NEAR Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2008
Four drivers, two car owners and two media members make up the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame Class of 2008.
Drivers Dave Alkas, Dave Darveau, Dick Batcholder and the late Howie Brown, car owners Joe Brady and the late Mike Scrivani Sr., the multi-talented Dr. Dick Berggren and writer Pete Zanardi will be inducted at the LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor, CT on Sunday, January 27th.
Still to be announced are the three selections from the Veterans Committee and the Jack Ratta Memorial Media Award winners.
Ticket forms for the 11th annual NEAR Hall of Fame banquet will be available on the New England Antique Racers website (www.near1.com) in the near future.
A true “Saturday night racer,” Alkas was a Southern New England powerhouse from the late 1960s through the 80s. Centered at Connecticut’s Plainville Stadium (where he won five championships) he was also a factor at Riverside Park, Eastern State Fairgrounds and Monadnock Speedway.
Batchelder, born in North Hampton, NH, was a New England Super Modified Racing Association stalwart, winning the 1979 championship. Winning his first feature at Dover, NH in 1960, he went on to well over 50 triumphs from Canada to Florida. He had a pair of Star Speedway championships and twice captured the prestigious Star Classic.
Berggren, a Manchester, CT product, has driven race cars, wrote about them, talked about them and took their pictures, the latter three on the highest of levels. Starting out at Arundel (ME) Speedway, he is presently one of the most recognized TV announcers in the country. His writing career has gone from local publications to editorship of Speedway Illustrated.
A Brockton, MA native Brady has teamed with a host of accomplished drivers – Leo Cleary, Bobby Santos, Bugs Stevens, Steve Park, Ted Christopher – to win over a 100 features and at least 10 championships over five decades. Starting in 1960, Brady, among the most accomplished “low buckers,” won championships at Norwood, Thompson, Westboro and Seekonk Speedways.
Known as the Epping Express, Brown raced for 40 years. He raced and won in modifieds, late models and bombers but was best known for his Super Modified exploits that included three NESMRA titles and three Star Speedway crowns. A champion at The Pines and Hudson, he won over 130 races, 93 in NESMRA action.
A driver/owner for almost 40 years, Darveau collected a host of victories and 10 championships across his native Maine. He began at Unity Raceway in 1952 and won his first championship there in ’55. A multi winner at Wiscasset, Oxford and Beech Ridge as well, he won his last title at Unity in ’83 and retired soon after.
A larger-than-life character, Scrivani’s participation with racing started in the late 1930s. A stock-car pioneer in the late 1940s, he switched back to Midgets and won NEMA and ARDC championships with Butch Walsh and Nokie Fornoro. Back to the Modifieds, his M-2 was driven by Hop Harrington and Leo Cleary, the latter winning Norwood and Thompson championships.
Zanardi, a Connecticut native, has spent 40 years as an auto racing writer/media coordinator. He brought “basic journalism” to the coverage of auto racing at the Hartford (CT) times in the 1960s. While working for Stafford Motor Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl, he continued to write for national and local publications.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEAR PR