As a kid, I spent most Memorial Day weekends at Lime Rock Park, the so-called road racing center of the East. This was certainly the case 25 years ago, when the typical opening weekend of summer was mobbed with people and the racing was non-stop. Neon Challenge Series, Trans Am, Grand Am, GT2 - you name the racing series, it was there.
I felt nostalgic this year as I was bringing my son for the first time. In celebration of this, I wore my Realtime Racing polo shirt, as the owner of this Acura-powered team, Peter Cunningham, absolutely made my summer one year when he signed a huge 24x36 poster featuring his championship winning NSX. That was what the Lime Rock of old was like, with the paddock a veritable red carpet tour of winning drivers and teams, with huge semi trucks packed nose-to-nose with competition cars stacked six deep.
Well, blame it on the rain, but Lime Rock was deader than I have ever seen it this year. Trans Am was still alive and well, but that should come as no surprise - these are basically NASCAR racers that can tackle a road course. The paddock was quiet; there were no lines at the beer tent or other concessions; and despite arriving four hours after the gates opened, I still had just a short walk to the main viewing area.
In a weird way, the gift shop was symbolic of the vibes at Lime Rock as a whole. The original "Driving Impressions" gift shop was like walking into Skip Barber's basement, with display cases full of model cars, racing memorabilia, signage and stickers, all of which represented a wide range of eras in professional racing. No longer - the current "gift shop" is the same store, with its footprint cut in half and a dozen variations on the same T-shirt design. Meaningless, I know, but as a kid, the original store was Heaven on Earth. What happened?
I'm not sure what experience Lime Rock is trying to capture these days, but in my first visit since Skip Barber sold it, I now know that my memories are more meaningful than ever. And when reading about the new ownership team that's running the park these days, I can't say I'm surprised at the end result:
"For the last 37 years, Skip Barber—he of eponymous racing-school fame—has owned the Lime Rock, but today, a new group of investors, Lime Rock Group, LLC, announced it has acquired the track." Road & Track, April 2021
And another experience implodes at the hands of an investment group. From now on, I'll be pinning my hopes of a traditional track experience on Sebring.