Saratoga Automobile Museum Awarded Stewart’s Holiday Match and State Farm Grant

For Immediate Release

Contact: Director of Education and Archives, Lindsey Collins at 518-587-1935

Saratoga Springs, NY

The Saratoga Automobile Museum has been awarded a generous amount from the Stewart’s Holiday Match and State Farm to support the Museum’s Distracted Driving Initiative.

Since the program was initiated in August 2015, deputies from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, area educators and countless museum visitors have used the state of the art simulators to learn how a few seconds of distraction can lead to tragedy and result in injury to yourself and others. In 2016, a trailer allowed us to take our Distracted Driving Initiative on the road to area high schools and businesses impacting over 9,000 individuals. The funds from these grants will be used to expand our impact to over 12,000 drivers in 2017.

More information on the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Distracted Driving Initiative and other museum programs and activities can be found online at www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

The Gavel: Cars of the Saratoga Auto Auction

On March 26, 2017, the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s doors will close on Rolling Bones: The Exhibit of G.O.W. at 5:00 pm. Ken and Keith’s Rolling Bones rods have been appreciated by Museum visitors since November 11, 2016.

Opening to the public on Saturday, April 1, 2017, the Saratoga Automobile Museum presents The Gavel: Cars of the Saratoga Auto Auction. Car auctions are lively events, energized by the chant of the auctioneer and the enthusiastic bidding process. Thanks to cable television and the Internet, Americans tune in, research and bid on vehicles and automobilia. Whether you are hunting the polished Ferrari, the dilapidated barn find, or the everyday commuter car, car auctions offer something for everyone. The Gavel: Cars of the Saratoga Auto Auction takes a look at American car auctions - the history, process, popularity and potential of automobile collecting. 

The Gavel: Cars of the Saratoga Auto Auction exhibit will be open to the public Saturday, April 1, 2017 through the summer months until Sunday, September 17, 2017 culminating in the Saratoga Auto Auction.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located at 110 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs, NY. Hours of operation during the summer months are Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Diverse Slate Set for 2017 NYSSCA Hall of Fame Induction

Contact:   John Keegan at 607-965-8994

Dirt stars Paul Jensen and Gary Balough, asphalt ace Billy Greco, racer and historian Dan Ody and longtime media stalwarts Don and Jo Ann Davies highlight an all-star class of inductees for the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame ceremony set for late January.

Jensen, who long-time Utica-Rome Speedway promoter Gene Cole dubbed “the Smoky Yunick of Central New York” for his innovative mechanical skills, has enjoyed a 42-year career that saw him garner 13 championships at a half-dozen speedways:  Utica-Rome, Fulton, Thunder Mountain, Brookfield, Fonda and Afton.

Along with some 135 wins at ten different speedways, topped by his 1993 triumph in Fulton’s Victoria 200, Jensen claimed the Outlaw Circuit championship in 1990 and ’92.  And all along the way, Jensen built a reputation as a true gentleman who would help his competition at any time, in any way he could.

Balough, who started his career at age 14 in Hialeah, FL, is best known for his domination of Super DIRT Week on the Syracuse mile, where he won four times and changed the face of modified racing with his famed aerodynamic “Batmobile.”

His asphalt experience made him nearly unbeatable when the northeastern dirt tracks turned hard and dry and in 1977 he led the Eastern States 200 flag-to-flag, the only one to do so.  Other notable wins came at East Windsor, Fonda, Flemington and Nazareth in a variety of cars, as the ever aggressive Balough was a winner in everything he drove.

By the 1980’s he was back to asphalt racing, winning such events as Pensacola’s Snowball Derby, the Miller High Life 300 at Charlotte and late model classics across the mid-west and deep south as he claimed the All-Pro championship in 1986.  Balough also made two starts in the Daytona 500 and is thought to have over 1000 wins through his notable career.

New England asphalt ace Billy Greco, generally introduced as “Wild Bill,” won modified races across the Northeast following his debut at West Haven, CT Speedway, where we would go on to win three championships.  He was especially good on the Riverside Park bullring, where he ranked second, with 57 wins, when the track closed to expand the adjacent amusement park.

In the Empire State, Greco notched five consecutive wins at Islip, Long Island to shake up the locals and also claimed 18 of 20 features one season at the old Pine Bowl outside Troy.  But it was his feat of claiming the first ever Albany-Saratoga Speedway championship some 50 years ago that will keep Greco in racing trivia contests forever.

The late Dan Ody had a multi-faceted career that started at age 16 in go-karts and progressed through street stocks, slingshot, mini-modifieds, mini-sprints, 360 and 305 sprint cars, IMCA modifieds, late models, sportsman, 358 modifieds and big block modifieds.  His first win came at the Fonda Speedway in the street stock class and he notched his 100th win there as well in a vintage modified race.

Best known for his mini-sprint success, Ody was the 1986 and ’87 PMSRA Driver of the Year and was named the PMSRRA “Driver of the Eighties.”  He also had great success in the IMCA modifieds, though his 102nd and final career win came in Everett Kneer’s Pro-Stock at Utica-Rome.  But Dan may be best remembered for his efforts in assembling videos of old speedways and long ago races from old 16 mm film provided by fans, racers and historians.  His efforts have revived and kept alive memories of long-forgotten raceways while also highlighting long ago events at speedways still going strong.

Longtime Area Auto Racing News columnists Don and Jo Ann Davies began their careers as columnists for Val LeSieur’s Speedway Scene in 1972, a logical extension of Don’s lifelong passion for racing fostered when his parents first took him to the old Brookfield Speedway in 1949.  In 1986, they moved to Area Auto Racing News.

The duo has long covered the weekly action in eastern and central New York along with following the Super DIRT Series and are the consummate “insiders.”  For 75-80 events a year, Don walks the pit area non-stop, knowing and talking to everyone in both the modified and support classes, while JoAnne, who met Don in college and saw her first race at the famed Flemington Fairgrounds, gathers information from the press box.  She also aids a number of tracks with their media relations and sign-in operations.

The Davies’ perspective has always been that they are race fans first, trying to present information they would want to know if they were not at that race or event while keeping personal opinions to a minimum.

NYSSCA Hall of Fame festivities will kick off at 11 am on Saturday, January 28th when inductees are introduced and their careers recalled at the Saratoga Automobile Museum on the Avenue of the Pines in the Saratoga Spa State Park, site of the NYSSCA Hall of Fame exhibit.  This will be followed by the annual NYSSCA awards banquet at the Polish Community Center on Washington Ave. extension in Albany.  The cocktail hour will begin at 4 pm with Hall of Fame introductions to follow at 5:15.

PETER VINCENT Photography: EXCITING NEW EXHIBIT

For Immediate Release

Contact: Art Director Brandon Salls at 518-587-1935

PHOTOS BY PETER VINCENT UNDERPIN EXCITING NEW EXHIBIT AT SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM

Saratoga Springs, NY When the highly anticipated “Rolling Bones: The Exhibition of GOW” opens in the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s featured Golub Gallery on November 11, 2016, noted photographer Peter Vincent’s work will provide a look back at both the various hot rods built by the Greenfield Center based Rolling Bones hot rod shop over the years and their racing action. Vincent’s photographs will be on display both as part of the exhibit graphics and in a separate, stand along display in the main gallery.

Vincent’s beginnings in photography were in Fine Art and Popular culture but he soon developed a passion for automotive and other wheeled subcultures.

“The Rolling Bones cars take an artistic, and yet very authentic and real dimension,” says Vincent. “Their cars work, period. And I’ve driven across country with them more than once. They are moving art.”

Vincent expounds, “For the past 25 years, I’ve focused on unique American Hot Rods and the racing subculture. My work and visual interests have centered on Land Speed Racing, which not surprisingly was and is at the roots of Hot Rod subculture.” In the 1930’s Hot Rodders gathered on the dry lake-beds of southern California, with drivers and their race cars photographed and documented on black and white film. It was during this time period that Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and others formed the f/64 Group in California. This group of very dedicated Fine Art photographers discovered the expressive potential of straight, sharp, un-manipulated, black and white photography. These cultural and artistic forms of expression had a profound and lasting effect on Peter Vincent’s life.

“I have long loved both photography and hot rods and during the 1980’s and 90’s, I integrated these interests and refocused my vision. These images helped me define my cultural roots in my personal photographic work. This particular series of work highlights Bonneville, the southern California dry lakes, the Rolling Bones, and their historic relationship with the American landscape in black and white as well as color.”

Lorraine Murphy Photography Exhibit

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Brandon Salls at 518-587-1935

WORK OF LOCAL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER TO BE SHOWN IN CONJUNCTION WITH HIGHLY ANTICIPATED HOT ROD EXHIBIT

Visitors to the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s highly anticipated “Rolling Bones: The Exhibition of GOW” exhibit, set to debut on Friday, November 11, 2016, will also enjoy perusing the work of Saratoga Springs portrait photographer Lorraine Murphy.  A lover of all things vintage, Lorraine specializes in pinup and boudoir photography but has also developed a strong interest in automotive subjects.

Lorraine, who has worked both in front of and behind the lens, became interested in pinup shots a decade ago.  When she found no photographers with that specialty in the Capital District, she hired a fashion photographer to shoot some shots with outfits and wigs she put together.  She found it was so much fun that she launched a business called “Pinup Makeovers” where she transformed everyday women into classic pinup models. Lorraine mainly works with amateurs who hire her for their own use but she has also supplied photographs for magazines, books and a number of famous clients and area businesses.

Known to many as “Bettie” of Saratoga’s Bettie’s Cakes, Murphy has recently branched out into photographing classic vehicles along with offering wedding, baby, family and food and beverage photography.   Her exhibit of automotive portraits will be on display in the auto museum’s theater gallery beginning November 11.

Rolling Bones: Opening Friday November 11

WORLD RENOWNED “ROLLING BONES” HOT RODS SET FOR SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM EXHIBIT

Saratoga Springs, NY California may be the home of hot rodding, but automobile lovers and collectors worldwide know that some of the world’s finest hot rods are constructed across the USA in Ken Schmidt and Keith Cornell’s Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop in Greenfield Center, NY. The duo’s renowned handiwork will grace the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s main Golub Gallery beginning Friday night November 11th at 6PM, free for members $10 for non-members.

Modeled on chopped pre-war coupes and roadsters familiar to followers of speed record racing on the Bonneville, UT salt flats and the El Mirage, CA dry lake, newly built rods from the Rolling Bones shop look like they came right out of a 1950’s Hot Rod Magazine and have spent the decades since in storage.

“We’re not interested in building street rods with new or reproduction parts,” Schmidt insists. “Plenty of other guys do that. Our cars are aggressive, but they’re approachable. These cars make people smile; you want to hear them run and see them move. You can drive them during the week but they’re almost a full out race car.

“Anybody can make something look dirty. It takes an artist to make something look old. Great hot rods are works of art. Like a painting, when you look at it, a serious hot rod will tell you enough of its story to grab your emotions, then let your imagination take you as far and as fast as you want to go. We build stories, Rolling Bones hot rod style, one story at a time.”

Among others, the 18-car exhibit will feature a half-dozen Rolling Bones cars returned to New York from California, Englishman William Medcalf’s 1930 Model A hot rod and the original cars fabricated by Schmidt and Cornell that attracted national attention and got the Rolling Bones franchise started.

Lost Speeways Set for November

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Ron Hedger @ 518-885-7481 or 518-369-1941

POPULAR “LOST SPEEDWAYS” PROGRAM TO FEATURE MEMORABILIA

Saratoga Springs, NY           Before the formal presentations begin at the November 26, 2016 “Lost Speedways” program, Saratoga Automobile Museum visitors can enjoy a variety of memorabilia other fans and racers have brought to share. 

Leading the way will be modified legend Dave Lape, who has promised to bring his photo books covering decades of racing action to share with fans.  Jackie Lape has also contributed a wide variety of photos from throughout Dave’s career to be used when he is interviewed by “Lost Speedways” organizer Ron Hedger.

Other presentations will include Bill Ladabouche’s look at Vermont’s Catamount Stadium and the New Yorkers who raced there and Ken Parrotte’s recollections of the legendary Maple Grove Raceway in Waterloo, NY.  Quarter-midget racing will also be on the program, with long ago racer Tommy Kingston on hand to discuss tracks in the Troy and Schenectady area with Brian Ross and Hedger. And finally, historian and Area Auto Racing News columnist Herb Anastor will speak about board track automobile racing, a subject he recently discussed with host Ray Evernham on his “Americarna” TV show. 

“We just put Dave Lape’s newly restored 44B in the Racing in New York gallery, Tommy Kingston’s race ready quarter-midget is on display and the new Rolling Bones Hot Rod exhibit will be open prior to Lost Speedways,” said Hedger.  “The Saturday after Thanksgiving may well be our biggest event ever.  And I’ve scheduled a double segment for my talk with Dave Lape.  He’s had a fabulous career and we’ve got a lot of memories to rekindle. ”

More information about the Saratoga Automobile Museum is available on the museum website, www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

BMW Vintage at Saratoga Lawn Show

The Patroon Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America is holding it’s seventh annual Vintage at Saratoga on Saturday July 9th on the lawn of the Saratoga Automobile Museum. Spectators are invited to come and enjoy over 100 classic BMWs that will be on display. Admission is free to the public. The club will also be conducting a “Silent Auction” to support the BMW Foundation and it’s Street Survival program. Street Survival teaches young drivers to better control their cars and make better driving decisions. If you have a pre 1999 BMW and would like to show your car, registration is available on the day of the show. The current exhibit at the museum will be open with displays highlighting the driving career and life of Sam Posey. The grounds open at 9 AM and the show begins at 11.

Judy Stropus added to Posey Gala Panel

Contact:  Jim Letts or Holly Hulfish @ 518-587-1935

STROPUS ADDED TO PANEL FOR SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM GALA HONORING “RENAISSANCE MAN” SAM POSEY

Saratoga Springs, NY                 Noted public relations specialist, race scorer and driver Judy Stropus will participate in the panel recalling the highlights of Sam Posey’s career during the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s annual gala on Friday, June 24, 2016.  Stropus will highlight Posey’s career as a race driver, TV broadcaster, architect, author and artist, focus of the upcoming exhibit, “Posey: Shifting Through The Creative Life of Sam Posey,” set to open to the public on June 11. 

Posey’s interests and talents have taken him from Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park road course to Indianapolis and on to an Emmy winning broadcasting career ranging from motorsports to the Olympics to Alaska’s famed Iditarod sled dog race. Reservations for the gala can be made in person at the museum during normal business hours or online at www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

CELEBRITY PANEL TO HONOR SAM POSEY AT SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM’S JUNE GALA

Saratoga Springs, NY The June opening of the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s new Golub Gallery exhibit, “POSEY: Shifting Through the Creative Life of Sam Posey,” will be highlighted by a celebrity panel’s discussion of his multi-faceted career during the Museum’s annual gala, set for Friday, June 24 at the museum.

Posey will be on hand along with a distinguished panel slated to honor their longtime friend, famed racer, author, broadcaster, architect, and painter. The panel will include Frank Stella, iconic figure of Post-War American art, Skip Barber, renowned former racer and Lime Rock Park owner, Bill Warner, founder and chairman of the famed Amelia Island Concours, Luigi Chinetti Jr., scion of the oldest Ferrari importer in America, and Archie Urciuoli, a longtime sports car racer, author of children’s books and former chairman of Merrill Lynch International.

A resident of nearby Sharon, CT, Posey has had a fabulous and varied career that took him from entry level racing at Lime Rock Park to driving Formula One in the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of LeMans. Following his retirement from competition, Posey returned to Indianapolis as a broadcaster for ABC, a career that would later bring him an Emmy for Best Writing in recognition of his observations on a number of events, including Alaska’s iconic Iditarod sled dog race.

In recent years, Posey has become equally as well known for his architectural designs, his paintings and his devotion to model trains, which resulted in a very popular book on the subject.

"Anyone who has read Sam's wonderful book "The Mudge Pond Express" knows the key role a slot car racing set played in the awakening of a shy, admittedly nonathletic kid whose whole world changed when he discovered something he was not only fascinated by, but very good at,” summed up Bob Varsha, veteran TV personality and longtime friend . “That talent and confidence led to a driving career at tracks from his beloved Lime Rock Park to Indianapolis and Le Mans. Away from the circuits his intelligence and sense of style was on display in his prolific work as an artist and architect, while his communication skills gave birth to yet another career as a writer and broadcaster, a small corner of his amazing life I was lucky enough to share. Sam is simply one of the most accomplished people I have ever met, and I look forward to sharing him with the audience at the Saratoga Auto Museum in June."  

RONALD McDONALD CARE MOBILE ADDED TO SAM’S SPRING AUTO SHOW AND FAMILY FUN DAY

Visitors to the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Spring Auto Show and Family Fun Day on Saturday, May 14 will find more than automobiles, trucks and motorcycles on the huge Saratoga Spa State Park show field.

Chief among the family oriented attractions will be the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, a huge mobile dental facility. Staffed by the St. Peter’s Hospital Dental Center staff, the Care Mobile will be available for dental screenings and a relaxed introduction to dental care for children highlighted by the appearance of Ronald McDonald.

Other family oriented attractions at the annual fund raiser for the museum’s educational program will include representatives from Cornell Cooperative Extension presenting demonstrations on proper car seat installation, Saratoga County Sheriffs with a display of Patrol Car technology and representatives of the regional Ford Model T Club with the Model T Experience, a great look at automotive history.

Pre-registrations at $10 each are now being taken online for the Auto Show, which will have Ford Model T’s, Ford Model A’s, street rods and muscle cars as the featured marques for 2016. But all makes and models are welcome for the huge “Cruise-in” style event that traditionally fills the vast Saratoga Spa State Park lawn and reflecting pool area with vehicles and enthusiasts.

Show admission will once again include admission to the adjacent automobile museum, where visitors can enjoy the soon to end “Real Steel: Stories of Automotive Archaeology” exhibit along with the Made in New York and Racing in New York exhibit. The vintage race cars of the Atlantic Cost Old Timers will also be on display at the museum along with representatives of the Mo-Hud Region of the Sports Car Club of America.

Registration for the auto show or the annual collector’s tour drive that precedes the auto show can be accessed at www.saratogaautomuseum.org. Information on the museum’s distracted driving program, the Tire Rack Street Survival driving school on 4/23/16 and SAM’s exciting summer lawn show program that traditionally highlights summer in Saratoga can also be found there.

WHAT I LEARNED AT LIME ROCK PARK

BEN STEPANIAN

Thanks to a number of people at the Saratoga Automobile Museum, I recently spent a day participating in the “Survive The Drive” program at the Lime Rock Park road course in Sharon, CT. It turned out to be a great learning experience but also a lot of fun. For sure, it was nothing like my courses at Saratoga High School.

I learned in-depth skills I needed to become a better winter driver and a better driver overall. It was impressed on me that as a teen and a fairly new driver, I have to expect and be ready for anything and everything whenever I’m on the road, whether it be the other drivers or the elements.

Just like every other driver out there, I’m now aware that we need to hope for the best but expect and be prepared for the worst. In this case, the worst was driving in the snow on the “Survive The Drive” course. I was able to experience real life situations within the class and learned how to handle traction loss and where I should be looking when the car starts to lose its grip.

Race car driver Mark Hamilton Peters taught me how to drift in the snow without losing control and another experienced race car driver, Bob Green, taught me when it is and when it isn't ok to use the brake in a potential slide out. That was scary at first but a lot of fun once I got the hang of it.

I strongly recommend the driving school to any new driver (or adult) so they can know what to do to prevent accidents. It is important for every driver to know what it is like to lose control of a car and how to handle it.

The class was very enjoyable. It was exciting to see kids with their permits get out of their comfort zone and to have a race car driver teach you how to drift an Audi S3!

I’d like to thank Bob Green and the “Survive The Drive” organization along with staff members Seth Warden and Brandon Salls from the Saratoga Auto Museum and museum trustee Kevin Biebel, who sponsored my tuition for the course. It was the thrill of my young life and the opportunity to pick up driving skills that most people have to get the hard way, by crashing.

YOUTH JUDGING PROGRAM A BIG PART OF MAY AUTO SHOW

For Immediate Release

Contact: Seth Warden at 518-587-1935

YOUTH JUDGING PROGRAM A BIG PART OF MAY AUTO SHOW

Saratoga Springs, NY         When the gates swing open for the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s highly anticipated May Auto Show and Family Fun Day on Saturday, May 14th, 2016, not one but two groups of students will be ready to help with the judging.

One group will represent the “Adirondack A’s” Model A Ford club, which has a strong youth education program that provides “hands on” learning experiences for area teens through a yearly vehicle rebuilding project. For the 2016 Auto Show, the students and their mentors will be on hand with their current project, a 1931 Model A deluxe roadster that is being totally restored. A select group of these teenagers will take time out from discussing the project with show visitors to work with the judges of the show’s four marque classes.

The second group of student judges will have a short session with an experienced museum volunteer to learn about what judges look for as they review show entries and will then work together to pick one of the show’s winning vehicles. Registration information for interested students is available online at www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

The youth judging programs are just part of an ever growing event that traditionally marks the opening of the Capital District auto show season. Held on the huge green space in the center of the Saratoga Spa State Park, the show has two major components.

The front portion of the field will hold the traditional “cruise in” style show, with entry open to all. The adjacent reflecting pond area of the show field will hold entries in this year’s featured marque classes: Model T Fords, Model A Fords, Pre-1972 Muscle Cars and Pre-1949 Street Rods.

Judges will select winners in the four marque classes while 20 SAM’s Choice awards will be presented to the top “cruise in” entrants. Other awards up for grabs include the highly competitive People’ Choice trophy, the Kid’s Choice award from the student judges and the prestigious Best in Show trophy.

Pre-registrations are now being accepted online through the museum website for $10, with “day of” registrations going for $15. Each registration includes admission for the driver and one passenger, with the admission good for both the auto show and the museum. Registration for the annual Collection Tour Drive, set for Friday, May 13th, can also done online. This year’s tour will feature a visit to the renowned Rolling Bones hot rod shop in Greenfield Center, NY.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Spring Auto Show is the museum’s major fund-raiser of the year for its many educational programs, including its nationally acclaimed distracted driving simulator program.

Survive the Drive, Lime Rock Park

SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM SENDS AREA STUDENT TO “SURVIVE THE DRIVE” CLASS AT LIME ROCK PARK

Saratoga Springs, NY     Seth Warden, Education Director at the Saratoga Automobile Museum, has announced that the museum sent Saratoga High School student Ben Stepanian of Wilton to the February 15, 2016 “Survive the Drive” program at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT. The popular program is designed to “improve crash prevention awareness” for drivers of all ages.

            “Ben has volunteered at the museum for a number of years and has contributed his time and effort to both regular museum activities and special events like our May auto show,” said Warden. “But beyond that, he is keenly interested in anything automotive and especially driving. He has extensive experience with our distracted driving simulators and is ready for the next step in his driving experience.”

            Stepanian’s tuition for “Survive the Drive” was sponsored by SAM trustee Kevin Biebel of New Milford, CT, a longtime proponent of youth education.

            The driving program is held on Lime Rock’s infield driving instruction course, rain or shine, with snow and ice welcome additions to the layout. Students receive “hands on” instruction in capabilities and limitations of braking, turning and maneuvering using LRP’s fleet of Audi school cars with a focus on skid prevention and recovery. Additionally, they receive instruction in tire technology, electronic driver aids and driver behaviors that contribute to crashes.

            Since its founding in 1996, over 130,000 participants of all ages have enjoyed instruction through the “Survive the Drive” program.

            Stepanian will be producing a story describing his experiences for an upcoming issue of the auto museum’s Horsepower magazine.

Posey: Shifting through the creative life of Sam Posey

For Immediate Release

Contact: Art Director Brandon Salls at 518-587-1935

SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM’S SUMMER EXHIBIT TO FOCUS ON “RENAISSANCE MAN” SAM POSEY

Saratoga Springs, NY     A series of eye-catching TV advertisements for Dos Equis beer have featured a man touted as “the most interesting man in the world” without telling you who he is. A strong argument could be made that auto racing and broadcasting icon Sam Posey, subject of the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Summer 2016 featured exhibit, is more than deserving of that title.

“POSEY: Shifting Through the Creative Life of Sam Posey,” will be subtitled “A journey through racing, art, broadcasting, writing, design and more.” But even a title of that length cannot do justice to the multi-faceted career, interests and skills of the Sharon, Connecticut resident.

An amateur sports car racer whose career blossomed at nearby Lime Rock Park, Posey soon graduated to the professional Can AM and Trans AM series, where he wheeled one of Roger Penske’s Sunoco Camaros as a teammate to the legendary Mark Donohue. From there, Posey’s career path included the USAC Championship Car series, where he made 13 career starts including the Indianapolis 500, and endurance racing, highlighted by five top-10 finishes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in ten starts.

Posey’s second career began when he joined ABC Sports, serving as analyst for a variety of auto racing broadcasts. Best known for his work in the broadcast booth at the Indianapolis 500 and ongoing coverage of the CART/PPG Indy Car Series, Sam delighted the audience when he sparred repeatedly with fellow analyst Bobby Unser. His association with ABC Sports also found Posey the lead broadcaster on coverage of the Tour de France and luge events at the winter Olympics, among other assignments.

Posey’s proudest moment with ABC Sports came when he was honored with an Emmy for Writing for the network’s coverage of Alaska’s famed Iditarod sled dog race.

Other major accomplishments of “Renaissance Man” Posey include acclaim as an artist and painter and credit for his endeavors as an architect, including the Control Tower at Lime Rock Park and numerous homes and commercial buildings in the area. He also holds a place of honor in the model railroading community, where his tome “Playing With Trains” is held in extremely high regard, as is the world class train layout at his Connecticut home.

The Posey exhibit, which will occupy the auto museum’s Golub Gallery, will include three cars from his personal collection, including his Mercedes-Benz Gullwing, a vintage Formula Ford and his 1967 Caldwell D7. A number of other significant cars marking various stages of his career will be announced at a later date.

The highly anticipated exhibit will open to the public on June 11th, with the annual Saratoga Automobile Museum Gala, honoring Sam Posey, set for Friday, June 24th. The following day, Saturday, June 25th, a members only opening at 9:00 AM.

More information on gala attendance, the Posey exhibit and the museum’s wide-ranging activities and educational programs can be found online at www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

FOUR ENTHUSIASTS JOIN SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Saratoga Springs, NY           The Board of Trustees of the Saratoga Automobile Museum has been greatly enhanced in recent months by the addition of four very successful businessmen who are also automobile enthusiasts sharing a wide variety of interests.

Saratoga Springs, NY resident Wally Allerdice, who heads a local business group that includes Allerdice ACE Hardware, Allerdice Rent-All, Allerdice Building Supply and Allerdice Glass and Mirror, among others, has already been instrumental in managing updates to the museum building, located on the Avenue of the Pines in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

An enthusiast since his teen years, Allerdice often relates that the best part of owning his 1971 Corvette convertible, 2003 “50th Anniversary” Corvette, 1917 Ford delivery truck and 1935 Chevrolet coupe is that he “learned how to fix them and still loves doing it today.”

David Collins of Greenfield, NY, owner of the DA Collins Construction Co. in Wilton, is the 2016 Chairman Elect of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and serves on the boards of a number of other groups, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Empire State Highway Contractors Assoc. and the Associated General Contractors. A sports car and driving enthusiast, Collins belongs to the Monticello Motor Club and has taken an active role in the auto museum’s exhibit committee.

Floridian Gary Brown began his business career as an executive of Amsterdam Printing and Litho Co., then became head of Kole Industries in Miami before founding BrownCor. Brown has also established, built and then sold gNeil Companies and Centis Inc. along with Motorcar Portfolio and Classic Motorcar Auctions. He currently serves on the board of a number of corporations while providing venture capital to a variety of businesses.

An avid motorcycle enthusiast, Brown has led group trips on four different continents. He now spends his summers at the Great Sacandaga Lake while maintaining his involvement in a number of Amsterdam charities in memory of his late parents.

Kevin Biebel of New Milford, CT is the owner of Art Metal Industries, which specializes in high end stainless steel fabrication. His firm does work across the nation but specializes in the New York City market, where it is best known for fabricating the stainless steel fixtures seen in the new Yankee Stadium.

The multi-talented Biebel, who at one time was among the nation’s premier restorers of Mercedes-Benz automobiles, now devotes his energy to his own 40-car collection, which is dominated by early Fords and turn of the century automobiles. A number of these cars, including a 1908 Sears originally available through the Sears-Roebuck catalogue, are currently on display in the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Golub Gallery exhibit “Real Steel – Stories of Automotive Archaeology.”

Biebel is now serving on both the exhibits committee and the executive committee of the museum while overseeing and sponsoring the latest SAM’s Garage “hands on” youth education project, the restoration of a pair of vintage quarter-midget cars he donated to SAM.

“We very pleased to welcome these distinguished gentlemen to our board of trustees,” summed up board chairman Anthony Ianniello. “Their business success is indicative of their drive, energy and dedication to meeting goals. They bring all that to the board along with great enthusiasm for anything automotive and a desire to support our mission of education in general and pointing out the perils of distracted driving in particular. I look forward to working with them and the other trustees as we continue to enhance the museum and its many educational programs.”

RENE CHARLAND #888 NASCAR SPORTSMAN COUPE NOW ON DISPLAY IN “RACING IN NEW YORK” GALLERY

For Immediate Release

Contact:   Ron Hedger at 518-885-7481

RENE CHARLAND #888 NASCAR SPORTSMAN COUPE NOW ON DISPLAY IN “RACING IN NEW YORK” GALLERY

Vintage race car collector Phil Elliston of Southhampton, NY recently made the trek from his Long Island home to the Saratoga Automobile Museum with a fascinating piece of area stock car racing history, the #888 three-window coupe once wheeled at the nearby Albany-Saratoga and Fonda Speedways by the legendary Rene Charland.

Built in Massachusetts in 1966 for competition at Riverside Park’s 1/5-mile asphalt bullring, this 1936 Buick coupe was one of a pair fielded by car owner Dick Czepiel. At the time, ace fabricator Freddy Rosner was building lightweight cars for teams around the northeast and most were instant winners, leading the Czepiel crew to construct what looked at first glance to be a Rosner original.

The car was first wheeled by Riverside legend Danny Gallulo, who drove it to multiple feature wins and the 1966 track championship. Then four-time NASCAR National Sportsman champion Rene Charland took over the “Triple Eight,” racing it at speedways ranging from the tiny Riverside oval to the high-speed Trenton, NJ mile.

During his two-season tenure in the Czepial car, Charland competed on both the NASCAR circuit and with the mid-week All-Star League. Here in New York’s Capital District, Charland scored multiple wins at both the asphalt Albany-Saratoga Speedway and on the dirt at the Fonda Speedway, where the car’s light weight and Charland’s earlier experience on New England dirt were an impressive combination.

In 1969, Czepiel sold this #888 to Springfield’s Jack Mocchio, who put future Riverside Park legend S.J. Evonsion in the seat. The team would go on to claim nearly 50 wins in the next three years, among them the final Riverside Park 500, the last race ever run at the old Westboro Speedway and the inaugural race on Riverside Park’s expanded quarter-mile configuration.

“I put Rene’s four National Championship trophies alongside the car along with his All-Star helmet, so visitors will definitely have their memories jogged when they look at everything,” said SAM racing curator Ron Hedger. “The only negative is that Phil took the other car he had loaned us, the Bobby Judkins 2X that Eddie Flemke wheeled to dozens of wins, home with him. We were all sad to see it go, as it led visitors to recall the exploits of Flemke and others who drove the car over the years. But I’m sure the Charland stories will be great as well.”

SARATOGA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM AWARDED GRANTS FOR PAIR OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

For Immediate Release

Contact: Educational Director Seth Warden at 518-587-1935

Saratoga Springs, NY            

The Saratoga Automobile Museum has been awarded grants from two highly respected supporters of regional educational programs, with each grant dedicated to ongoing programs at the museum.

The grant provided by the Adirondack Trust Company Community Fund will enhance the Museum's ability to provide educational programming to children in our community.  Under the direction of SAM Education Director Seth Warden, SAM's Garage provides “hands on” learning experiences for area students.

Past programs have included rebuilding the running gear of the museum’s famed Cretor Popcorn Wagon and construction of a Model A Huckster vehicle, with the students mentored by members of the regional Model T and Model A Clubs, respectively. The latter group is again involved in the current SAM’s Garage project, which will involve restoring a pair of vintage Quarter midget racers donated by SAM trustee Kevin Biebel of New Milford, CT.

The Adirondack Trust Company Community Fund’s mission is to promote and perpetuate philanthropic giving in the Saratoga Springs region, and it is hoped that their support of the SAM’s Garage program will encourage others to become involved as well.

The second grant, announced on December 15, 2015, was from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust. It was earmarked for the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s national acclaimed Distracted Driving Initiative Program with the intention of allowing SAM to make the program mobile, taking the museum’s new driving simulators to appropriate sites around the region.

Since the program was initiated in August, 2015, deputies from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, area educators and countless museum visitors have used the state of the art simulators to learn how a few seconds of distraction can lead to tragedy and result in injury to yourself and others.

“This program shows not only how easy it is to be distracted, but the penalties and expense a driver who texts, uses their cellphone or is distracted by any number of things may face,” offered SAM educational director Seth Warden. “It is suitable for everyone from those just getting their learner’s permit to senior citizens, and our mission is to educate everyone to the dangers they face each and every time they get behind the wheel. This grant will allow us to educate these diverse audiences without them having to travel to the museum.”

“We are extremely grateful to the Adirondack Trust Company Community Fund and the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust for both their financial support of our educational program and the trust they have placed in the Saratoga Automobile Museum,” summed up Anthony Ianniello, Chairman of the Saratoga Automobile Museum board of trustees. “Education is our primary mission and area residents of all ages will benefit from their support of these two programs.”

More information on SAM’s Garage, the Distracted Driving program and other museum programs and activities can be found online at www.saratogaautomuseum.org.

Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust

RICHARD PETTY PONTIAC ADDED TO “RACING IN NEW YORK” GALLERY AT SARATOGA AUTO MUSEUM

Thanks to longtime NASCAR modified racer Roger Griffith of New Hartford, NY, a 1985 Curb Racing/STP Pontiac wheeled by NASCAR superstar Richard Petty is now on display in the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s “Racing in New York” gallery.

After retiring from modified competition, Griffith purchased the former Petty car for competition in vintage events. He repainted it and numbered it to match his modifieds, but when he retired from vintage action, Griffith returned it to its original livery. The freshly repainted #43 made its debut in SAM’s wildly popular Golub Gallery NASCAR exhibit in 2012.

“Roger called one day to say he had been thinking of selling it to make room in his business,” recalled SAM auto racing curator Ron Hedger. “Then he surprised me by adding that he’d decided it belonged in the museum where race fans could view and appreciate both the car and the fabulous career that Richard Petty had. We are extremely grateful for his donation.”

Richard Petty left his career-long home at Petty Enterprises from 1984-86 to drive for Mike Curb, a very successful record industry executive and former Lt. Governor of California. He won his 200th and final race, Daytona’s Firecracker 400, in a Curb Pontiac in 1984. In 1985, when the car Griffith purchased saw action, Petty notched 13 top ten finishes and finished the season 14th in the point standings.

The car greatly resembles regular passenger cars of the day and provides an interesting contrast to the cutaway Penske Racing #2 “Car of Tomorrow” once wheeled by Kurt Busch exhibited next to it in the “Racing in New York” gallery.

LOST SPEEDWAYS PARTICIPANTS READY FOR THE GREEN FLAG - AND LUNCH

Contact: Ron Hedger at 518-885-7481 or rjhmedia@juno.com

Saratoga Springs, NY    

The Saratoga Automobile Museum's wildly popular "Lost Speedways" auto racing program, long a "Saturday after Thanksgiving" tradition for area fans and racers, is set to "go green" once again. And for the 2015 edition, on Saturday, November 28th, a common complaint has been addressed.           

"The only complaint I ever get is that people get hungry," said organizer Ron Hedger. "They come to the museum when we open at mid-morning, peruse the memorabilia displays, look at the exhibits in all the galleries and then enjoy the afternoon presentations, all without lunch. To address this issue, we have engaged the good people at Bravo's Catering to provide a light buffet menu of pizza, pasta, bread and soft drinks."

The "Lost Speedways 2015" program will include Mark Supley's look at board track motorcycle racing, Ken Perrotte's memories of the Fulton Speedway when it was known as the MilRay Speedway, and Greg Rickes' tales of sports cars racing in the streets of Alexandria Bay. John Snyder will relate the story of the Orange County Fairgrounds early years, when it was known as Victory Speedway, while Bill Ladabouche will recall the days when New Yorkers like Pete Corey and Kenny Shoemaker dominated Vermont's Otter Creek Speedway. And to close out the program, DIRT modified star Kenny Tremont and Oswego supermodified star Otto Sitterly will discuss their outstanding careers and recent developments in their areas of racing during Ron Hedger's traditional interview session.          

Museum visitors will also enjoy viewing additions to the Racing in New York Gallery, including a Jaguar driven by sports car legend John Fitch and a Richard Petty Pontiac recently donated to SAM by longtime racer Roger Griffith, as well as the newly opened "Real Steel - Stories of Automotive Archeology" exhibit in the Golub Gallery.        

The Saratoga Automobile Museum opens at 10 am, with the Lost Speedways memorabilia display set for 11:30 and the presentations scheduled to begin at 12:45.