Auburn’s Bob Morris said there has been something that has “aggravated me for years.

“Nobody from auto racing has ever been inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame,” explained Morris. “I know there have been some people nominated. I wrote letters of support for them. But they were totally ignored. There has been racing in this state for over 50 years.”

So Morris and some friends with the same passion for auto racing have decided to create the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Dan Gacetta, president of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame, who has been involved with the hall since its inception in 1972, said he can’t recall anybody being nominated from auto racing.

He added that even if someone had been nominated, it probably would have received a “negative response because the guys [on the selection committee] are pretty well athletic-oriented.”

However, Gacetta said they did give a special award to Newburgh’s Ricky Craven after he won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1995. And he said he supports Morris’ idea of having a Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Allen Brann and John Rice suggested the idea to Morris and told him they thought he would be best man to set up an organization thanks to his extensive contacts throughout the state.

The 54-year-old Morris is a life-long auto race enthusiast from a family of avid race fans and participants. He put together the Oxford Plains Speedway race program for 15 years and was a motorsports columnist for 25 years.

“We had an informational meeting in Augusta on January 6th [in conjunction with the Northeast Motorsports Expo] and 25 showed up. That gave us encouragement,” said Morris, who was also encouraged by the number of phone calls he received.

Morris and his friends filled out all the paperwork necessary to form a non-profit organization and they received an official go-ahead from the proper authorities in June.

They began seeking memberships and distributed newsletters and brochures while also setting up informational booths at various events and locales.

“We are approaching 50 members right now. The response has been good,” said Morris. “Once people saw our color brochure, they knew we were more than just a bunch of retirees with old race cars.”

The organization has a board of directors and an advisory board.

Morris, who is the president of the board, said the “timing is right” for a Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame.

He said the current generation of race fans are more of the “MTV generation,” and aren’t aware of the storied history of auto racing in the state.

“Oxford used to be a half-mile dirt track,” recalled Morris, who has been attending races since 1949. “They used to have races at Bass Park in Bangor and in Dover-Foxcroft.”

He also said there was a time when pick-up trucks and cars would race in the same class and that cars would all look markedly different.

There is much more uniformity these days, he explained.

Morris stressed that the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame will be for people involved in all aspects of racing as well as fans. And it isn’t just for auto racing.

“The key word is ‘motor,” explained Morris, meaning any person involved in a motorized vehicle [snowmobiles, motorcyles, boats, drag racers, etc….] competition will be considered.

They would like to have 12-15 in the first class of inductees next year and he said they intend to establish a building fund so they can have a Maine Motorsports Museum “by the end of the decade.”

Anyone interested in submitting candidates, who have been retired from their area of specialty for at least five years, or seek further information can contact Morris at the Maine Vintage Race Car Association, 51 Heath Lane, Auburn, 04210. The Web site is www.mainevintageracecars.com and the phone number is 784-9827.