Billy Foster (1992)

Billy Foster, in 1965, was the first Canadian to ever race in the Indianapolis 500. Two years later at age 29 he was dead, the result of a fatal crash in a practice lap at a NASCAR race in Riverside, California. Billy was a hugely popular individual and the great Mario Andretti counted him a friend. Billy had an early interest in racing and at age thirteen was found hanging around doing odd jobs at the old Langford track. Within eight years he was testing tires for the Firestone Corporation. In his races at Western Speedway and around the Pacific Northwest he was always the frontrunner and he is regarded as pivotal in proving to many that a Canadian could make it in the big leagues of car racing.