News

On Sunday, August 25, a memorial service was held at the Canaan, NH Speedway to honor the late Charlie Elliott. A member of the NEAR Hall of Fame, Elliott built and saved more race tracks in New England than anyone. His ashes were spread on the asphalt and dirt tracks at Canaan, his final resting place and his final tracks.

RHPG Board Member Ray Boissoneau has won the Bob Bahre Cup. The award is voted on by the car owners, drivers and others associated with the annual Vintage Celebration at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and is given to someone who has contributed in an exceptional way to the event.

Board member Ray Boissoneau has accumulated the largest collection of vintage race cars of anyone in New England. He is a frequent on-track participant at vintage meets and loans his cars to projects that further the vintage movement. Ray is playing a pivotal role in growing the Vintage Celebration held annually at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

We are pleased to accept the gift of thousands of racing newspapers and magazines from Rick DeBour. Despite what the cartons read, this was no "small" gift and included many local publications that had previously been missing from our library. Rick not only made the donation, he delivered it to our mini-museum at Ron Bouchard's dealership in Fitchburg.

The Racing History Preservation Groups exhibit at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway during the July NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend was a booming success. Over three steamy days, Board Members met with prospective RHPG members and interested fans to explain the value and importance of preserving racing’s history in our part of the world. More new members joined us at this event than any in the past.

Mid-June is motorcycle time in New Hampshire and the Racing History Preservation Group had a strong presence at NHMS. On weekend one, Board Member Bob Coy promoted vintage motorcycle racing and Ray Boissoneau brought the Dumo’s Desire midget to our exhibit. Some of the biker crowd quipped that the car, with its huge engine hanging out the side, looked like a motorcycle with four wheels.

Yes. Motorcycles. The North East Motor Sports Museum will include motorcycles, drag cars, sports cars as well as cars that raced in the Northeast on traditional ovals. Pictured on three Indian motorcycles built in the 1930s are (left to right) Doc Batsleer who owns all three motorcycles, champion rider now deep in his 80s Ed Fisher and Butch Baer.

On Sunday, May 6, Board Member Ricky Craven was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. Noteworthy is that this very old Hall has inducted just three race car drivers, Dick McCabe, Ralph Cusack and now Ricky Craven. In his remarks to the huge audience, Ricky talked about his passion for racing and described his rise from an obscure small Maine town to winning in NASCAR’s top division.

On April 29, 2013, the Racing History Preservation Group delivered five vintage race cars to Maine’s Owl’s Head Transportation Museum. Included were a 6-banger driven early in his career by Dick McCabe and restored by Steve Pellerin, Skip Matczak’s Allyn Tool Special, one of Lloyd Hutchins’ fabulous flathead-powered coupes, Dick Berggren’s Doug Gore sprint car and Paul Aldrich’s fabulous salmon-colored early dragster.

Racing History Preservation Group members are proud to have been asked to display a cross section of cars at the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum in Maine. The exhibit will run from April 30 through sometime in the fall.

On Sunday, April 7, RHPG president Dick Berggren will be the keynote speaker at the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing’s spring Open House dedication of its library in memory of Chris Economaki. The museum, located on 100 Baltimore Rd., York Springs, PA, is one of the finest short track properties in the world. It showcases engines, cars, helmets, trophies, theatre and other one-of-a-kind memorabilia in an educational atmosphere.

When folks find a relatively intact old race car, it’s called a “barn find.” How about this one as a barn find, a vintage and authentic Roman chariot! If you saw the movie Ben Hur, you know that chariot races were among the very first oval track events in human history.