Leanne Paquette, a registered nurse and nursing professor at the University of Windsor, took a leave of absence to care for Jack during his illness—a true gift of love.

Many people have shared thoughts about Jack:

• Louie Bennett, former CASCAR Tech Director: “Jack was always a top runner at any track he visited—and an even nicer man off the track.”
• Sean Dupuis, former CASCAR National Champion: “It’s absolutely long overdue for Jack to be in the Hall. When I started racing, he’d always say, ‘Hey kid, how’s it going?’”
• Ray Morneau: “I talked to Jack almost every day. The wealth of knowledge he had was amazing.”

Jack’s fans and fellow competitors—and even the toothpick manufacturers—definitely miss “Speedy,” but the legacy he left behind continues to inspire. His nephews Ron and Dan Monaghan continue to support his memory at events and at the track.

Gone, but certainly not forgotten.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — NASCAR Truck Series and Super DIRTcar Series driver Stewart Friesen was involved in a fiery and serious crash at Autodrome Drummond Monday night in Drummondville, Quebec.

Friesen was last year’s winner of Super Dirt Week, leading all 200 laps of the race in Oswego.

Friesen was racing in the top five on lap 17 when his car started to go over the berm and then hit the outside wall. The collision with the wall sent Friesen flipping through the air and then landing on the wall again, igniting a flame to his Super dirt car.

As the car was about to come back down to the track, another dirt car ran into Friesen, removing most of the body work on the car, leaving just the chassis. Thankfully, no other drivers hit Friesen as the car came to rest.

At that time, the Super DIRTcar Series red-flagged the race as the EMTs at the track came to Friesen’s aid. The series shared with CNY Central that their officials and first responders receive the same medical emergency training that NASCAR and IndyCar safety officials go through, and were prepared for situations like these.

Soon after the series announced that Friesen was alert and communicating with officials and was helped out of the car, he was then transferred to a local hospital.

On Tuesday morning, on his social media pages, Friesen announced that his CT scans came back clear of any head, neck, and spinal injuries, but was still in a lot of pain. He then shared he suffered an unstable/open-book pelvic fracture, meaning his pelvis is broken in two or more places with a large hematoma to the area. Additionally, he also suffered a fractured right leg. For these injuries, he was transferred to a larger hospital for the surgical procedures.

Friesen is having one of his best years in the NASCAR truck series, currently seventh in the playoff picture with a win on the season at Michigan International Speedway last month in June.

NASCAR is ready for its final change of broadcaster this season after the the Brickyard 400marked the end of the FOX Sports, Amazon Prime and TNT Sports coverage schedules of the NASCAR Cup Series.

USA Network’s NBC is now set to see out the remainder of the season, which means Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepping aside for the remainder of the year after his hugely successful return to the booth as part of the Amazon and TNT teams.

One of the familiar faces set to fill the void left by Earnhardt, who gave 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace some excellent post-race advice on Sunday, is the much-loved Aussie, Leigh Diffey, who, in 2025, is marking his 10th year covering NASCAR for NBC as a play-by-play announcer.

Diffey and Co. will mark their return to the airwaves on Sunday when they cover the Iowa Corn 250 Powered By Ethanol from Iowa Speedway, and it’s safe to say NASCAR fans are excited.

“The second best (formally best) broadcast partner in NASCAR is back! Can’t wait for Iowa. Excited to hear Leigh Diffey in the booth again. TNT was solid in my opinion but NBC is definitely better, especially on the production side,” one fan wrote on Reddit.

“I’m gonna miss jr. used to be neutral on him but prime really made me like him for what is to nascar,” said a second, while a third replied, “Leigh Diffey could call play by play on a grass growing contest and make it worth watching.”

And while Diffey’s commentary from Iowa will mark a welcome return, it’s his take on another upcoming race that others are focused on, such as one who responded, “Personally I can’t wait for Diff to call Talladega. It’s gonna be nuts.”

Diffey will be joined on NBC by former Cup Series Rookie of the Year Jeff Burton, who like the Australian, is returning for his 10th year with the network. Burton will provide his analysis pre and post race along with former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte.

1999 Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett will also be returning to provide his valuable insight both pre and post races, along with Hyak Motorsports co-owner Brad Daugherty.

DON’T MISS:

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Dale Earnhardt Jr made feelings clear on Austin Hill before calls for NASCAR ban

Down in the pits, NBC will be relying on Kim Coon, Dave Burns, and Parker Kligerman for in-depth coverage of the goings on behind the scenes.

Iowa will mark the first of NBC’s 14 races this season, with Watkins Glen, Richmond Raceway, and the Daytona International Speedway next to close out the regular season. The playoffs will then kick off at Darlington Raceway on August 31 with the Cook Out Southern 500.

Following his win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, 23XI’s Wallace became the 13th driver to secure a spot in the postseason battle, leaving just three spots open heading to Iowa. These spots are occupied by 23XI’s Tyler Reddick, Hendricks’ Alex Bowman, and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, who is currently the last qualifying driver, 42 points above the cutoff line.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen was involved in a multi-car crash on a dirt racing track in Quebec, Canada. He sustained multiple fractures to his pelvis and right leg, which required surgery, according to a post on his social media account.

Avid runners and motorsports enthusiasts alike took over the Indy Toronto street course for the third edition of the Rev & Run 5k on Friday, July 18. We chatted with co-race directors Kevin Silva and Heather Page about this year’s Rev & Run, including the racing connections and charitable aspect, plus their plans for 2026, including a visit to the Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo.

Photos courtesy Rev & Run (Dre, Graham, and Koray)

One of the cars that will be circling the Iowa Speedway track during the NASCAR races this coming weekend features the name of a business in Newton.

Costa Oil has a primary sponsorship with the car piloted by Xfinity Series driver Carson Ware. Andy Sullivan, owner of Costa Oil in Newton, said in preparation for the upcoming races at the local racetrack, Carson Ware will be accompanied by his brother and Cup Series driver Cody Ware at the shop for a meet-and-greet.

“We’ll be the only location that has a driver in Newton. We just think it’s great for Newton. They’re very happy to be there and they’re going to sign autographs, meet-and-greet and take pictures with people,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to have a food truck there. We’re going to have the Cuisine Queens there.”

It’s not the first time Costa Oil has hosted a NASCAR driver.

When the Iowa Speedway held its first NASCAR Cup Series last year, Costa Oil welcomed Xfinity Series driver Ryan Ellis. Sullivan said a business like Costa Oil is very lucky to be a family-owned franchise, and it is important to him and the people who found the company to give back to the community.

“As we get more time and presence, we clearly want to do more in the community,” Sullivan said.

WHAT IS COSTA OIL?

Costa Oil opened in Newton less than two years ago as the 17th franchise in the entire country. The business has numerous locations across the United States and specializes in a 10-minute, stay-in-your-car oil change. With its focus on speediness and efficiency, Sullivan said there is no time for upselling customers.

“Unlike a lot of the other competitors where you sit in a lounge and you’re not involved and they try to upsell you on everything down to a new gas cap — we don’t do that,” he said. “We want you in the car. We want you to hear the top man and the bottom man doing their callouts so they’re part of the process.”

Sullivan said involving the customer in the process is pivotal to getting them to come back over and over again. The owner of the Newton site is proud of the business’s Google reviews, of which it has hundreds. Many online reviewers compliment the shop’s quality customer service.

“That’s really what makes us feel good,” Sullivan said.

To him, Costa Oil has found its place in the community by “filling a gap.” Sullivan said people wanted an affordable and efficient place to get an oil change where they didn’t have to make an appointment. He said customers he’s spoken with had previously traveled to the Des Moines metro to get an oil change.

“It consumed their whole day,” he said. “We quickly realized we were filling a need in the community. And we feel we’ve really helped people with not only being able to do it in their own community and save that time and have that convenience, but now those dollars are staying in Newton.”

Carson Ware and Cody Ware will be at Costa Oil from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1 at Costa Oil, 1217 First Ave. E., in Newton.