On Saturday July 28th, the Northeastern Midget Association Lites will shine at the “Bowl” for the fourth running of this memorable event. Last year, Jim O’Brien was sure smiling down from above as Ryan Bigelow dominated the field at the historic Thompson Speedway to take down the coveted win. This year, the NEMA Lites will take center stage and continue to write history for the fourth annual Jim O'Brien Memorial Race.
Jim O'Brien was a legendary car owner and club officer, who for a span of four decades personified the best of NEMA. At a very young age, he was introduced to the Midgets by his father and in 1970, joined the NEMA family as a car owner. He earned feature wins with Johnny Evans, driving his Falcon powered Kurtis, and Doug Cleveland who powered to victory in his home built “Pink Panther” laydown chassis. In 1975 he won the Coca-Cola dirt track championship with Hank Stevens at the wheel. Jim was an innovative fabricator and engine builder and with his sons by his side, he always built his own cars and motors. For years he served as a NEMA contest board member, once a vice-president, and for 13 consecutive years as the treasurer. His life-long dedication to the club was truly outstanding and in 2003, he was inducted into the NEMA Hall of Fame. However, most notably Jim was always one that stood-up and fought for fair competition and defended the “little guy” – racers who ran with small budgets.
In the same spirit of Jim O’Brien, the NEMA Lites were created with two principals - cost effectiveness and fair competition. While the NEMA midgets are considered the fastest midgets in the world, the NEMA Lites boast to be “lite” on the wallet, making them the perfect fit to highlight the Jim O'Brien memorial race.
Jim O'Brien was a legendary car owner and club officer, who for a span of four decades personified the best of NEMA. At a very young age, he was introduced to the Midgets by his father and in 1970, joined the NEMA family as a car owner. He earned feature wins with Johnny Evans, driving his Falcon powered Kurtis, and Doug Cleveland who powered to victory in his home built “Pink Panther” laydown chassis. In 1975 he won the Coca-Cola dirt track championship with Hank Stevens at the wheel. Jim was an innovative fabricator and engine builder and with his sons by his side, he always built his own cars and motors. For years he served as a NEMA contest board member, once a vice-president, and for 13 consecutive years as the treasurer. His life-long dedication to the club was truly outstanding and in 2003, he was inducted into the NEMA Hall of Fame. However, most notably Jim was always one that stood-up and fought for fair competition and defended the “little guy” – racers who ran with small budgets.
In the same spirit of Jim O’Brien, the NEMA Lites were created with two principals - cost effectiveness and fair competition. While the NEMA midgets are considered the fastest midgets in the world, the NEMA Lites boast to be “lite” on the wallet, making them the perfect fit to highlight the Jim O'Brien memorial race.
Special Thanks to our 2018 Sponsors:
United Consultants
Motor Cars International
Bertrand Motorsports
The Engels Family
The Park Family
Lu & Mike Jarrett
Gil Bertrand
Motor Cars International
Bertrand Motorsports
The Engels Family
The Park Family
Lu & Mike Jarrett
Gil Bertrand
Sponsorship opportunities are still available...
Please send check payable to "NEMA" and address to Matt O'Brien, 149 Aldrich Rd, Wilmington, MA 01887
or visit our GoFundMe page by Clicking Here.
Want to help in another way? Please don't hesitate to let us know. Email Matt at arcracer16@yahoo.com
or visit our GoFundMe page by Clicking Here.
Want to help in another way? Please don't hesitate to let us know. Email Matt at arcracer16@yahoo.com
Special thanks to our 2017 sponsors...
Gold Sponsors...
United Consultants
Motor Cars International
Bertrand Motorsports
R.E. Dinneen Architects
Cataldo Racing
Crown Collision
Spirit of Jim O' Brien Awards Presented by...
Seymour Performance Products
Bronze Sponsors...
Mike & Lu Jarrett
Daniel O'Brien
Eileen Engels
Chris O'Brien
Mike Scrivani
Kevin Park
Daniel O'Brien
Eileen Engels
Chris O'Brien
Mike Scrivani
Kevin Park