The Flying Plumber - Dave Cooper
By Lois Pollard-Grant

Dave Cooper ran his first race in 1941 but it wasn't until 1946 that he really got started in auto racing.

When he got bitten by the bug, Cooper, says that automobiles were the big thing back then and auto racing seemed the natural thing to do.

That natural thing to do, Cooper did more than well at the old Langford Speedway where he started, at Shearing and Western Speedway and many different tracks along the West Coast of the United States.

During his career, he drove the "Big Cars" (sprinters), stockcars and sportscars.

The native Victorian was a plumber by trade and he quickly earned the nickname of "The Flying Plumber" for reasons obvious to everyone who ever raced against him.

In 1953, and 1954, he won the stockcar championship at Western Speedway, repeating with the same success in 1957 and 1958.

When he won the stockcar championship in 1954, he also raced sprint cars the same year and he won the championship in this class too.

In the mid 1960's Cooper did some sportscar racing, competing and winning regularly, at the old Westwood race track in Coquitlam.

He competed in the Shell 4000 Cross Country Rally from Montreal to Vancouver four times. With Bob Low as his co-pilot, their best finish in one of their runs was a second place finish against more than 75 competitors.

Cooper recalls the days when safety regulations weren't such an important factor. When he drove his 1936 Dodge plumbing pick up in a race, he got his friend Roy Hingley, to sit in the back of his truck for added weight to the back wheels. The Flying Plumber went on to win the race.

Cooper also recalled before such things as rules, regulations and insurance became an issue, it was normal for the race cars to be towed with just a rope tied behind the truck and to help the racers the Provincial Police would hold up traffic to let the race cars come through to their destinations.

There was a time, Cooper says, when he would have liked to gone further in his racing career, but financially it was not feasible and he always maintained that his family came first.

So why did Cooper retire when he was still a relatively young man and when it's not uncommon in the sport of autoracing to see professional drivers still going strong in their fifties?

Cooper replies, "I was leading a race in Monroe (Washington) and I had led the race for over 10 laps when the engine blew and I went off the end of the track because I couldn't see. Ted McKenzie was the first to reach my car and he lifted me out. It was then, I decided it wasn't fun anymore and I always said I would quit when racing wasn't fun anymore."

Reminiscing about his early years in racing Cooper pulled out an old trophy that he won when he drove sprinters at Portland Oregon, and it was dated 1950. "The biggest difference that I can see in auto racing today from when I raced, is the amount of money involved to compete. I certainly admire the fellows who are racing locally and trying to run the big tracks."

Cooper adds "when I raced the dollar was good and when we got a few hundred dollars from sponsors it went a long way."

Cooper was inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1984 and today age 77, he is enjoying his retirement years, sailing around the coast in his boat…. And because his love of auto racing has never diminished, he finds the time to take in races at Western Speedway and other tracks throughout the Northwest.