NORWICH – The Northeast Classic Car Museum, in association with the Mid-State Antique Stock Car Club, will open its newest exhibit, Built for Speed: Race Cars from Days Gone By, on May 15. It features a number of local cars and racing favorites, according to museum Executive Director Doreen Bates.

The Built for Speed showcase, as part of the local museum’s “changing exhibit,” offers visitors the opportunity to peruse a wide variety of racing automobiles, including midgets, sprint cars, Indy racers, stock cars, a race vehicle once owned by famed driver Richard Petty and Mario Andretti’s first race car.

Race Cars from Days Gone By will run through April 2011 and an invitation-only open house will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on May 14, a sneak preview and “way of saying thanks” to the museum’s loaners, donors, volunteers and members, stated Bates.

“This is a way for us to give back and show people how important their services are,” she added.