A longtime fixture at many tracks across New England, Cynthia Tebbetts served the sport in many capacities. Her death on July 8 after a fall left a noticeable void in the community.
Tebbetts crewed and spotted for race teams. Later on, she served as race director for ISMA, pit steward at Lee USA Speedway, official for the Granite State Pro Stock Series. Most recently, for the past decade she worked as the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) race director.
“What stands out the most about Cynthia was that she understood the show,” said Jenn Ready, who shared the scoring tower with Cynthia while working for several series and tracks. “Cynthia knew the importance of keeping the show moving for the fans. She had a wide range of understanding how racing should happen.”
However, many remember Tebbetts for her personality.
“Cynthia had a wicked sense of humor,” Ready said. “Her dry wit was loved by all. She was not much for mincing words. If you wanted an honest opinion, Cynthia would give it to you.”
Honesty. Integrity. Fairness. Qualities often sought out in officials.
“Cynthia was a true professional,” said NEMA announcer Pete Falconi. “She was very good at her job. she never got mixed up in [racing] politics. Having been in racing for a long time, she was very fair in all of her calls.”
Cynthia Tebbetts’ family posted on Facebook that the racing community was her second family. Besides motorsports, she had other passions, too.
“Besides being an animal lover who was so close to her pets, she was a big Beatles fan — we often talked about The Beatles music,” Falconi said. “She was such a big fan. Her license plate was ‘SGT PEPPER.’”
It’s a fitting license plate for Tebbetts. While she seemed like a sergeant as a race director, she often peppered conversation with her wit that made her a beloved member of the community.
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
