Friday, November 1, 2024

1974 – McDonough Succumbs to Heart Attack

 



Cedar Rapids, Iowa (November 1, 1974) – Veteran stock car driver Bill McDonough died early Friday morning in a local hospital after suffering his second heart attack in little over a month.

McDonough, who would have been 47 on November 12, was a standout late model performer at Hawkeye Downs and other Eastern Iowa tracks since moving to Cedar Rapids from Faribault, Minn., 10 years ago.

He never won a season championship at the Downs, but his career, which spanned 30 years, was filled with many other memorable highlights.

McDonough was the champion of the inaugural Iowa Challenge Cup in 1971. The next year, he won a similar event in Huron, S.D. In 1973, he captured the late model point title in Des Moines.

That same year, he realized a long-time ambition by racing at the famed Daytona International Speedway in the Permatex 300, where he finished 12th.

The mustachioed McDonough suffered his first coronary on September 29. Following a three-week recovery period, he was released from the hospital 11 days ago. Complications forced him to return to the hospital last Monday.

Survivors include two sons, Tim and Sean, a daughter, Chris, and a granddaughter.


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