This article was taken from "The After 50 News" - 2005

They Say Everyone Needs a Hobby.

     Howard Boundy is a stock car racing fan of 
     the highest order. No. He doesn’t travel all 
     over the country attending every stock car 
     race held at every small town track. And he 
     doesn't follow his favorite driver around in
     a bus like Grateful Dead fans used to dog 
     rock icon Jerry Garcia’s every step. But when
     it comes to love for all things NASCAR, 
     Boundy puts his money where his mouth is.

Boundy is the proud proprietor of Western New York’s NASCAR Museum. Make that owner and proprietor, since everything in it is part of Boundy’s personal collection of stock car racing memorabilia, amassed over the last 20 years and paid for directly out of his own pocket. We’re talking more than $50,000 worth of… well.. everything you can think of related to his nearly lifelong passion for NASCAR.

For the 45-year-old Boundy, it began simply enough, with an assortment of Richard Petty collectibles first assembled as a modest arrangement in the Holland native’s living room. That “Holland native” part is a key here, because growing up, Boundy lived right next door to Holland Speedway. He even recalls how when he was about seven he snuck in and rode his bike around the track “just to see what it was like for the drivers.” He then, of course, quickly hightailed it out of there before the Bennetts caught him.

The Bennett family apparently hasn’t held the indiscretion against him, since today Boundy is Holland International Speedway’s official track photographer, no doubt providing him ample opportunity to expand a collection that inevitably outgrew his home. His wife, Vivian, he quickly mentions, genuinely does share his enthusiasm for the sport. She was, nevertheless, “happy to get her living room back.”

Treading the Path of Greatness.

While he may not be a stock car “stalker,” Boundy does take his passion on the road about four times a year, soaking up the sport in its natural habitat at raceways in places like Watkins Glen and the Poconos. More than just a place to troll for more treasures, he’s also scored big up close and personal moments with some of NASCAR’s major players.

His most memorable encounter came at the famous Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he got more than the usual howdy and handshake from his all-time favorite driver, the late Richard Petty. He actually rescued one of Petty’s about-to-be-discarded tires from the heap and then waited patiently in line for two hours to get “the King” himself to autograph it. The tire, of course, occupies a place of honor in Boundy’s museum, which he recently relocated to new, expanded quarters at 2 North Main Street in Holland. It joins the rest of the fan-tastic fan’s collection, which includes… ready for this?… more than 2,000 die-cast model racing cars, over 1,000 photographs of both local and national racing personalities, and 200+ driver autographs, as well as a slew of racing-related programs, yearbooks, posters and newspaper articles.

NASCAR purist and true believer that he is, Boundy has generously chosen to share his love of stock car racing by sharing his collection with the community free of charge. Boundy’s NASCAR Museum is currently open Monday through Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. More information is available on-line at www.boundysnascarmuseum.com.

From Heart of Gold to Wheels of Gold.

Bigheartedness like Howard Boundy’s just serves to demonstrate that the impression you get talking to people like Tom Agen, Jim Reid and Tim Bennett about the kind of the folks involved in stock car racing must be pretty accurate. Agen says he still can’t get over how the fans and his fellow drivers alike have taken him into their hearts.

He says that people who have enjoyed and admired his performance on the track have actually gone out of their way to stop by and patronize the businesses that have supported him with sponsorships. Just because they appreciate those businesses for making something they enjoy so much possible. It’s the same kind of instant personal connection, he believes, that got him an unexpected nickname. While getting his car ready one week for its next race, his crew discovered that they were out of the chrome-colored paint they usually used on the car’s wheels. So they substituted the only other color they had: gold. In hardly any time at all, Agen went from being called “Tommy” to being widely… and affectionately… known as “Golden Wheels.” That kind of acceptance and respect, he says, will make anyone feel like a winner.