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Morin Ron

Ron Morin
Sport: Motorsports
Year Inducted: 2006

Ron Morin is widely considered the premier promoter of DIRT racing.

By the Cornwallite’s early 20’s he was running regular races in a street stock car at whatever track he could find in eastern Ontario, western Quebec, and northern New York State.

Morin piled up a number of wins over some tough competition at tracks in Cornwall, Kingston, Granby, Edelweiss, and as far away as Vermont and Binghamton, New York State. In 1981 that Ron bought the Cornwall Motor Speedway from its originator, Ralph Hurley.

Although Cornwall was recognized on the DIRT circuit, it was just another oval for drivers to ply their trade.

By 1985, Morin began to build a solid local fan base by changing the way that the track was promoted. He discovered that fans wanted to be entertained by both the racing on the quarter mile DIRT track and the presentation of the activity. With massive upgrades and renovations that summer he gave the Speedway the look and feel of a big time track. The fan base expanded and weekly programs attract up to 5000 spectators. It has become the single largest sporting attraction in the Seaway Valley. Several tracks on the DIRT circuit have copied Ron’s blueprint to success.

Morin was the guiding force behind Pro Stock. He took this class which was a slight upgrade from the Duke Stock and encouraged other tracks to embrace it. Ron believed that fans would fall in love with that type of racing. The Pro Stock series has grown to the point that there are events at more than 20 DIRT tracks.

Under Morin’s ownership the Speedway has won awards such as Most Improved Track and Business of the Year.

In 2006, he is celebrating his 25th year in the track ownership business.

In May in 2006, he was named recipient of the prestigious Jacques Richard Memorial Trophy at the annual Cornwall Lions Club Sports Award Dinner.