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.