New museum tells story of New England car racing history

[...] the museum is devoted to showing off cool cars and the history of car racing in New England, from a 1915 Duesenberg — which looks like a missile on wheels — to the No. 47 car that in 1981 won NASCAR's legendary Talladega race, driven by Massachusetts' Ron Bouchard.

The museum, which opens Monday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, is the first in New England telling the story of the sport's regional history through its cars and drivers, dating back to the early 1900s.

While the Motor Sports Museum doesn't offer high-tech attractions, it does immerse fans in old-school race car culture, which has become something of a novelty in itself.

The museum's collection of nearly 40 cars, motorcycles and even a snowmobile also includes the No. 20 car that Connecticut's Joey Logano won his first top-level, NASCAR sprint race in at the New Hampshire speedway, as well as a 2005 Lola that New Hampshire's Bill Binnie drove in world-class events in the United States and Europe, including at Le Mans.

"To have a shrine where we honor the heritage of racing in the Northeast is the coolest thing," said David McGrath, executive vice president and general manager of the New Hampshire speedway.

[...] there are stories of dirt tracks across New England, including at the Keene fairgrounds, where one photo shows fans crowded behind a picket fence as cars race past.