When racing begins once again at Little Saratoga, a new driver will be behind the wheel of the pace car.
Tim Fisher, who started races at Dresden Raceway for 37 years, died peacefully on Thursday surrounded by his family.
He was 70-years-old.
On top of his nearly four decades of driving at Dresden Raceway, the Wardsville native retired from Navistar after 26 years.
He was also an avid hunter.
Brian Tropea, general manager of the Ontario Harness Horse Association, said he knew Fisher casually.
“I knew Tim from my years racing down in that part of the province,” he said. “He was a very friendly guy.”
Tropea said Fisher would mostly stay inside the pace car during the action at Dresden Raceway.
“He drove the car for many, many years,” Tropea said. “He will be missed.”
The Sydenham Current had the pleasure of interviewing Fisher from inside the pace car last summer, when Dresden Raceway kicked off for the season on Canada Day.
Fisher told us the horsemen needed a boost.
“This is a boost because everybody is here today,” he said of the big crowd on the sunny opening day in Dresden.
Fisher’s family and friends gathered for a funeral service in Bothwell on Monday.
Photo: Sydenham Current’s Aaron Hall posed with Tim Fisher inside the pace care before a race on opening day at Dresden Raceway on July 1, 2014.
