They’re just handlers for the true stars

But the event’s true showstoppers may not even be in the mix for top times. That honor could well go to the 10 classic race cars that will compete in the event’s vintage category. And three among that vintage field — an invitation-only group consisting of cars built before 1961 — are owned and raced by Globe North residents.

Among the vintage racers: a 1934 Reuter Special nicknamed the Old Gray Mare, a two-time Climb to the Clouds winner, in 1935 and 1938, owned by Benjamin Bragg of Woburn; a 1935 Ford Amilcar restored by Tom Ellsworth of Essex, which finished second to the Old Gray Mare in 1938; and a 1952 MG TD piloted by Richard Waite of Topsfield, which has won the vintage competition three times.

Each of the drivers admits that restoring and racing vintage cars is in his blood. And all of them are quick to add that they, the drivers, aren’t the center of attention.

“One of the statements that is often made in vintage car racing is that the cars are the stars,’’ said Bragg. “And we try to keep it that way, because some of these cars are irreplaceable. And so are we.’’

Not that Bragg wants these cars to be simply eye candy. “A museum car that sits in the corner and gets dusted and people look at it is nothing more than a Rembrandt sitting on the wall in a private collection, where only one or two people can enjoy it,’’ he said. “When you’re driving these cars, you’re using them in the manner they were designed for. And when you race them, especially if it was built to race, you’re taking that to the level of what the designer intended it to be.’’