Remembering Scott Fraser – the 10th Anniversary

It was 4:20 in the morning on March 20, 2004 when my phone rang and I heard the worse news possible: My good friend Scott Fraser had died in a snowmobile accident a few hours earlier. I was in a state of shock but soon realized that thousands others would share my grief as Scott was one of, if not the, most popular racers – indeed sports figures – in the Maritimes.

And so, just as I had managed Scott’s public relations for much of his career, I found myself managing the news and public outpouring of support after his death – not a complaint, merely an observation. I can’t imagine it having been any other way. It was something I could do for him to help his family as they struggled to come to grips with his passing and what would lay ahead for them over the next few days, and for years to come.

Scott with the ASA ‘Fans of Fraser’ car (September 2001)

It was barely daylight before my phone started ringing with calls from friends and members of the media who seemed to be as much in a state of disbelief as I was. But no matter how hard to believe, it was true.

Later that morning when I got around to checking my voice mail I was stunned to find a message from Scott that he had left late the day before.

“Hi, it’s Scott, Scott Fraser, the race car driver,” he said in a teasing tone. “Remember me?”

Ironically, those were the last words I heard from him: Remember me.

Over the next few days hundreds of messages were received from all over North America as he had made an indelible mark on race fans everywhere as the ‘Shubie Shuttle’ in his ASA campaign of 2000-2001. Before that, when he piloted his familiar black Atlantic Cat #00 around Maritime and New England ovals he was a fan favourite, and even those who didn’t cheer for him respected his talent. Thousands visited with his family at the wake and his service saw standing room only at two venues – the church and a hall down the road where we had the service streamed to.

And then it was quiet. He was gone and there was a huge void; the closer you were to him the bigger the void.

In May of that year his long-time sponsor, Atlantic Cat, presented the Scott Fraser Memorial event to open the season at his home track, Scotia Speedworld. Later that year a perpetual trophy – the Scott Fraser Memorial Cup – was established and now celebrates the winner of the Atlantic Cat 250. Racers from throughout the Maritimes and New England proclaim that having their name etched on that trophy means as much as winning what is one of the biggest annual stock car races in the Maritimes.

In the spring of 2006 we launched this website and named it in his memory for a phrase he used often toward the end of a race when he knew he had a car to win but was going to have to drive hard to get there. If we heard “Checkers or Wreckers” on the radio from him we knew to hang on, things were going to get interesting.

In the fall of that year he was enshrined as an inaugural member of the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame, and the next year, in 2007, he was honoured with the same achievement in the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame where NASCAR legend Buddy Baker offered a video-taped tribute to Scott’s talent . In 2010 Scott along with his father Frank were immortalized together as members of the Colchester Sports Heritage Hall of Fame.

At the track Scott’s death impacted racers and race fans alike.

Even now there are those that haven’t been to a race since. Others go and continue to wear their now tattered Shubie Shuttle hats and shirts. Others, like me, go wearing no visible sign but carry him in our hearts.

Almost immediately after Scott’s death his father and brother, Frankie, along with the rest of the team, decided they wanted to harness the outpouring of support to help other young racers as so many had helped Scott throughout his career and so the SFR legacy program was founded. The first driver to be picked was Shawn Turple, a selection actually based on observations made by Scott himself as he had watched young Turple behind the wheel of street stock and sportsman cars.

With the Fraser team Turple won the 2005 Maritime Pro Stock tour rookie of the year title, the same year Rollie MacDonald, Scott’s car owner from 1999 to 2003, made a return to the driver’s seat and won the championship. Both dedicated their titles to Scott. The next year, in 2006, Turple and the Fraser team won the grand reopening event at Riverside International Speedway, fitting in that Scott was, and remains, the winningest driver ever at the facility. With the blessing of Frank Fraser, Turple eventually landed a ride in the car owned by Steve Henderson; they changed the number to ‘0’ in Scott’s honour and have gone on to win multiple races and two championships on the Maritime Pro Stock Tour.

Craig Slaunwhite was the next driver to be tapped for the SFR legacy ride. He has since formed his own team and won numerous races with the Maritime Pro Stock Tour. The legacy program seemed to come full circle in 2013 when Slaunwhite and Turple battled door handle to door handle for the Atlantic Cat 250 Scott Fraser Memorial Cup trophy. In the end it was Slaunwhite first with Turple second and their mentor, Frank Fraser, couldn’t have been more proud as he congratulated both drivers in Victory Lane.

And even though Scott has been gone for 10 years many racers still gauge their success against his six consecutive IWK 250 (then Riverside 250) wins, his 12 out of 15 feature wins to capture the 2006 MASCAR title, and more.

In his 33 years he enjoyed more, life than many twice his age. We are thankful for the time we had with him. It just wasn’t long enough. He is gone, but will never be forgotten.

How could we?

He left instructions: Remember me.

And so we present this previously unreleased promotional video that was made in the spring of 2001 in an effort to secure sponsorship for the ASA season. It recaps his career and visits with him in the Fraser’s Shubenacadie shop and at King Racing’s shop in Pictou.