Richard "Moon" Burgess

[Howie]

Richard "Moon" Burgess passed away at 2:30 P.M. St. Patrick's Day. Moon a member of the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame and one of the original founders of NEAR suffered a serious stroke on March 7. Calling hours are incomplete and will be posted on the NEAR web site http://www.near1.com/ as soon as possible. Mass will be on Saturday March 20 at 11:30 A.M. at Notre Dame Catholic Church, 272 Main St. Durham, CT. Moon leaves his wife Rita and children Rich, Jr. and Sharon and grandchildren.

[Precision Auto]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of "Moon"

Linda and Norm, Precision Automotive, Inc.

[Howie]

(DURHAM, CT.) Pioneering New England stock car racer Richard "Moon" Burgess passed-away on Wednesday, March 17 after suffering a serious stroke earlier in the month.

Burgess started his career in the midgets during the 1940’s, switching to stock cars later in the decade. He competed with success at virtually every track in the region including Thompson, Waterford, Plainville, Riverside Park, Kingston, Candlelight Stadium, Cherry Park, West Haven, and others.

Teamed with car owner Joe Fontana, Burgess experienced his greatest degree of success while behind the controls of the potent “Flying Eagle” #1 coupe. He retired from the sport in 1953 after a relatively brief but spectacular career in which he won over 200 races including 63 feature events in addition to a track championship.

Burgess was a founding member of the New England Antique Racers (NEAR). He was inducted into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Mass will be on Saturday March 20 at 11:30 A.M. at Notre Dame Catholic Church, 272 Main St. Durham, CT. Friends and family are invited to later attend a celebration of Moon's life from 2:00-5:00 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 100 Berlin Road, Cromwell, CT.

Burgess leaves his wife Rita, children Rich, Jr. and Sharon, and grandchildren.

[Howie]

Moon's old modified just sold at Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, Palm Beach for $17,500. Mike Joy also gave NEAR and modified racing in the NE a nice plug on Speed.