Former drivers, officials and fans of the Westboro Speedway gathered at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Westboro for the third reunion on Saturday.  Although 25 years have passed since the final checkered flag fell on Westboro, people still recall fondly their Saturday nights spent at the historic Rt. 9 speedplant.

Before the sound of horsepower was silenced by urban sprawl for a shopping center, Westboro Speedway operated between 1947-1985. Originally built for Midget racing, the high-banked 1/4 mile oval saw its first race on  August 5, 1947 when Joe Sostilio picked up the Midget win. Until the track closed in September 1985, the track hosted open wheel Modifieds, Mini Modifieds, Supermodifieds and Stock Cars.

Many hall of fame drivers were successful at Westboro throughout its storied history. A showcase venue for Midgets, stars like Bert Brooks, Joe Csiki and Dave Humphrey all excelled there. Racers from the dangerous Cutdown era included Red Bolduc, Red Cummings, Hop Harrington, Fred Luchesi. Fred Borden was the all-time winner there. A staple of the Modified circuit for many seasons, victory lane saw Ronnie Bouchard, Fats Caruso, Leo Cleary,  George Savary, Fred Schulz, and Bugs Stevens win on many occasions.

Westboro’s place in history is secure as longtime owner and promoter John Falconi, Sr. is a NEAR Hall of Fame inductee along with some  of the drivers and owners that made “The Fastest Quarter-Mile in the East” their home for many years.

[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto

Video Interviews:

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Fran Colson

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Mark Curtis

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John Denoncourt

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Pete Salvatore

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Pete Falconi & Al Frasier

Sad news this week from Florida as NEAR Hall of Famer Arthur Rousseau passed away on Monday March 16, 2009 at age 87.  He was born on August 5, 1921 in Keene, NH.  Rousseau competed at a number of tracks including Hudson, Langhorne, Stafford, West Brattleboro, Westboro as well as tracks in New York State.  He was also successful at his home track, the Cheshire County Fairgrounds in Keene, NH.

He was a World War II veteran in the Army Air Force.  He was a member of the Stock Car Drivers’ Hall of Fame in New York State as well as a NEAR Hall of Fame inductee in 2001.

[Sign the Guestbook]

Art Rousseau began his racing career in a Model A Ford in 1937 on a frozen lake in Swansey, NH.  Soon Rousseau began competing at the Cheshire Fair in nearby Keene, NH and later track in New York State.  A trip to the famed and treacherous Langhorne Speedway dirt mile ended with a bad crash as Rousseau’s sprint car left the track.  Rousseau survived the crash; others who drove at Langhorne were not as fortunate.

Rousseau drove for his brother Harvey along with Frank Campanelli, Bill Boudreau, and Bob Oliver.  The Oliver #621 cutdown coupe piloted by Rousseau was victorious at Stafford Springs, Connecticut on the dirt 1/2 mile oval and the 1/4 mile paved oval in the infield as well.  Closer to home at Keene, Rousseau won against the likes of fellow Hall of Famers Rene Charland and Ernie Gahan.

Peter vonSneidern of Temple, NH, a member of the Yahoo Racing History group, posted there earlier today with his thoughts on Rousseau.  “Very few took a non roll bar sprinter out of the park at Langhorne, PA and lived to tell the tale. Arthur was always a joy and he got to run the restored #73 flat tail big car. He first drove the car in 1947 when owned by Roy Stone and then again in 1992 after I restored it. Arthur will be missed! “

Sources: NEAR/Yahoo Racing History Group/Palm Beach Post

Daytona Beach, FL — Former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Rick Fuller brought to a close one of the most successful driving careers in the 24-year history of the tour with the announcement that he has retired from racing.

Fuller, of Auburn, Mass., made his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut in the series’ inaugural race on March 31, 1985 at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway with a 13th place finish in the Icebreaker. Ultimately, Thompson became the site of his last race when was caught up in an early accident and came home 30th in the No. 77 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Modified in the Xtra Mart World Series on Oct. 19.

Fuller compiled 20 wins, 145 top fives, 231 top 10s and 11 Coors Light Pole Awards in 439 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts. His win total ranks seventh in tour history.

Fuller got his start in weekly series action. He won Late Model championships at Westboro (Mass.) Speedway in 1980 and at Thompson in 1982. Fuller later moved on to the Modified division where he captured the Thompson track title in 1985.

“Early on in my career, winning really wasn’t that big of an effort,” Fuller said. “It wasn’t uncommon in the first few years that I started out racing for me to win 30 or 40 feature events. Once I moved solely into the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, it was a humbling experience. To win just one or two races a year was huge. To actually win the championship was a monster accomplishment.”

The highlight of Fuller’s distinguished career was his championship season of 1993. A year after his brother, Jeff, had captured the title, Fuller strung together a win and 14 top 10s in 17 starts to finish 93 points ahead of Reggie Ruggiero for the crown.

As part of NASCAR’s celebration of 60 Years of Modified Champions, Fuller was honored at Thompson prior to the Sunoco Modified Mania 150 on Sept. 7.

Fuller, voted the series’ Most Popular Driver in 2000, is one of just three drivers to have made starts in each of the first 24 years of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour along with Carl Pasteryak and Jamie Tomaino.

“The past couple of years Toyota Certified Used Vehicles had the confidence to back me in an attempt to run for another championship and I have to thank them and the Curt Chase family for doing the same,” Fuller said. “The championship I won in 1993 was with the No. 77 team, and for them to have the confidence in me to make another run at that meant an awful lot to me.”

While Fuller hasn’t necessarily lost the drive to compete, there are a number of reasons why 2008 became a good time to close the book on his racing career.

Fuller has kids of his own who are at the beginning of their racing careers, and he has also started to turn his attention toward supporting them.

“I had a really good run at this and I had a lot of fun, but right now I’m looking at other opportunities in racing,” Fuller said. “My son, Alex, is racing Quarter Midgets at the “Little T” at Thompson and my daughter, Meghan, says she wants to start, and that will probably occupy a lot of my time.”

While the 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season will be the last full-time run of Fuller’s distinguished career, he didn’t necessarily close the door on his availability for a spot start or part-time ride in the future.

Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR

Sue’s parents, Bill and Phyllis Balser reside at 42 Alder Rd, Norton, MA 02766 for cards of condolence.
 Sources:Lou Modestino