Race Fans Can Take Walk Down Memory Lane While Visiting New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Column By: MATTHEW WIERNASZ / RPW – LOUDON, NH – NASCAR is back in New England this weekend. Fans can also take a walk down memory lane and preserve the rich history of auto racing here in the Northeast. Dr. Dick Berggren runs the Northeast Motorsports Museum and his happy with the people that come in mostly families and fans that cheered on a driver or team and tell Berggren how happy they are with the museum and it makes Berggren happy.

Berggren believes a lot of people that live in the Northeast do not realize how big the history of auto racing here in the region. The very first built purposed oval track race in the United States was in Cranston, RI back in 1896. The very first built purposed road course that was built for racing in the United States was in Thompson, CT in 1952. The first board track was built in Salem, NH in 1925. The track was made entirely out of lumber that was a mile and quarter around and turns were banked at 49 degrees.

Western Mass fans would always head to Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam on Saturday nights to watch some of the best modified drivers such as Mike Stefanik, Richie Evans, Stan Gregor, Reggie Ruggiero, Ted Riggott, Dan Avery, and many others. One of Berggrens memories he had from Riverside Park Speedway.

“ When I was a kid and my parents would say what do you want for your birthday. I didn’t say I wanted a baseball or a bicycle or any of that stuff. All I wanted was my mother to make spaghetti and meatballs for my closest friends and my dad to take me to Riverside Park and I go up there and sit in the grandstands and cheer for Jocko Maggiacomo and Eddie Flemke and Art Rousseau and all the stars of the day. That was an incredible race track.”

Fans can see a lot photographs from Riverside Park in the museum.

The museum has been planned for the last 20 years. When Berggren was at one of the Vintage celebrations at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Vic Yerardi made the vintage celebrations happen at the Magic Mile. Yerardi was concerned about losing the history of auto racing here in the Northeast in where cars were being taken to the junkyard in where competitors had no more use for them even when they won races and championships had no use for them and where people had died families did not know what to do with the photographs of racing so they were thrown away.

Yerardi said to Berggren we need to have a museum and that Berggren was the guy to put it together. What Dr. Berggren didn’t realize was Yerardi told the same story to people. Berggren agreed with Yerardi and felt it was important for in way to preserve the history of auto racing here in the Northeast and its been a long run. Peter Von Svonsneidern and Dick Berggren went to the old owner of New Hampshire Motor Speedway Bob Bahre and presented the idea of building the museum and Bahre was not interested. Bahre has his own museum.

They tried a lot of things and nothing really clicked until Bruton Smith from Speedway Motorsports Inc owners of New Hampshire Motor Speedway agreed to lease the piece of land for 90 years at one dollar per year and it was a big help. The size of the land where the museum sits would of cost $300,000 just to purchase. Berggren told 22News its been a long haul as far as getting serious about it. Berggren quit doing network television four-years ago. He thought he would have a generally easy retirement instead he spent 12 hours a day seven days a week on the project of the museum. Its been really to special to Dr. Berggren to see so many people to come through the museum and be happy at what they see.

Former New Hampshire Motor Speedway General Manager Jerry Gappens presented the idea of the lease to Bruton and Marcus Smith. They were unable to sell a chunk of the land because of being a public corporation so Bruton Smith agreed with Jerry Gappens to lease the land and at the time New England Dragway was putting a proposal together to have the same idea as New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the lease of the museum and realized how serious the speedway was about putting this together. They did a vote and it was very close.

Berggren believes that the museum is planted in the right place. New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been tremendously helpful and many of the local contractors have pitched in where the well all the electrical work, the floor along with the concrete the foundation of the building as well as the parking lot was donated.

Throughout the years, we have lost great people who have contributed many hours into the sport ranging from drivers like Leo Cleary Ron Bouchard, Pete Hamilton, promoter Tom Curley, car owner Joe Brady along with long-time racing photographer Howie Hodge.

“ That’s life. That’s why you have a museum so that people aren’t forgotten. Howie Hodge deserves to be remembered so does Leo (Cleary) and Ronnie Bouchard and so many others for whom we sat in the grandstands and we cheered or who behind the scenes made this sport click.” Berggren Said