David Bissonette
As a youngster growing up on the 7th Concession of Kenyon Township, (North Glengarry), David Bissonnette drove anything that had a motor in it. His love of engines and navigating a vehicle through fields and back roads rapidly transitioned his natural abilities and passion for stock car racing.
David’s connections and skills soon drew the attention of local DIRT track fans. He credits Omer Seguin from St Albert who offered the loan of a car thus giving him the opportunity to begin his racing career in DUKE stock, later known as Pro-Stock. These racing years saw David develop into a formidable competitor so much that his competitors gave him his nickname “Bulldog”, recognizing his tenacity, determination and skill on the track. David had a picture of a bulldog painted on the hood of his famous #47 red car. Weekends were predominately spent travelling with his pit crew and racing at three local DIRT tracks. Friday night races were at Edelweiss in Chelsea, Quebec, Saturday night at Frogtown in Hogansburg, New York, and Sundays at the Cornwall Speedway. When time and funding permitted, Dave and his crew travelled as far away as Brockville and competed in races on the Quebec side at tracks in Granby and Drummondville. David’s skilled and dedicated pit crew were integral to his success on the track, helping him record over 150 wins spanning the years 1989 to 2019.
Racing is an expensive sport and David knows all about it. In the early years, he credits the generous local sponsorship from D & A Tractor Sales, Don Routhier owner. As the level of competition grew, he recalls never having the luxury for racing with a big budget as many other racers. “We were always an under-budget team who made the best with what we had,” he remembers. Made the best they did, as David cruised to well over 150 victories during these years. Dave commends his fellow competitors Joey Ladouceur and Mark Therrien both from Alexandria, who added to the strong reputation of successful DIRT drivers from Glengarry.
As Dave’s racing experiences grew, so did his winning records. In 1996, David won the Pro Stock Track Championship titles at each of the three tracks: Edelweiss, Frogtown and Cornwall. To achieve this distinction, David recorded 12 executive wins back-to-back at each of the three tracks, resulting in 30 feature wins. Dave was literally “on a roll” and was unbeatable. He is quick to say that he owes it all to his skilled pit crew.
In the years between 2000 to 2019, David started following and racing on the Canadian- American DIRT circuit. Half of his races were held at the Frogtown track, the others at the Cornwall Speedway. Again, with the support of sponsors and his pit crew, David experienced exceptional winning years in 2013 and 2015. He captured the track championship at the Cornwall Motor Speedway and won the overall Mr. DIRTcar Pro Series American and Canadian Champion title. As a result, he has two coveted Eagle trophies in his possession.
David “Bulldog” Bissonnette, famous for “running the ring” along the Cornwall Speedway track, retired from DIRT racing in 2019. It was a decision that did not come easy but he admits that it was time to slow down and spend more time with his son Danny, step-daughters Lindsay and Val, and his family and friends.
