For years, Randy LaJoie’s company “The Joie of Seating” has provided competitors with an extra-measure of safety by producing state of the art aluminum racing seats available for use in…
Read moreThe deadline for ordering tickets for the New England Auto Racers Hall of Banquet being held on Jan. 25, 2009 is this Thursday Jan. 15th. Three drivers, two owner/builders and…
Read moreBuilt Bear Ridge Speedway & Championship Car Owner
BRADFORD — George Judson Barber, 96, died Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at Grafton County Nursing Home in North Haverhill, N.H.
He was born in Williamstown, Mass., on Sept. 2, 1911, the son of George and Ida (Haley) Barber. He attended the University of Akron, in Ohio. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, as a 2nd class machinist mate.
George married his wife Wanda Shumway on June 16, 1942. Wanda died on Dec. 29, 1973. He built the Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford and operated it from 1968 to 1973. He won many trophies and prizes for his famous car numbers #46 and #47. He also owned and operated Bradford Auto Supply for many years.
New England Auto Racer Hall of Fame member Vic Bombacci, co-owner of V8, passed away Feburary 2 at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT. He was 78.
Bombacci and Bob Vitari, boyhood friends in Essex, CT, brought a race car to the Waterford Speedbowl in 1958. With driver Bill Slater, they won the Speedbowl championship in 1959 in the car soon known as the Connecticut Valley Rocket.
Rene Charland, affectionately known to many racing fans simply as “The Champ” could use some well-wishes from his fans. The 79-year-old Agawam, MA native began his career at the old…
Read moreNEAR Banquet Tickets on Sale
The annual New England Antique Racers Hall of Fame Banquet is slated to take place on Sunday, January 27th at the LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor, CT. Tickets can be ordered by downloading the order form from the NEAR web site. The Class of 2008 includes car owners, drivers and members of the media. Dave Alkas, Dave Darveau, Dick Bathchelder, the late Howie Brown are all a part of the class. Car owners Joe Brady and the late Mike Scrivani, Sr. along with the multi-talented Dick Berggren and writer Pete Zanardi will also be inducted at the NEAR banquet in January. Veterans committee choices were to Johnny Gammell, George Lombardo, and Fred Luchesi.
Oktoberfest Date Set for Lee USA Speedway
The 3/8-mile Lee USA Speedway has finalized the date for its annual Oktoberfest season finale. The date for Oktoberfest is the weekend of October 4th and 5th, 2008. The popular True Value Modified Racing Series will hold their penultimate race at Lee USA. Along with the regular variety of open competition races for Late Models and Strictly Stocks that welcome drivers from similar tracks like Seekonk or Twin State. Drivers with home tracks as far away as Unity, Maine and Waterford, CT were among the winners last fall.
A quick look at the local racing docket for that weekend presents a conflict as the Waterford Speedbowl hosts its finale with the NEMA Midgets, Allison Legacy North cars, and the All Star Race Trucks joining the card with their regular divisions.
He had maybe the quickest wit I’ve ever experienced. Danny Pardi, who died Friday, leaves behind a host of “Pardi isms.”
And, nobody got to the heart of the matter quicker than Danny. His observations and decisions were direct and almost always uncomplicated. He did not tolerate excessiveness.
He brought those qualities not only to his sport but to his relationships as well. Speaking personally, he was a loyal friend; I never believed for one second that he wouldn’t once again respond to a call for help. He was always there for me and I witnessed him being there for others as well many times.
Update:
Calling Hours: Wed., Jan 2: 4-8PM at D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, 30 Carter St., E. Hartford, CT
Funeral: Thurs., Jan 3, 11AM – D’Esopo Funeral Chapel
Asking Mike Scrivani Jr. to come up with a No. 1 memory of his dad is both unfair and impossible. The Northeastern Midget Association president has a host of fond memories of the bigger-than-life character remembered as “Iron Mike.”
It is fair to say there are hundreds of stories about the late Mike Scrivani who will be inducted into the New England Antique Racers (NEAR) Hall of Fame Sunday, January 27th at the LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor, CT.
A charter member of NEMA (Jerry Russo drove his car in the club’s first-ever race at Seekonk on May 30, 1953), Scrivani’s auto racing connections went back to the Sprint Cars of the late 1930s. Although he was also successful in Modified racing, “his heart was always with the Midgets and Sprints,” reports Mike Jr.
A trio of “big winners” from the 1950s and 60s – Connecticut’s George Lombardo, Rhode Island’s Fred Luchesi and Vermont’s Johnny Gammell – have joined the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame Class of 2008. The trio, representing hundreds of victories, was selected by the Veterans Committee.They join drivers Dave Alkas, Dave Darveau, Dick Batchelder 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. The entire class will be inducted at the LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor, CT on Sunday, January 27th.
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.
At Saturday evening’s NEAR Movie Party, it was announced that three new inductees will join the New England Antique Racers Hall of Fame Class of 2008. The Veterans Comittee has selected Johnny Gamell, George Lombardo, and Fred Luchesi as the latest members. Dave Alkas, Dave Darveau, Dick Bathchelder, the late Howie Brown are all a part of the class. Car owners Joe Brady and the late Mike Scrivani, Sr. along with the multi-talented Dick Berggren and writer Pete Zanardi will also be inducted at the NEAR banquet in January.
Johnny Gammell, an
George Lombardo’s career includes a pair of track championships at the Plainville Stadium in the mid-1960s. A standout at Joe Tinty’s quarter-mile oval, Lombardo won an incredible 11 consecutive races in one season. He was also a winner at Riverside Park Speedway (9 wins between 1953 and 1959), and the Waterford Speedbowl.
Fred Luchesi was a multi-track champion in the 1950s including Lonsdale, Norwood, Seekonk, Waterford and Westboro during this rough-and-tumble era. Of those facilities, only Seekonk and Waterford have survived to the present day as the stock car and track building boom of the post-war era has seen many former tracks closed and redeveloped.
Congratulations to all three of these racing pioneers on their well-deserved inductions.
An updated list of all the NEAR Hall of Fame members will be added later today.
The NEAR Movie Party is all set to go this Saturday November 10th. Although advance tickets are no longer available, tickets will be available for $20.00 per person at the door. Proceeds go toward supporting the NEAR Hall of Fame. Admission includes a hot and cold buffet.
The movie party is a good time to meet many of the NEAR Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers, as many former and current drivers are always in attendance. This year the Movie Party will be featuring many vintage videos provided by Ken Meisenhelder of KGM Video. Ken will also be offering many of his DVDs for sale. As always plenty of bench racing will be taking place.
The Dante Club is located at
Daniel J. Gaudiana, 85, of
Dan worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years, retiring in 1968 and more recently, for The State of CT retiring in 1978. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII, he saw action in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters, and he was a four star veteran, a life member of DAV, VFW Post # 2138, American Legion Post 0200, a member of Postal Union # 86. Dan owned several stock cars for racing including # 999 and he was one of the founders and board member, and former Treasurer of NEAR Auto Club.
NEAR’s annual movie party will be held on Saturday November 10, 2007 at the Dante Club. The location is across from the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds at
For more info, go to NEAR1.com
Sources: Pete Newsham/NEAR PR
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.