Longtime Local Racer, Team Owner Rich Vasseur Passes 

Former racer and local team owner Rich Vasseur – a man with a personality bigger than most race track billboards – passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday. 

Vasseur, of Ellington, was 60 years old. 

Even after stepping away from full-time racing competition, Vasseur was a fixture at local southern New England short tracks where his larger than life personality made him well known in the pits and grandstands. 

His signature greeting for most people he came in contact was: “You’re coming along nicely pal” and he was he was affectionately known by many involved in racing as: “Dickie V.” 

“He left an impression in the racing world that’s second to none,” said longtime racer and current Stafford Speedway SK Modified team owner Dan Avery. “His personality was bigger than life itself. I’m going to miss that guy.” 

Vasseur had feature wins at the former Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass., Stafford Speedway and Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H.

As a driver, Vasseur was most known for his gleaming Porter & Chester Institute sponsored Pro Stock at Riverside Park. 

Avery grew tight with Vasseur during the 1990’s at Riverside. 

“Back at Riverside I had sponsorship from Porter & Chester,” Avery said. “I was running two divisions, Modifieds and Pro Stocks. Rich was coming up and getting some experience in Street Stocks and then Late Models. I had gotten to the point where I just wanted to concentrate on the Modified. I figured out a deal with Porter & Chester to get Rich an opportunity to get into the Pro Stocks. We had a lot of fun together on and off the track. We became really good friends. He was quite a character.” 

Three-time reigning Stafford Speedway SK Modified champion Todd Owen competed against Vasseur in the Pro Stock division at Riverside. 

“He was always the center of attention,” Owen said. “He was always the guy. He went to the race track to live life and enjoy it.” 

Said legendary announcer and former Riverside Park Speedway operator Ben Dodge: “He was an excellent driver at Riverside Park. A very popular guy. And always had a big heart. He was actually very successful. He did not run for points. He was not a points guy. He was a guy that liked to race hard and have a good time. He was never into racing for points.” 

Vasseur had four Late Model wins at Riverside Park between 1991-92. He had six Pro Stock wins at Riverside between 1996 and 1999. Riverside Park Speedway closed following the 1999 season. Vasseur’s last win at the quarter-mile Riverside bullring came in a 125-lap feature on July 4, 1999.

He had two career Pro Stock victories at Stafford, the first coming in 1994 and the second in 2000. He made 13 starts in the SK Modified division at Stafford from 2004 to 2014 and made one start in the SK Light Modified division at Stafford in 2022. He also had a Pro Stock win at Monadock Speedway in June of 2001.

After stepping away from full-time competition, Vasseur went racing as a parent fielding a car for his daughter Nicole to compete in the Wild Things Go Kart Series at Stafford Speedway.

Over the last few years Vasseur became heavily involved with supporting the racing efforts of 2020 Stafford SK Light Modified champion Brian Sullivan.

Most recently, Vasseur had become deeply involved with assisting former Stafford, New London-Waterford Speedbowl and Thompson Speedway announcer Matt Buckler, who has been through a double amputation of his legs. Vasseur would regularly help Buckler to make appearances at local racing events. 

“He did it never looking for anything in return,” Avery said. “He just did it because that’s who he was. He just did it because that’s the kind of person he was. He just had a heart of gold.” 

Said Buckler: “He went above and beyond. Dickie V always came through. He had a huge heart. I can’t say enough about what he has done for me. He was such a good man. He was a wonderful father to his daughter Nicole. He stepped up to help Brian Sullivan because he knew Brian Sullivan was too good a driver not to drive a Modified, so he did something about it. He was just a really great person.”