Speedway Founder Dies At Age 82
By Lois Pollard-GrantWhen Andy Cottyn reached the end of his life last week, the racing community lost an old and dear friend.
Andy moved from Manitoba to Langford in 1938 as a young man, and even then he had a deep and abiding love for auto racing.
Andy Cottyn will be remembered as the man who had the foresight and the courage to carve out Western Speedway from a raw 62-acre tract of land of Millstream Road in the early 1950's. With no money, he sold his logging equipment and borrowed money from the bank and his brother George, to finance his dream. His son George helped him clear the land where Western Speedway now stands.
During the winter months, he worked in the bush to pay the bills, put food on the table and pay the taxes. The original speedway which opened in May 1954, was dirt and measured a large three-eights of a mile.
For the next 13 years, Andy owned and managed Western Speedway, running his domain with an iron hand but also with a fair hand.
In 1957, he had the track paved, at the same time constructing a flat paved oval with the size reduced to four-tenths of a mile, as it is today.
When Andy sold the speedway in fall of 1966 to a group of local businessmen and racing enthusiasts, he retained shares in the speedway and was on the board of directors until a few years ago.
Andy played a major role in the building of the new steel and cement structured grandstands in the late 1970's. The $250,000 project (at the time), made it one of the most ambitious privately financed undertaking in Vancouver Island sports history; But Andy saw the Speedway's investment in the new facilities as an investment in the future of auto racing on the island.
The grandstands which are still solidly standing today were dedicated to Andy on the opening race of the Langford oval in 1979.
Andy was inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in the halls' inaugural ceremonies in September 1984; and he and his wife Grace of 38 years, never missed a hall function since - even this year when his health was failing.
Andy Cottyn has left his mark on our community, and he is remembered for giving far more to the sport of auto racing than he ever took out. "It all started because of Andy Cottyn," said Reg Midgley, track promoter of Western Speedway for fourteen years. "If Andy hadn't logged the speedway, none of us would have had the opportunity to be part of it."
"Big names such as Billy Foster, Bobby Alison, Jim Malloy, Art Pollard, and Janet Guthrie were there, because Andy built the track."
"Western Speedway has a real place in the history of auto racing," Midgley said, "and if Andy hadn't done it, then who would have?"
Track photographer Barrie Goodwin said Andy took the chance the average person wouldn't have.
"He was a man of great foresight and a man who stood by what he believed." Goodwin said. "He has given hundreds the opportunity to play at the sport they love - and because of this, some people don't get time to get into trouble - their time and money go into race cars."
Mike Haslam is just one of many young racers who today are enjoying the fruits of Andy Cottyn's labor.
"No one around Victoria would have had the opportunity to race if it wasn't for him," Haslam said. "Because Andy stuck his dream out, he leaves behind a legacy - 'to stick with it - it can happen'."
When Andy was asked earlier this year if he would have still built Western Speedway, if he had the chance to do it all over again, he replied "Oh hell yes, I wouldn't do it any different and I wouldn't change my life. I have experiences that money can't buy."
Following Andy's funeral service Saturday, it was fitting that his last ride was a two-lap tour around the speedway that close to half a century ago, was just a twinkle in his eye.
God speed Andy Cottyn.
As printed in the Goldstream News Gazette - 1998