New Hampshire Motor Speedway announced that the south entrance of its track will take a new look once the snow melts, as ground will be broken to build the North East Motor Sports Museum. The new museum will be 20,000 square feet, built in two phases with the first 10,000 square feet beginning in spring 2015. The rest will be added at a later date.
“I can’t think of a better way to kick off our 25th anniversary celebration at New Hampshire Motor Speedway than with a groundbreaking for the North East Motor Sports Museum,” Jerry Gappens, vice president and general manager of the speedway, said. “I feel our facility is the anchor for multi-forms of motorsports and its history here in New England. I couldn’t envision the museum in any other location. I can’t wait for opening day and to share motorsports history with the race fans of New England.”
NHMS will celebrate 25 years of racing in 2015. After beginning as a 1/5-mile dirt oval at Bryar Motorsports Park, it was then moved to the 1.058-mile oval and 1.6-mile road course of today. Currently hosting a wide variety of different series, the track also features a set of various car clubs, racing schools and a driving experience.
“The goal of the museum is to cover all aspects of motorsports from this area, not just NASCAR or drag racing but any and all racing that has taken place here in New England,” Dick Berggren, president of the NEMSM, said. “Much of the racing history for the Northeast has been lost over time and we want to make sure that what we can find of the sport’s history is preserved for generations to come.”
The RHPG, the parent corporation for the NEMSM, is made up of local prominent motorsports personalities, including Berggren, Ricky Craven, Lew Boyd, Joe Freeman, Ken Smith, Russ Conway and Ric Mariscal to name a few. The NEMSM will be used to house the history of motorsports from the Northeast area with a plethora of displays, vehicles and racing-related artifacts.
About the author
Residing in Canada, she freelances for a number of racing publications, from SpeedwayMedia.com to On Pit Road while covering local short tracks up in Ontario.
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