Hannaford, Brooks, Small NEAR Hall Inductees
Open cockpit sensation Burt Brooks, stock car ace Harold ‘Hardluck’ Hannaford and car owner Bertha Small are the Veteran Committee selections for induction into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
The trio will be inducted along with drivers John Fitch, Bobby Dragon and Paul Richardson, promoters Bob Bahre, Jim McConnell and Tom Curley and car owner/ builders Rollie Lindblad and Art Barry on Jan. 25, 2009 at LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor, CT.
Still to be named are the Jack Ratta (Media) and Danny Pardi (Service) Memorial Award winners.
Ticket information and request forms are available on the New England Antique Racers website NEAR1.com.
New Britain, CT-based Brooks won four straight (1950-53) ARDC Ford championships and four URC Sprint Car crowns in five years (1954-1958) in a 23-year career that ended with his untimely death at Hershey, PA in 1968. With well over 100 wins, he ranks as one of New England’s premier open cockpit drivers.
The first female in the NEAR Hall of Fame, the late Small fielded cars for Jack Foley, Joe McNulty, Cy Yates, Red Bolduc and Hop Harrington over a 12-year (1950-61) run. The cars ran at Seekonk, Norwood, Kingstown, Waterford, Lonsdale. Denied entrance because of her sex, Small often directed things from outside the pit fence.
A New Hampshire native, Hannaford made a definite mark throughout Northern New England. An outstanding competitor through the 1950s and into the 1960s, his resume includes two of the first three (1962, ’64) Milk Bowls and multiple championships at Thunder Road. A competitor at Daytona in the 60s, he won his last race at Bryar Motor Sports Park in 1966.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEAR PR