By; Ashley McCubbin

TORONTO, Ontario — It was a journey that started all the way back in 1978 at Sunset Speedway, but it was one that carried Marty Gaunt to great lengths of success within NASCAR. It was why he was one of the 20 inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame as part of the Induction Gala on February 21.

“My brother John took me to my very first race when I was 13-years-old,” he recalled in his speech. “From that moment, I knew exactly where my passion and life was going to be spent – the next 50 plus years at the race track, loving everybody. My brother John showed me that if you worked hard and put in the time and effort, treat people well, good things could eventually happen.”

The bond with his brother remained strong, with John deciding to continue taking his 13-year-old brother to the track with him despite a decision to cut down on the amount of crew members going each week. This time at the track allowed him to meet and work alongside previous Hall of Fame inductees Mark Dilley, and Peter Gibbons.

It was Gibbons that gave him “the chance of a lifetime” in offering the chance to not just work for him in Canada, but down in the United States along with his brother-in-law Murray Timm.

“It was another relationship that changed my life and I think I can say it changed Murray’s life too,” Gaunt reflected.

The chance to work south of the border opened up opportunities for Gaunt to work for Penske Racing, Red Bull Racing, and Petty Enterprises. He then took that experience with him and co-owned Triad Technologies, supply engines for NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams in partnership with Toyota Racing Development. His support gave the manufacture 10 NASCAR Truck Series manufacturer championships between 2006 and 2017, along with two manufacturer championships in the O’Reilly series, with a collective 112 wins and 91 poles.

He then expanded his involved in NASCAR, creating Gaunt Brothers Racing and fielding a car in the Cup Series from 2017 to 2021. His debut came in the Daytona 500 with fellow Canadian D.J. Kennington behind the wheel, but he also had Parker Kligerman, Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, and Daniel Suarez take turns behind the wheel.

Although their involvement in NASCAR may have come to a close, Gaunt stays involved in the sport with his brother John racing in The Fyre Place & Patio Shop OSCAAR Hot Rods across the province of Ontario.