AUGUSTA, ME – Plans are in full swing for the 21^st Annual Northeast Motorsports Expo and Trade Show, as thousands of fans are expected to converge on the Augusta Civic Center for the January 2-4, 2009 exhibit.

In addition to displays from many of Maine’s stock car tracks, drag strips, kart ovals and other racing venues, the annual exhibit also features autograph appearances from several well-known racing personalities.

Topping the list this year is Dr. Dick Berggren, one of the nation’s premier television announcers and motorsports publishers and former Maine short track and regional standout Pete Silva.

Berggren is best known for his announcing and analysis of NASCAR events on ESPN, TNN, TBS and CBS in recent years, and currently on FOX and the SPEED Channel.

Berggren, who holds a PhD in psychology from Tufts University, started out announcing at Arundel Speedway in Maine and eventually moved to the Motor Racing Network where he covered the 1979 Daytona 500.

He was hired as editor of Stock Car Racing magazine in July 1977 and served in that position until the magazine was sold and the entire staff was released in March 2000.

He then founded Speedway Illustrated magazine and hired most of the staff who had worked for Stock Car Racing magazine. He is now executive editor of the publication.

Berggren also drove stock cars, sprint cars and supermodifieds for over 20 years and won 26 feature events, most of them on dirt ovals. He has also received numerous awards and is a member of four motorsports halls of fame.

Berggren will meet fans and sign autographs at the Northeast Motorsports Expo on Friday, January 2 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.; and Saturday, January 3 from 12:00 - 2:00 and 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

The first driver to commit to the show is Waterville native Pete Silva, a former NASCAR Winston Racing Series regional champion and Late Model division track champion at Greenville-Pickens (N.C.) Speedway and Hickory (S.C.) Motor Speedway.

"I haven’t been home for almost three years, so it’s going to be a lot of fun," said Silva, who now lives in Leicester, N.C. He’ll be meeting fans and signing autographs on Saturday, January 3 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Silva was a fixture on the Maine racing scene for decades until he relocated to North Carolina for the first time in 1981. He came back to his home state to compete on the NASCAR Busch North Series for David Prescott in 1986-87.

After returning to North Carolina, Silva won the NASCAR Blue Ridge Region championship at age 50 in 1998, driving for the late Dwight Huffman’s racing team.

He scaled back his commitment for awhile, but wound up competing at Greenville-Pickens in 2001 where he won the Late Model title and Most Popular Driver award. "I beat seven-time champion Donnie Bishop for the title, so it was quite a year," said Silva.

The next season, he went to Hickory Motor Speedway and won that track’s Late Model championship. "Two championships in two years at two different tracks – not bad for an old guy," said Silva with a laugh.

And he’s not ready for retirement, either. "I started hanging around Steve Leavitt’s race shop in Mooresville (N.C.) again. So one thing led to another, and I’ve got a new Late Model ready to go for next year," said Silva.

Leavitt is also a transplanted Maine resident who also builds components for several NASCAR teams, said Silva, "and his quality is second to none."

Fans will also have a chance to meet drivers from Oxford Plains Speedway, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Speedway 95, Wiscasset Raceway, Spud Speedway in Caribou, Bullwinkle’s Raceway in Greenville and the Pro All-Stars Series (PASS), according to Northeast Motorsports Expo and Trade Show founder Tim Attaya.

Among those scheduled to appear is Randy Turner of Freedom, the 2008 Wiscasset Raceway Pro-Stock champion.

"Exhibit space filled up very quickly this year," said Attaya, "so fans are really going to get their money’s worth. You’re not going to find a better array of motorsports under one roof."

Admission prices are still only $7.50 for adults and $4.50 for children 6- 12 and senior citizens, said Attaya. Children under age 6 will be admitted free when accompanied by a parent, and three-day passes are available at reduced prices. "We haven’t gone up in our admission prices in seven years," he added.

Central Maine Motors Auto Group makes its debut as a major corporate partner of the 21st Annual Northeast Motorsports Expo and Trade Show this year. Located in Waterville (Me.), Central Maine Motors has an extensive inventory of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Toyota and Scion vehicles as well as pre-owned cars and trucks. Central Maine Motors is also a Blizzard snow plow dealer.

E.J. Prescott Inc., the pipeline specialists headquartered in Gardiner (Me.), returns for their 21^st year; New England Racing Fuel returns as a corporate partner for the seventh consecutive year; and the Racin’ Paper, edited by Mark Thomas, is back for its second year as a corporate partner.

Other sponsors of the three-day exhibit include Minuteman Sign Centers of Augusta and Belfast; Mission Trailers of Waterville; and Amsoil, distributed by Four Seasons Synthetics of South Portland.

The Northeast Motorsports Expo and Trade Show also presents the Weekly Racing Series Driver-of-the-Year award and the Touring Series Driver-of-the-Year award at each show as voted by members of the motorsports media in Maine and New Hampshire.

The Weekly Racing Series award includes drivers from all the short tracks in Maine and New Hampshire. The Touring Series awards include drivers from the northern New England-based touring series, such as the Pro All-Stars Series, ACT Late Model Tour; the True Value Modified Series and the International Super Modified Association (ISMA).