Lime Rock Park, Racing Circuit

Lime Rock Park sits in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in north-west Connecticut, near Lakeville, and ranks among the oldest and most beloved road courses in the United States. Conceived by gravel-pit operator Jim Vaill and laid out with the help of racing driver and safety pioneer John Fitch using Cornell University aeronautical research, it opened in 1957 as the first circuit in North America designed with scientific highway-safety principles. The track is short, fast and unforgiving, with a flowing 1.5-mile layout that offers very few genuine overtaking spots and rewards momentum and precision above all. It is set in parkland with no permanent grandstands; spectators instead picnic on the grassy banks, giving the venue a famously friendly, family atmosphere. A long-standing court injunction, prompted by noise complaints from the church across the road, still bans racing on Sundays to this day. Over the decades it has welcomed an extraordinary breadth of competition, from SCCA club events to top-tier IMSA, ALMS and Grand-Am sportscars, plus NASCAR's regional series. Headline events today include the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic, an IMSA sportscar round and the celebrated Historic Festival. Racing-school operator Skip Barber bought the facility in 1985 and oversaw repaves and chicane revisions while preserving its character. A new ownership group, with Barber retaining a stake, took over in 2021 to safeguard the circuit's future.

Operated by: Skip Barber Racing School