WEEDSPORT, N.Y. — Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Famer Ovide Doiron died May 6. He was 84 years old.
A beloved Canadian pioneer driver and engine builder, Doiron was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 2012.
Ovide got his start in the sport in 1958, maintaining race cars for the owners of Riverside Speedway, an asphalt track outside Montreal. He was soon behind the wheel at area dirt ovals in both Quebec and Ontario provinces, testing his skills in entry-level stock cars.
Doiron moved up to the headlining class in the early ’70s, driving Eugene Lamarche’s candy-apple red modified and carving his name in the record books. He had his best year in 1974: in a former Dexter Dorr car he cruised to 38 feature wins at Kingston, Brockville, Cornwall, Watertown, Can-Am and Fort Covington, where he was next to unbeatable.
It was Fort Covington’s final year of operation and Doiron won 18 of the 20 shows.
When he hung up his helmet for good in 2004, Doiron had amassed an enviable body of work, including an estimated 300 wins and championships at Brockville, Can-Am, Cornwall, Mohawk, Kingston and Autodrome Edelweiss, among others. In addition to the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
