Norwood Arena Reunion
June 3, 2007 - 11:00am to 4:00pm

LARGEST CROWD AND PARTICIPANTS EVER FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL NORWOOD ARENA REUNION AT BEZEMA BUICK, PONTIAC, GMC NORWOOD, MA.
Even though it was overcast and threatening rain all day on Sunday, June 3, the 3rd Annual Norwood Arena Reunion held at Bezema Buick, Pontiac, GMC went off without any interruption.

The US Route 1 AutoMile managed to escape heavy rain while nearby cities and towns were hit with major downpours. Never the less, the biggest crowd ever along with a record number of antique race cars and classic cars converged on Marty Bezema's dealership early in the morning.

The Antique Race Cars came from the NEAR, STARS and ACOT clubs while the Mass. Cruisers, Canton Classics clubs and others comprised the street car contingent. Each car, classics and race cars, were given a dash plaque as a souvenir of their participation.

Mary Lema of STARS and Peter Newcomb of NEAR both judged the Street Classics with Steve Delaney of Dedham getting the Best of Show Trophy for his black 68 Camaro. Jim Keating of the Sharon Drag Lynx and Canton Classics judged the antique race cars with Fred Levange's #41 Chevy yellow/blue NASCAR Modified, out of Easton, was picked as the top race car among the large group of participants. It was a restored Brady Bunch machine driven by various drivers including Leo Cleary of Hanover.

There wasn't any shortage of well know drivers from the Norwood Arena Speedway era who showed up for this event. Among them were Bill Slater of Manchester, CT, NASCAR Modified Champ Ernie Gahan of Berwick, ME, three time NASCAR Modified titelist Bugs Stevens of Rehoboth, Norwood Mini Stock and Pro 4 Modified Tour champ Jerry Capazzolli of Stoughton, Don McCullough of Walpole, Leo Cleary, George Savary of Westwood, George Summers of Upton, Dave Dion of Hudson, NH, Jeff Horne of Ashland, Jim Buck of Walpole, Jack Malone of Needham, Dick Jackson of Norfolk, Jack and Jim Darlington, both of Foxborough, Buddy Cook of Wrentham, Mike McClelland of Florida and the host Marty Bezema, Sr. of that same town.

Also present was car owner Joe Brady of Brockton who is still active on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with driver Jerry Marquis of CT. Officials present were Norwood Chief Steward and Race Director Carl Merrill and Flagman/Starter Dan Brundage. Also on hand was Maury Dumas a former NEMA Midget Flagman/Starter and current NHIS Victory Lane Coordinator.

At 11:30 a.m. a light lunch of cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hotdogs and chips was served, courtesy of Marty Bezema, Sr., in the on site Marty's Cafe where drivers, officials and fans talked about the glory days of Norwood Arena during the Midget, Cutdowns, NASCAR Modifieds and the Late Model Sportsman years at the now long gone Norwood Arena.

Norwoodarena.com webmaster Don Thomas served up some racing tapes in the service bay converted over from 8 mm color films on a TV monitor of the glory days of NASCAR racing at Norwood Arena. Thomas made his annual trip from Penn Valley, CA to be at the Norwood Arena Reunion.

Representatives of Coastal .181 were also on hand with the latest racing books covering the local and the national circuits. Marty Bezema, Sr. reflected on the passing of two top former wheelmen at the Norwood Arena such as Bobby Sprague of Foxborough, Bob Santos of Millis and Fitzie Fitzgerald and how they were missed this year.

The entire driver entourage in attendance posed for a group picture. Peter Newcomb of NEAR also presented Marty Bezema, Sr. with an appreciation plaque for holding the Norwood Arena Reunion for the last three years. Steve Rubin of Needham, who is the concessionaire at the Thompson Speedway in CT., dropped by and gave the first six classic car entries a pair of tickets to the Thursday Night Thunder events which will be scheduled now through September at that 5/8 mile oval.

If you missed the 3rd Annual Norwood Arena Reunion and any of the previous editions you will get another chance next year. And if you have attended all three just mark your calendar right now for the 4th Annual Norwood Arena Reunion for Sunday, June 1, 2008.
Lou Modestino
Several stock cars from the Norwood Arena era and just after that were on display at the Reunion. The sound of those cars starting up.....remember those days?
On the cover of the Coastal 181 book "Hot Cars & Cool Drivers" you will see Reino Tulonen piloting this beast with the engine in flames. Fast and dangerous doesn't begin to describe the early cut downs.
L>R Ernie Gahan, Marty Bezema and Dave Dion share a moment.
Brad Crosby and Lenny Baker.
 Bill Slater and fan Brad Crosby look through pictures from the past. Brad and Bill were good friends with NASCAR Junior Official Johnny Thomas, who passed away at age 7 in 1964. (LEFT) A young Brad awards the Johnny Thomas Memorial Trophy to Lenny Baker in 1966.
The detail on every model is how the original looked, including dings, dents and worn tires! Steve Pellerin brought a few of his expertly hand crafted models. Steve replicates each car in exact detail. They are small versions of the real thing.
Leo Cleary is the recipient of one of Steve Pellerin's model cars. This is the M2 Stage Coach that Leo drove at Norwood Arena.
Ric is at the ready to answer questions in the New England Motorsports "Portable Museum". There is a great deal Norwood Arena history in the Museum in Pawtucket, RI.
The Museum also has a collection of magazine and books for sale too.
Drivers Meeting then....... Drivers meeting now...... (L>R) Don McCullough, George Savary, Car Merrill - Director of Racing at Norwood Arena and Mike McClelland talk things over.
Leo Cleary, Ernie Gahan, Carl "Bugs" Stevens and Mike McClelland won enough races to fill many record books. There are also track and national championship titles too!. When you raced at Norwood Arena you raced against the best of the best!
A few of the drivers that ran at Norwood Arena posed for a photo. There is a rumor that one of the boys dropped pants for the camera. I wonder who would do something like that?
This 1966 Norwood Arena Parking Pass would add to the vintage muscle cars at the Reunion.
 Muscle cars were always found in the parking lot at Norwood Arena. It's not hard to understand the connection with these cars then and now. Each and every car is a serious head turner. The blue GTO sported something special - a vintage Norwood Arena decal that was sold at the track concession stand. Like us, it has all the wrinkles and creases that comes with age.