Max gets a replacement trophy...
...but my rare David's World Cycle drink bottle is gone for good.
All I can say is the wanker shouldn’t have blocked my friend John the Badger’s view – especially since the wanker had his eight-year-old kid with him. My bottle disappeared during the fracas. Other than that, and a weather-related missed connection in Detroit during my Delta flight from Orlando to Portland, Maine – checking off yet another bucket list item: sleeping overnight on an airport sofa – our high school reunion at the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park was a blast!
To review, after a similar plan for the St. Pete IndyCar race fell through we rented a Vrbo near LRP and set up camp there after visiting the shop where one classmate keeps his vintage car collection, several of which he races.
Fifty-three years ago, Mark, Jim and I attended the 1970 SCCA Schaefer Trans Am at Lime Rock. This was the third car race I’d ever been to, after the ‘69 and ‘70 Trans Ams at Bryar Motorsport Park in Loudon, New Hampshire, and the only time I got to see Dan Gurney and Swede Savage race, the pair teamed in dark blue Plymouth ‘Cudas. I was driving a 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 340 at the time and the Trans Am series was dear to my heart, so of course the Mopars were my favorites. Sam Posey, whom I saw race countless times over the years and whose name – along with that of Paul Newman – is synonymous with LRP, drove a Dodge Challenger in the race, painted a color called SubLime. Each of those gentlemen now has a straight named after him at the track. Another related fond memory is that a painting of Sam’s depicting a mid-seventies run he made at Le Mans – in a Chevy Nova – appeared in the same Road & Track issue as one of my illustrations.
The aptly named Park is unique among race tracks I’ve visited due to its natural setting, nestled among steep wooded hills. The entire area resembles a Hollywood depiction of a quaint but wealthy corner of New England (usually shot on the Upper West Coast of the US) except that it’s real. There isn’t a Walmart, CVS or Home Depot for twenty miles in any direction; plebeians don’t shop around here. Our Vrbo in Warren, Connecticut, was twenty minutes from the track and accommodated the five of us in grand style.
The IMSA weekend grid walk at Lime Rock is always a highlight.
And what a spectacular backdrop for a motor race!
Mind you, I’m not complaining but spending the IMSA weekend at Lime Rock meant catching up with F1 and IndyCar on the fly. That’s why I love the option of watching replays of both on F1 TV Pro and Peacock, respectively. Here I’m spending time during a layover on my return trip to Orlando at JFK watching the Hungarian Grand Prix. I still need to watch Iowa IndyCar!
I plan to post an expanded selection of photographs from Lime Rock to Instagram when I get a chance. Until next time…
UPDATE: Just reactivated my long dormant and seldom used Instagram account; starting to add Lime Rock photos:
Nice 275 replica. What’s the chassis?
Nice pics, PJ. I've never been to Lime Rock but always enjoyed the broadcasts. It looks like an even hillier version of VIR- lots of nice wooded areas and friendly car people everywhere.
The Iowa Indycar races were great fun. Those cars are just about too fast for the track, but the width allows them to really push for position. Much more exciting than Hungary, unless you're a McLaren fan I suppose.