Dick Berggren | |
|---|---|
 Berggren at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2011 | |
| Born | (1942-05-27)May 27, 1942 (age 82) Westerly, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Motorsports announcer and magazine editor |
Richard Berggren (born May 27, 1942) is an American motorsports announcer and magazine editor fromManchester, Connecticut. He is commonly seen wearing a trademarkflat cap.
Berggren described himself as "the worst student" inhigh school.[1] No college accepted him, so he accepted a job as an office boy atUnited Aircraft.[1] He later was accepted atQuinnipiac College.[1] Berggren transferred toSouthern Connecticut State University, where his girlfriend Kathy was a student.[1] He graduated with abachelor's degree in 1965.[1] Berggren earned adoctorate inpsychology fromTufts University in 1970. Hisdissertation focused onsleep deprivation.[2] He was a psychology professor atEmmanuel College inBoston for nine years.[2]
One day, the only vehicle available in his driveway was his truck, which was still attached to his race trailer. He drove the truck to the college and parked it in the faculty parking lot. The racecar was covered in mud, but his name and sponsor decals were visible. Berggren was called to the university president's office and told to remove it immediately. "I knew right then and there that my academic career and my racing didn't go together anymore," says Berggren. "At the time, my racing was going incredibly well and I needed to do it while I was still young. I felt I could always go back to academia."[3]
Berggren began racing in 1967 and won 26 events before his driving career ended in 1981. He racedSuperModifieds,Modifieds,stock cars, andsprint cars.[4] He stopped racing after his racecar climbed a dirt bank atBoone Speedway, causing over 200 people to scatter to avoid being hit.[1] "The very thought that I had written so many stories about racing safety, and had the chance to literally kill or maim a lot of people, I think 'til the day I die when I tell that story, it'll be emotional. It was one of the most important moments of my life. I'm just forever thankful that nobody got hurt."[5]
Berggren wrote for local newspapers early in his career. He worked forStock Car Racing magazine while he taught at Emmanuel College and raced on the weekends.[1] He later became the magazine's editor. After 22 years with the magazine, he left in 1999 to startSpeedway Illustrated in partnership with the owners ofDown East, The Magazine of Maine.[1] TheNational Motorsport Press Association named Berggren the 1999 Writer of the Year.[4] Both magazines cater toshort track motor racing fans.
Berggren began his announcing career at Arundel Speedway inMaine. He has announced in many genres of motorsports over the course of his career. He announced the1979 Daytona 500 for theMotor Racing Network radio network.[6] He began his television career at NASCAR races in 1981 as a pit road reporter forESPN.[4] He has announced for NASCAR races atCBS,TBS, andTNN. He worked the pits for theBusch Series andCraftsman Truck Series, as well as theWorld of Outlaws sprint cars.[7] He also hosted theSpeed Channel showNASCAR Performance.[7]
Berggren was the lead pit reporter forNASCAR on Fox from 2001-2012. He covered events in NASCAR'sSprint Cup Series from Daytona to Dover. In May 2012, Berggren announced he would retire after Fox's broadcast of the2012 FedEx 400 atDover International Speedway. Afterward he commented, "After the Fox portion of the year ends, I've always traveled to local tracks where I still enjoy sitting in the stands with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other, watching the local heroes. I can’t get enough of local-level racing so I'll do more of that now."[8]
However, Berggren did return to CBS (where he had previously worked until 2000) for a limited schedule of pit reporting ARCA telecasts during the 2014 season. Berggren ended up working the three races for which CBS held the broadcast rights.
He appeared as himself in the movieTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Berggren was inducted into theNational Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2002. He was inducted in theNew England Auto Racers Hall of Fame in 2008. Berggren received the 2007Bobby Isaac Memorial Award for his outstanding contributions to short track racing.[9]
Born inWesterly, Rhode Island, he now lives inIpswich, Massachusetts, with his wife Kathy. Berggren's mother died in 1992.