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From Unsubstantiated Anecdotes to Documented Proof: Fred Voorhees Has Changed the Way Racers, Media, Fans Get Their Facts
By Steve Barrick
Freewheeling claims made on behalf of race car drivers purporting to represent records of achievement were, until recently, not supported by documentation. Inspired in part by the founding of Flemington Speedway Historical Society (FSHS) in 2009, race fan and journalist Fred Voorhees became intrigued with documenting Flemington’s 85-year history. Fellow FSHS members Bill Braga Jr., Steve Barrick and the late Bill Hanna embraced and expanded upon Voorhees’ vision.
Braga proposed uniting the quartet’s loosely linked endeavors under the name Auto Racing Research Associates or ARRA. With Voorhees taking the lead, ARRA began researching records of individual drivers and other speedways. Other racing history buffs were soon inspired to share their existing work or expand their endeavors through ARRA.
“The original intent of this website was to feature our members’ research work alone. However, we have also included research material from sources outside of our own work in an effort to become the ‘one-stop historical database shop,’” Voorhees said.
Today, stats for 166 drivers and car owners and 277 track, sanctioning entity and miscellaneous win records are available on demand (https://sites.google.com/site/arradocumentingracinghistory/) without cost. The breadth and scope of ARRA is such that many motorsports journalists consider ARRA to be their go-to source for win record edification.
The value ARRA has been providing to the auto racing community has led the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame to honor Voorhees with the 2025 Andrew S. Fusco Award for Media Excellence, in memory of Hall of Fame board member and legal counsel Andy Fusco. The award will be presented on Thursday, July 24, during ceremonies at the Hall of Fame Museum on the Weedsport Speedway campus in New York.
Voorhees saw his first race in 1963 at Flemington Fair Speedway. “I’ve gotten so much enjoyment from racing and I consider my research work and the creation of ARRA as paying the sport back,” said Voorhees.
The work of ARRA proceeds along two tracks. Phase one is raw research. Resource materials that ARRA has acquired are combed through to find race dates and event winners. Phase two is the weekly updating of these records.
“The principal sources I use are Area Auto Racing News and Gater Racing News. National Speed Sport News is a secondary resource. I don’t use newspapers.com much, though some researchers do,” Voorhees said.
Weekly updating is a time-consuming effort. “At the height of this past season, I was spending a good six hours updating the lists,” the ARRA founder said, further noting the wide disparity that exists among race track websites as far as timeliness, accuracy and consistency.
When Voorhees first launched ARRA, his two pet research projects were the careers of the late Richie Evans and the recently deceased Bob McCreadie. “Happily, they are both among our many drivers researched and completed,” Voorhees shared. Voorhees shared driver feedback ARRA has received following the publication of their records.
“Before I start research, I always ask the driver how many (feature) wins they think they have. They always overestimate. When the research is complete and before it is published, I share it first with the driver for their review for any mistakes or omissions. They always appreciate the work that has gone into documenting their career.”
The cornerstone of ARRA is its hard-and-fast rule as to what constitutes a “feature win.” To count, a race has to be open to any and all competitors who wish to compete. Further, wins are cataloged only for divisions having “sprung/suspended wheel set-ups.” It’s a straightforward doctrine that, Voorhees admitted, has been challenged and debated on occasion but remains ARRA’s core.
ARRA purifies its research by culling only that which was printed in articles covering an event—word of mouth is not good enough. Nevertheless, Voorhees acknowledges human error in recording data into spreadsheets can and does happen.
“We welcome receiving notifications of any inconsistencies and omissions in any of the work and will take each inquiry to task and try to look it up and resolve the issue. It’s all about the facts and adding to the documented history of our local sport,” Voorhees said.
Voorhees’ most recent additions to the website are the timeline and feature win records of both Can-Am Speedway in LaFargeville, NY, and Moc-A-Tek Speedway, formerly located near Hamlin, PA.
ARRA does not accept remuneration from racers or speedway operators for its information gathering efforts.
“I’ve done a number of things in racing that have been both fun and challenging. I appreciated every opportunity I had,” Voorhees remarked.
“But being honored by the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame is something that truly humbles me. From working at the beginning of ARRA with a couple of guys, to now having over 40 racing historians across the country working together, I’ve been incredibly fortunate. Every one of these historians are part of ARRA and a big part of this recognition,” Voorhees said.
Fred Voorhees is 67, lives with his wife of 37 years, Karen, in West Amwell Township, NJ. He is a retired industrial and commercial insulation installer. At one point in his career, he taught metal work finishing to apprentice workers. Voorhees retired in 2012.
He is anxious about the perpetuation of ARRA if and when he decides to step back. “Many of our historians are older guys, there are few young historians. I know I will need to put someone in place to take over the files and the website in the future,” he acknowledges. “I would hate to see it all come to a dead stop if something happened to me. If someone wanted to come on board, I’d step back,” Voorhees said.
