ELLINGTON-ENFIELD, CT — Former race car driver and later car owner Rich Vasseur died unexpectedly Tuesday. He was 60.
The 1981 graduate of Enrico Fermi High School grew up on School Street in the Hazardville section of Enfield. He built a home in Ellington, moving there in 1994.
Known to most as Dickie V, he established himself as a prominent race car driver in the 1990s, winning races at three different tracks in three different New England states.
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From 1991 to 1999, Vasseur posted 10 victories at the Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass. – four in Late Model and six in Pro Stock. He won two Pro Stock races at Stafford Speedway, and earned his final victory as a driver in 2001 at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H.
After ending his competitive days, he became a car owner. His protege, Brian Sullivan, had 11 top-5 finishes in 12 starts in a Vasseur-owned Ford Mustang in 2020, becoming SK Light Modified Track Champion.
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Vasseur partnered with his brother Gil in the successful Vasseur Landscaping business. His daughter Nicole followed in his footsteps, racing in Wild Thing go-karts at Stafford.
“He was devoted to his daughter, whether racing or in her beauty pageants,” his sister, Jane Zbikowski, told Patch. “He was fiercely loyal to family and friends. He would truly give you the shirt off his back. He always made people feel special.”
Dozens of people have already expressed their admiration and love for Vasseur on various social media pages.
Longtime flagman Tony Leckey wrote, “One of the coolest people I ever had the pleasure to work with in racing. He was one of those guys that made going to the racetrack every week fun.”
“My son and I were just talking to him during cautions at Stafford while watching the SKs,” Leon Chartier wrote. “I’ll always remember him pulling into Riverside Park in the early 1990s with his super cool lifted blue Chevy van with the blue matching Malibu late model. Every time I ever talked to him, he made me laugh.”
Driver Dylan Kopec wrote, “Thankful to have had such a nice guy always on our side. Thank you for the opportunity to pilot the Vasseur #1.”
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His sister summed up her brother’s qualities by saying, “He was larger than life and would help anyone in need. He always made people feel special.”
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