NEAR Hall of Fame Class of 2011 Announced
Literally hundreds of victories and dozens of championships are represented in the New England Auto Racer’s Hall of Fame “Class of 2011.”
Drivers Punky Caron, Dan Meservey, Russ Nutting and Jerry Dolliver, car owners Rich & Ray Garuti, Stanley “Skip” Matczak, Vic Kangas, and Speedway Scene publisher Val Lesieur will be inducted at the 14th annual induction ceremony slated to take place on January 30th 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.
Additional information and ticket forms will be on the New England Antique Racers website www.near1.com in the near future.
The Class of 2011 is the result of a nomination/selection process that includes voting by a special selection committee and the living members of the Hall.
New Hampshire’s Howard “Punky” Caron won in both Modifieds and Pro Stocks for 4-decades. His resume includes multiple championships at both Monadnock and Claremont Speedways. He competed successfully at many other tracks in the Northeast and was always a threat to win at venues such as Stafford, Thompson, Lebanon Valley, Bear Ridge, etc.
The late Jerry Dolliver’s career began at the former Pines Speedway in 1950. Graduating from the Jalopy division within a few seasons he became a big winner in the Super Modifieds, eventually recording over 100 feature victories. An Atlantic Auto Racing Association champion, he claimed track titles at the The Pines and West Peabody among others. He also competed on the NASCAR Modified trail and with the Northeastern Midget Association.
Starting his career in drag racing during the 1960s, Dan Meservey went-on to record over 100 feature victories in a variety of classes, most-notably the New England Mini Modifieds, a division he started in 1972. Meservey was also involved in the promotional aspect of the sport, running the former Lakeville Speedway in 1975. In later years, he competed successfully on the super-speedways of the South in the former NASCAR Daytona Dash Series.
Maine’s Russ Nutting started racing in the 1950s and over a 53-year span recorded an estimated 225 feature victories at tracks from New England to Canada. He claimed championships at Oxford Plains and Arundel among-others. He competed in a variety of divisions including Super Modified, Late Models, Cut Downs, and Modified. After retiring as a driver he remained involved in the sport as a respected official.
A successful car owner for over 5-decades, Stanley “Skip” Matczak along with his late wife Lois campaigned Super Modifieds, Sprint Cars, Midgets, USAC Silver Crown Cars, and Modifieds for some of the best drivers in the business. His accomplishments in the sport include 3-consectutive Oswego Speedway Super Modified championship with driver Doug Didero. Many of the sports best racers wheeled Matczak equipment including Richie Evans, Bentley Warren, the late Jim Cheney, Wally Dallenbach, and Armond Holly among others.
As a car owner, mechanic, and crew chief, Vic Kangas won races from Maine to the Deep South for decades. Noted for his involvement in the early-career rise of fellow Hall of Fame member Ron Bouchard, in later years he served as crew chief for a number of winning NASCAR Winston Cup & Busch Series teams. He was also involved with several road-racing endeavors, scoring victories with IMSA in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex 24-Hour Daytona event.
Stock car pioneers, the Garuti brothers were successful car builders for over two decades. The numbers 14 and 28 (which came along later), will forever be associated with them. With drivers like George Lombardo, Moe Gherzi, Ed Flemke and Jocko Maggiacomo, they were dominant forces of the old United Stock Car circuit from the early 1950s through the mid 1960s. Moving to NASCAR with Smokey Boutwell and Flemke, they were a force to be reckoned with at Stafford and Thompson in the late 1960’s and early 70s.
Throughout its many years of publication, Val LeSieur’s weekly “Speedway Scene” trade paper served as the absolute “Bible” for those involved in the New England racing scene. Himself a graduate of Speedway Scene, celebrated auto racing writer Bones Bourcier recently stated that “Val’s paper was required-reading for so-many people in the sport. Fans used it as a way to keep up with their favorite drivers, promoters alternately loved or loathed its candid commentary, and racers valued the boost it gave their careers.” During its history, Speedway Scene hosted some of the best in racing writers, including Hall of Fame member Pete Zanardi, Lou Modestino, Dr. Dick Berggren, and Bourcier in naming just a few.
Sources: Dave Dykes/NEAR PR