If you are a New England stock car fan you have to plan a trip to the PRONYNE Motorsports Museum in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The building is absolutely jammed with racing memorabilia from many tracks over many decades. Norwood, Seekonk, Thompson, Lonsdale, Peabody.. this place has it all.

The following is a sample of what is in the museum. For directions visit the PRONYNE web site or call 401-447-4202.

There are many rooms in the museum. One of the rooms on the first floor is the Theme Room. This room is used to showcase a particular track, driver, type of car or other interest.

You will see everything from original photos, newspaper articles, documents, expertly crafted models of the original race cars and much more.
Original posters, photos and more hang on the walls of the Theme Room and every other room in this building. Note the picture of the young boy sitting in the vintage (new at that time) midget #20. That is race historian R.A. Silvia.
Speaking of R.A. Silvia, did you know that he also drove a race car? In his early days he piloted cars at Seekonk Speedway. In the showcase is a model of his number $1.36 car.
The Video Library Room has tapes of both vintage and "near current" local and cup races. Stick a tape in the VCR and enjoy!
The Library Room (next to the Video Library Room) has both vintage and "near current" documents, books, magazines, programs and related materials on local and cup races.
The Library Room is really 2 rooms with shelves full of magazines. Many of these are for sale. Check out the inset photo of the vintage Stock Car Racing magazines that you can own. Read up on the Plymouth Superbird and the local driver (Pete Hamilton) that ruled to cup super speedways in the early 1970s.
Everyone's favorite room has to be the Car Room. There are several classic race cars and related memorabilia. It is a "must see" experience. The L&M coupe is ready to turn a few fast laps.
Lenny Boehler's #3 Ole' Blue has seen many laps, checkered flags and the occasional national championship title. Drivers Bugs Stevens and Fred DeSarro both made history with Lenny and his cars.
Ralph Moody really was born to race. From his early days with midgets (his #28 is parked next to the #15 Woodchopper Special Pinto) and stock cars at Norwood Arena to his cup career as a driver and builder at Holman Moody, Ralph was a true innovator.
Holman Moody became a "race factory" supplying vehicles for stock, sports, drag and even boat racing.

This midget is an excellent example of mid 1950s craftsmanship. Note the lack of a roll bar. Also note the "W" on the front bumper. At this time, Moody was partners with Brad Winters of Midway Garage in Norton, MA.
The 181 car is a dirt track coach that ran many of the New England area tracks. Although Lew Boyd was the usual pilot of the 181 cars (there was more than one over the years) this car was also driven by Dick Berggren, Jimmy Johnson (a Fonda regular), Hully Bunn in a vintage event (he won) and Norwood regular Bart Kent.

The 181 crew tried to run at Norwood Arena once with a dirt car. The setup on the dirt car did not do well at Norwood.

Race car construction was interesting in the 1960s. This is the inside of the 181 car. Note that the seat is centered in the car with lug wrenches welded in as the shifters (one for the first & reverse gears and one for the second & third gears). The gas peddle (from an old drum set?) is on the right and the brake and clutch on the left. A hand brake was added since the drivers right foot was too hard to move around the transmission and shifters. The opening around the transmission was always there.
Every driver has to start somewhere. For Bugsy Stevens, it was a little track back in Texas during his years in the military. This white shirt is one of Bugsy's first driving shirts. The sponsor's name is on the back of the shirt.
The museum covers all aspects of racing. One display is for Bill Balser. Bill is one of the best know racing photographers in the northeast. Thousands of his photos are cherished by fans and family and make up a large part of the museum and this web site.
Copies of the NEAR Hall of Fame awards decorate the hallway. This list grows every year as more people are added to the Hall of Fame.
As you walk down the stairs from the second floor libraries, take a moment to look at the photos and other memorabilia. There are some great images here. For example, the artwork of the old coupe street car on the left is autographed by several drivers at a reunion a few years ago.
It would be impossible to have a museum without someone dedicated to the preservation of these things and the willingness to fund such an endeavor. We thank Ric Mariscal for leading this effort.

We encourage you to visit and contribute to this very worthy cause.
Race historian R.A. Silvia looks through some recently contributed materials. Much of what is in the museum and his historical collection is donated to ensure that it continues on and is shared with the New England motorsport community.

Many of the photos on the Norwood Arena web site are courtesy of R.A.