2012 Hall of Fame
Malcolm Durham
September 29, 1939 -
June 22, 2006
Legendary Racer
Malcolm Durham has been
called drag racing's
first black superstar.
Indeed, he earned
respect as one of the
top names in drag racing
history by racing and
winning across the
country. But he always
called Maryland
International Raceway
his home.
Malcolm raced at MIR for
in four different
decades, always running
at the very top of each
category in which he
competed. After moving
to the D.C. area from
North Carolina, Malcolm
began to race at Aquasco
Speedway with a 62 Chevy
Z-11, where he achieved
an amazing 90 percent
win record!
Over the next few years,
Malcolm continued to
evolve his race cars and
performances, moving
through the Factory
Experimental classes
with great success and
eventually building some
of the first funny cars
in the sport. By the
time St. Mary's
Drag-O-Way opened,
Malcolm Durham had
completely converted to
funny car racing. He
competed in a tube-frame
Chevy Corvair in which
he won many big races
and in which he became
one of the first funny
cars in the eight-second
zone.
Malcolm continued to
race and win in funny
cars, racing at Budds
Creek Dragway throughout
the late 60s and early
70s. Of course, Malcolm
competed in the famous
MIR four-wide races,
defending his home turf
against some of the top
funny car racers in the
sport! Just as in the
rest of the country,
Malcolm remained one of
the most popular racers
in attendance every time
he returned to his home
track. Unfortunately,
MIR has also been the
site of tragedy for
Malcolm’s team, as his
partner and friend Lee
Jones tragically lost
his life while suffering
a heart attack and
crashing at MIR in 1975.
Malcolm moved on to race
a Pro Stock Chevy Vega
during the mid 70s, but
then retired to
concentrate on college
for his sons. He
returned to racing with
a 1984 Pro Stock Camaro,
which of course became
one of the featured cars
at the MIR Mountain
Motor Nationals.
Malcolm came back again
in 1989 with a nostalgia
version of his famous
1965 Strip Blazer
A/Factory Experimental
Chevelle. He again
defended his home turf
at Budds Creek
throughout the early
1990s, facing off
against fellow legends
Dyno Don Nicholson and
Arnie the Farmer Beswick,
and earning a new
generation of fans.
In addition to Malcolm
Durham's personal racing
successes, perhaps his
most impressive legacy
is the success of his
three sons, all of whom
grew up at MIR. Bernard,
Ray, and Bryon always
called Budds Creek their
home, and at every
Legends race and at
other events, you can
see them race the latest
version of the Strip
Blazer and other fast
doorslammers in the
spirit of their
legendary father, who
passed away in 2006.
Maryland was proud to
share Malcolm Durham
with drag racing fans
across the country. But
while we recognize that
his talent and success
were nationwide and his
fame was worldwide, we
are especially proud to
rank Malcolm Durham
among our favorite sons,
and as one of our
Legends of Budds Creek.
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