NEAR Hall of Fame Mobile Museum to Appear at Frank Marrata Auto Show

Springfield, MA — The New England Antique Auto Racers (NEAR) Hall of Fame Mobile Museum will be present at the Frank Marrata Auto & Race-A-Rama Show on the weekend of March 1st & 2nd. To be held at the Eastern States Better Living Center in Springfield, MA. the event runs from 10-9 on Saturday & 10 to 5 on Sunday.

The mobile museum features a visual history of the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame. Instituted in 1998 and administered by NEAR, the HOF currently boasts over 100 inductees including notable names such as Richie Evans, Ron Bouchard, Bugs Stevens, Rene Charland, Pete Hamilton, Fred DeSarro, Ed Flemke, Sr. and Bill Slater.

Also featured within the museum are several rare memorabilia items representing decades of auto racing history throughout the region.

Voting ballots for 2014 Hall of Fame Inductions will be available at the museum display.

Also part of the weekend agenda will be presentation of the prestigious Frank Maratta Award, which as the New England Antique Racers longest-running award has been presented to a deserving individual since 1981. This year’s recipient is Billy Greco for his unwavering support of NEAR. Himself a 1999 Hall of Fame Inductee, his contributions to the club have been numerous over the years. A perennial fan favorite & well-respected among his peers, Greco’s racing career spanned over 3-decades and included victories & championships throughout New England.

The New England Antique Racers club is a non-profit organization that supports the history of New England auto racing. NEAR has been in existence since 1981 and has a growing membership of approx. 350-400 members and 80 antique race cars. Members live throughout New England and are available, on a no charge basis, for exhibition events at local race tracks in New England and several tracks in the New York area, with both original and historical replica race cars. For more information vist www.near1.org

Sources: Dave Dykes/NEAR PR