#sanair

We lost a great car enthusiast a few days ago. Steve Szabad was a hot rodder’s hot rodder. Steve was one of the founding members of Montreal’s Piston Poppers Rod & Custom Car Club. The Piston Poppers introduced Montrealers to the annual indoor car show idea back in 1961. A few years later they repeated the idea in Quebec City. A show that still runs to this day, albeit under new ownership as of late. The Montreal show also served as the base formula for indoor hot rod shows across the U.S.A. and Canada for years to come

Above: Steve far right and the Piston Poppers 

Above: The 1964 Edition of  the Montreal Autosport ShowStreet .

That wasn’t enough for the club; they got into drag racing and were highly instrumental to the success of Napierville Raceway, Sanair International and Pont Rouge. Szabad was always there to give a helping hand and worked the Christmas tree at Sanair and Nape.

I didn’t know him long, but I heard of him and about him for years even before I met him. Steve left Montreal and moved to a farm near Alexandria Ontario in the mid seventies where he could enjoy his other passion, flying and had a landing strip cut out on his farm for his 1940 Piper J4A and his fellow aviation enthusiasts who were always invited for a cup of coffee.  That’s where I met him, at the local weekly cruise night. He was a member of the host club, the Alexandria based Eazy Cruisers Street Club.

Above: A few of the members of the Eazy Cruisers that helped in making Steve’s dream a reality.

Some called him a crusty old coot for his straight shooting opinionated character – but he was loved by all. That love became clear three years ago when the Eazy Cruisers got together and helped Steve finish his ’30 Model A that had been sitting dormant for decades.

Above: Steve never forgot the Piston Poppers and proudly displayed their plate in the Model A

Steve is survived by his sisters Linda and Helen

We know you’re up there building hot rods, organizing car shows and flagging races. Rest in Peace Dear Friend.

By Michael Hozjan  

On Easter Saturday race track owners, race team owners, racers, race fans and almost everyone associated in the racing community got together in Cornwall Ontario to bid a fond farewell to one of racing’s greatest.

Above:Race teams brought their cars out in memory of the king of announcing

He didn’t own a race team, he didn’t own a racecar nor track, he never even raced himself, but Brian Mulligan will be missed by thousands on both sides of the Canada/US border. Brian you see, was a track announcer. Let me correct that he was THE track announcer. Mr. Mulligan (he’d probably hate me for calling him Mister – he was that kind of down-to-earth guy) started his announcing career in the mid sixties at the now defunct - turned airport -Cedar Dragway, just west of Montreal, he moved on to Napierville, south of Montreal in 1966. In no time at all, his friendly persona and his ability to announce in English and French quickly wielded him into other racing disciplines. 

Brian’s voice soon echoed throughout Canada and the United States. In 1970 when Sanair International opened, Brian was the obvious choice for owner Jacques Guertin. A year later when Guertin snagged the NHRA to host a Canadian event, Brian was “ The Voice of the Grand Nationals”.  The NHRA must have liked what they heard as in 1972 he was asked to announce the Winter Nationals in Pomona, California. That was just the beginning, he’d go on to the Gatornationals in Gainesville Florida, as well as drag races in Columbus, Ohio, and Syracuse New, York.  

Above: Two drag racing icons, Brian shares a laugh with Linda Vaughn, Miss Hurst at the inaugural Canadian Drag Racing Reunion. Brian was inducted into the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2016

Back home he was also a reporter for CTV’s Montreal station, CFCF, bringing stock car racing into our living rooms.

Not one to hibernate, in winter snowmobile races beckoned him and he became as popular in that segment as he was in automobiles. In summer when he wasn’t barking out at car races, he’d be covering motorcycle races and boat races, including the inaugural Long Sault Regatta.

Above: One of the hazards of announcing in the cold

I met Brian when I was 17, not at a racetrack but at Action Motorsports, a speed shop in Montreal’s Rosemount district. His friendly demeanor went above and beyond that of a simple salesman, he made you feel like the whole store relied on you.

It would be a couple of years later while I attended my first drag race at Sanair International that I swore I recognized the voice coming over the loudspeakers. In later years, with his multitude of pages on drivers’ statistics, he would be instrumental in helping me with my articles in racing magazines and newspapers.

Above: Brian was at home whether on an oval or drag strip

When I was asked to run Montreal’s most popular cruise night I knew I needed and needed a charismatic, bilingual emcee, Brian Mulligan was a no brainer and he didn’t mind the 100 km commute once a week.

Above: Doing what he did best, this time at a Montreal Cruise Night

His heart was as big as it can get as he supported several charities, volunteering his time to fundraising and helping the community.

He suffered a brain tumor in 2011, something that would be fatal to the average person, yet Brian bounced bag to the surprise and chagrin of his doctors, and so over the last few years he’s been announcing at tracks close to home, including Cornwall Raceway and Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg New York, across the river from his hometown.

Above: Never to be taken too seriously, Brian was always smiling

Brian didn’t take life to seriously, always smiling and hamming it up whenever the occasion arose. Like donning a red ball on his nose in the middle of announcing. His heart was as big as it can get, always ready to support a charity and volunteer his time to fundraising and helping the community.

Over the years Brian was inducted into multiple sports and motorsports Halls of Fame.

Above and below: Just two of the dozens of awards Brian received 

On March 1st 2023 Brian moved on to announce the races in heaven, having succumbed to Alzheimers. He’s survived by his wife Huguette, brother Richard, and two sons Daniel and Patrick. 

Above: The Mulligan name continues in racing circles with Brian’s son Patrick

Patrick continues in the family racing tradition marketing racing fuel, promoting and consulting races, teams and drivers alike, and like his father is always smiling.  

Kevin Morin - DMCC Sanair by glennfullum