The New England Antique Racers on Tuesday announced the newest class of veterans committee inductees for the 2014 New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame induction class.
Briggs Cunningham II, Roy “Pappy” Forsyth and Fred Borden are the three veterans committee picks for induction into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
The veterans committee inductees will be joined by the regular enshrining class of historian R.A. Silvia, drag racing great Bob Tasca, car builder Dave Tourigny and drivers Mike Rowe, Deke Astle, Jim Martel, Fred Schulz and Ron Wyckoff.
The group will be enshrined on Nov. 16 at the NEAR Hall of Fame Induction Banquet at Maneeley’s in South Windsor.
The veterans committee sets induction classes for those with accomplishments prior to 1960. Ticket information and order forms are available at the New England Antique Racers website.
From the NEAR Press Release on the induction class:
Starting his career immediately after serving in World War II, Forsyth, a West Swanzey, NH product, ran up an impressive record over three decades including championships at Claremont and Keene in New Hampshire and at Connecticut’s Stafford Springs. His prowess continued into the 1960s including a sensational season at Thunder Road in 1961 (10 wins in 18 starts) driving for George Barber. Forsyth passed away in 1988.
A Waltham, MA native, Borden began racing at West Peabody, MA in 1950, winning twice. Over the next 17 seasons, in the employ of some top car owners, he carried away checkereds at Medford, Brookline, Norwood, West Peabody and Westboro. He was so successful at Medford they put a bounty on him. He was a dominant force driving for Rick Falconi in the 1960s at Westboro and Brookline. He now resides in Florida.
Cunningham called Westport, CT home for much of his life. A pioneer in American Sports Car racing, he was a competitor, patron, sponsor and car builder. Determined to put America on a level with the Europeans, he produced a list of high-performance prototype machines and competed on the international stage at LeMans and Sebring, his car winning at the latter. NEAR Hall of Famers Fitch and Walters were among his drivers. He passed away in January of 1987.
Thank you for supporting NEAR, Shawn!