Les Richter (Class of 2009) was born on this date in 1930.
Daytona Beach, FL (September 23, 2025) – The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is excited to announce the acquisition of the prestigious Joseph S. Freeman Archive, consisting of over one million historic motorsports photographs, plus artifacts, memorabilia and rare books and programs. The photography will be made available to the public starting in 2026 at www.mshf.com. The memorabilia and books will be on display or available to use at the MSHFA museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway, which greets close to 150,000 visitors each year.
Joe Freeman, automotive historian, writer, publisher, vintage racer, and racing car collector, is well-known in the racing world for his expertise in automotive subjects and as the owner of the award-winning publishing house Racemaker Press of Boston.
The Joseph S. Freeman Archive spans over a century of racing, starting in the 1890s, and includes Indy car, sprint car, Formula 1, sports car, stock car, motorcycle, off-road, midget, powerboat, and other categories captured by nearly three dozen of the world's finest motorsports photographers, including Richard George, Robert Harmeyer, Peter Helck, David Knox, Bob Scott and Dennis Torres. The memorabilia include historic and one-of-a-kind items like the personal papers and effects of Hall of Fame nominees and inductees like Louis Meyer, Sig Haugdahl, and the first two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Tommy Milton (Class of 1998) who won the Memorial Day classic in 1921 and 1923.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame plans to catalog the collection on its website, making it accessible to the public, media, auction houses, researchers, authors, historians and students. The first 10,000 images will be uploaded by this time next year. Users can also request photos not yet uploaded.
Joe Freeman: “I am delighted to see my collection find a home at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, where it will be preserved and appreciated by future generations."
MSHFA President George Levy: “The Joseph S. Freeman Archive is a treasure trove of motorsports history, and we are excited and honored to make it accessible to enthusiasts and researchers around the world."
The approximately one-million photographic images include most major formats: digital, slides and negatives, prints, drawings, illustrations, even some rare stereoscopic slides.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America will have further announcements on the timing and launch of the new archive as it happens.
For more information on the archive, please contact George Levy at glevy@mshf.com.
The MSHFA is the only Hall that honors all American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off-road and powerboats. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American motorsports values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition. Founded by Larry G. Ciancio and led by first President Ronald A. Watson, it held its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into the nation’s premier such hall until his passing in 2019. The original museum in Novi, Mich., relocated to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2016 and greets more than 150,000 visitors each year. MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc.