For many of us, his voice does not define a generation, it defines a sport. Dave McClelland’s distinctive tone was just one part of a man who has lived a heck of a life and accomplished a heck of a lot in the sport of drag racing as well as in the field of broadcasting. Like all great stories, it begins with a humble scene and grows from there. It is a story of passion and talent, and woven into it are some of the great personalities of American motorsports history. Dave McClelland is a guy that I have a lot of personal admiration for not only because he serves as the gold standard example of what it is do be the best at something I enjoy doing very much but also because he is one of single most respected individuals I have ever met. I’ve never met anyone that didn’t praise the man or have kind things to say about him. On a personal note, I am incredibly proud that the knows my name enough to say hello on the rare occasion that I see him like I did last week at SEMA.
Rob Kinnan recently interviewed Dave McClelland and the interview was just published on HotRod.com. It is an “In Their Own Words” piece so that means it is all Mac, all the time. He talks about his life, his friendships, and the people he knew along the way. It is enlightening and honestly an awesome historical record of his time in the sport of drag racing. He operated tracks, worked at the NHRA, obviously announced all over the place, and really came to be a huge part of those great formative years of the sport. His voice, like that of Jon Lundberg is the drumbeat of history. It is a constant and a default position in many people’s mind when the words “drag racing announcer” are mentioned.
This is Dave McClelland’s story in his own, fantastic words. You owe it to yourself to give it a read.
CLICK HERE TO READ AN AMAZING INTERVIEW WITH DAVE MCCLELLAND ON HOTROD.COM
I know I have heard his voice many times at Pomona, helping bring the experience to us the way pros such as Vin Sculley did for the Dodgers if you’d brought your AM radio along to the game…except there were too many times I couldn’t hear his voice! There is a gold mine of history there, am grateful for his sharing.
I don’t know that I will hear a better announcer than Mac in my lifetime. Truly the greatest I’ve ever heard. Man, I miss the old Diamond P days….
“Great read” is an understatement – I love stories like this. Keep ’em coming!!!