The Maritime racing community lost one of its legends this past weekend with the passing of Adelard Cormier; he was 84. During a racing career that spanned from the late 60s to mid 80s Adelard Cormier won more than 200 races and numerous championships, competing at tracks throughout the Maritimes including River Glade Speedway, McEwen’s Speedway, Yarmouth International Speedway, Riverside Speedway, Atlantic Speedway, Brookside Speedway, and Hammond River Raceway. In 1967 he won the prestigious River Glade International – breaking a two-year monopoly by Ontario drivers in the prestigious event; he had started 18th in a 20-car field and took the lead with his 1956 Meteor on lap 70. According to his Victory Circle interview it was a race he “never had any intention of winning.” His plan changed when the previous year’s winner, Jim Hallahan, fell off the pace with just a few laps to go; Cormier took home $800 for the win. His second International win came in 1973. He also won five Eastern 75s (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976), three mid-season victories, four Autumn Championship titles, and during the 1970s won an amazing 15 championships at various tracks in his home province. He was also a multi-time winner of Most Popular Driver awards. In 1971 he set a record at River Glade, winning nine feature races. Hailing from Dieppe, he and his wife Audrey owned and operated a service station in Moncton. Adelard Cormier was inducted to the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007.
