NEAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010
Hundreds of victories and dozens of championships are represented in the New England Auto Racer’s Hall of Fame “Class of 2010.”
Drivers Geoff Bodine, Mike Murphy, George Savory and Pete Fiandaca, car owners Billy Simons, Bob Garbarino and Vic Miller and contributor Frank Ferrara will be inducted at the 13th annual induction banquet on Sunday, Jan 30, 2010 at the LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor, CT.
Still to be announced are the inductees from the Veterans Committee and the Jack Ratta Memorial (media) winner.
Ticket forms will be on the New England Antique Racers website (www.Near1.com) in the near future.
The Class of 2010 is the result of a nomination/selection process that includes voting by a special selection committee and the living members of the Hall.
Before winning 18 Sprint Cup races including the 1986 Daytona 500, Bodine established new standards for Modified driving for Massachusetts’s Dick Amstrong in the late 1970s. He won 55 features in 1978 alone including the Race of Champions, the Spring Sizzler, the Thompson 300 and a sweep at Martinsville. Credited with hundreds of Modified wins (he was named one of NASCAR’s top-10 Modified drivers in 2003), he is a multi-time champion at both Stafford and Thompson Speedways.
A car owner for almost 40 years, Simons, a Cromwell, CT native, won 10 championships – eight at Waterford Speedbowl and two at Riverside Park. With drivers like Ray Delisle, Hank Stevens, Don Collins, Ray Miller, Dick Caso, Stan Gregor, Ricky Summers and Dan Avery, he won at a number of tracks including Waterford, Lebanon Valley, Riverside Park, Stafford, Monadnock and Thompson.
The Late Murphy, who campaigned out of Woburn, MA, was a paragon of consistency, winning in several divisions including Modifieds, Supermodifieds, Pro Stocks and Late Models over almost three decades (1961-2000). Murphy, who won 22 straight ProStock features at Hudson in 1985, captured eight championships (four in a row at Hudson) including the 1989 NASCAR ProStock crown at Star Speedway.
Starting as an owner/mechanic Springfield, MA native Ferrara has served New England motorsports for well over 50 years. The association started as a car owner at Riverside Park in the early 1950s. He has a been a flagman (the Northeastern Midget Association and Stafford), a race sponsor (The Ferrara 100s), driver and, presently, a track owner (Whip City Speedway).
Coming out of the famous Gasoline Alley in Needham, MA, Savory raced with great success for 43 years. Competing throughout the east, he won an estimated 300 features and grabbed championships at Norwood Arena (1970), Westboro Speedway (1977) and Riverside Park (1994). He followed that with four “Pro 4 Modified” championships.
The “Traveling Man,” Fitchburg MA’s Fiandaca is the ultimate racer. Since 1967, he has won at least 320 features in everything from “bombers” to Modifieds and Pro Stocks. Fiandaca has 16 championships at five different tracks. A living legend in every sense of the phase, the immensely popular Fiandaca battled the best and prevailed not only with talent but also with smarts and determination.
Garbarino’s cars have carried the number V4 and the name “Mystic Missile” for 40 years, testimony to his longevity as a Modified car owner. The 2006 national championship capped off a run that began in the early 1960s at Waterford Speedbowl. The Mystic, CT-based team went to NASCAR in 1967 and became a charter member of the current Modified Tour set up in 1985.
Miller’s numbers are astonishing. Since 1965, cars prepared and/or owned by Miller have won on 32 tracks in 11 states and Canada. A five-time ISMA champ, he owns eight Thompson World Series, six Star/NESMRA Classic and six Oswego Nationals wins. Current driver Chris Perley is on a list of Miller drivers that includes Ollie Silva, Don MacLaren, Eddie West, Nate Boutwell, Jr, and Bentley Warren.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEAR PR