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Don LaJoie is the all-time leading
feature winner at the Danbury Arena, with 58 victories. He won 5
championships there in the span of 6 years, 3 consecutively, from
1974 to '‘6. LaJoie'’ racing career started quietly enough, in 1953,
in a 1932 Ford dragster that he and his brother Roger owned. Later,
Don's first ride in a stock car would end in a wild, 5 time end over
end crash. Don’s driving improved, and he won the 1963 Danbury Arena
Rookie of the Year honors driving a ’35 Ford, #11, for co-owner
Angelo Ferrente, Paul Hammond, and Rit Rizzi.
In 1971, Don left Danbury to
compete on the NASCAR circuit. In the Next 3 years, he posted many
solid performances at NASCAR tracks, including a top 10 at the
Stafford 200 and a top 5 at the Race of Champions, driving a Vega
bodied modified with a Chevy 427 ci. Motor. Don is a member of the
Race of Champions Hall of Fame. In 1974 the team returned to
Danbury, in a gremlin bodied car with a four link rear suspension
and coil over springs. For the next three years, Lajoie was dominant
at Danbury. He designed most of the suspension parts for his cars
himself, and won his 3 consecutive championships during this period.
When Danbury closed it’s doors in
1981, Don moved to the Waterford Speedbowl to compete during the
1982 season. When his son Randy began competing in NASCAR North in
1983, LaJoie hung up his helmet to help support his son’s racing
effort. With a father like Don LaJoie, Randy has big shoes to fill. |
