November 15, 2003

NYSSCA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED

The 2004 New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame inductees will range from regional heroes to NASCAR national champions, with the common denominator talent and dedication to the sport of auto racing.

"The Cyclone", Maynard Forrette, is known for his many wins in both small block and big block modifieds at the Fonda and Lebanon Valley Speedways. Forrette was also a top competitor on the asphalt at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway and could always be counted on for an exciting run on the Syracuse Mile, where he was often more competitive than many drivers decades younger. A master mechanic, Forrette was as talented in the garage or engine shop as behind the wheel and kept technical inspectors awake at night wondering just what he'd think of next. Forrette remains
active in the sport today, tutoring upcoming driver Eric Mack. 

Like Forrette, Pownal, VT's Butch Jelley raced in eastern New York and New England through five decades. While most identify him with Lebanon Valley, he nearly won the Fonda Speedway point title one season in the Dickerman #357 and was a front-runner wherever he went. At one time, it was worth the price of admission to Lebanon Valley just to watch Jelley and his arch-rival, NYSSCA Hall of Fame member Tommy Corellis, battle each other for the win.

Andy Romano is now known primarily as a speed shop proprietor and championship winning car owner with son Mike and Dave Lape, but from the 1960's through the 90's, he was a winning driver on both dirt and asphalt. While he is most closely identified with the Fonda Speedway, Romano had great success with Dickie Meyer's small block at a number of other speedways and when the CVRA presented events on the asphalt at Devil's Bowl and Plattsburgh, Romano dominated the action in a former
Dutch Hoag Valiant-bodied creation.

If the NYSSCA Hall of Fame induction were a horse race, the late racers Lenny Boehler and Freddy DeSarro would be an "entry". Fabrication wizard Boehler and driving superstar DeSarro won countless features together from Canada to Virginia, including many asphalt wins at Albany-Saratoga and Utica-Rome against such Hall of Fame talent as Richie Evans, Eddie Flemke, Bugsy Stevens and Rene Charland.

DeSarro, the 1974 Race of Champions winner at Trenton, NJ, lost his life in a tragic crash at the Thompson Speedway in 1978, cutting short a career that would certainly have added many more wins and another national championship to the NASCAR Modified title he'd claimed in 1970 driving for Jack Koszela.

Boehler continued as a car owner, fabricating his own cars and building his own engines in an age where everyone else buys everything. He'd won the NASCAR National Modified Championship in '67, '68 and '69 with Stevens before "Bugsy" and DeSarro switched rides, then repeated with Wayne Anderson in '94 and Tony Hirschman in '95 and '96. Cancer claimed Boehler's life in 2001 but his familiar blue #3 remains a fixture on the Featherlite Tour with driver Jerry Marquis under the guidance of his son and long-time associates.

The Hall of Fame inductions will be part of the association's annual awards banquet, to be held on Saturday, January 23, 2004 at the Polish Community Center on Washington Avenue in Albany, NY.