Lime Rock Park

"Road Racing Center of the East"
Grand Prix Circuit (1957–present)
Location	Lakeville, Connecticut, United States
Coordinates	41°55′39.68″N73°23′0.95″W / 41.9276889°N 73.3835972°W /41.9276889; -73.3835972
FIA Grade	2[a]
Owner	Lime Rock Group, LLC (April 2021–present) Skip Barber (1984–April 2021)
Operator	Lime Rock Group, LLC
Broke ground	1956
Opened	27 April 1957; 68 years ago (1957-04-27)
Major events	Current: Trans-Am Series Trans Am Memorial Day Classic (1967–1974, 1981, 1985–1989, 1992–1993, 1995–1999, 2002–2003, 2010, 2012–2015, 2019, 2021–present) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series LiUNA! 150 (2025-present) ARCA Menards Series Lime Rock Park 100 (2025) Former: IMSA SportsCar Championship Northeast Grand Prix (1958–1964, 1986–1992, 2004–2013, 2015–2019, 2021–2023) International Race of Champions (2024) Pirelli World Challenge (1992–1993, 1995–2005, 2007–2008, 2013, 2016–2018) Rolex Sports Car Series Lime Rock Grand Prix (2000–2001, 2006–2008, 2010–2013) NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (1993–2010)
Website	https://limerock.com/
Grand Prix Circuit (1957–present)
Surface	Asphalt
Length	1.530 mi (2.462 km)
Turns	7
Race lap record	0:45.105 (Juan Manuel Fangio II,Eagle MkIII,1993,IMSA GTP)
Lime Rock Park Race Track
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Show map of Connecticut Show map of the United States
Area	325.2 acres (131.6 ha)
Built	1956 (1956)
Built by	Jim Vaill
Architectural style	Race track
NRHP reference No.	08001380[1]
Added to NRHP	October 16, 2009

Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrainmotorsportroad racing venue located inLakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town ofSalisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's third oldest continuously operating road racing venue, behindRoad America (1955) andWillow Springs International Motorsports Park (1953).^[2] The track was owned bySkip Barber from 1984 to April 2021, a former race car driver who started theSkip Barber Racing School in 1975. Now, it is owned by Lime Rock Group, LLC.^[3] It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2009.^[1]

The 1.530 mi (2.462 km) Lime Rock track was originally conceived of in 1956 by Jim Vaill, who, along withJohn Fitch andCornell Aeronautical Laboratory, built the track utilizing state-of-the-art road and highway safety principles of the time. The first race, a mix of G-Production class and an MG class, was held on April 28, 1957. The winner of the G-Production was Ted Sprigg in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The winner of the MG class was Charles Callanan in an MG TC.

In 1959, Lime Rock was the site of a notable upset, whenRodger Ward won aFormula Libre race driving anOffenhauser-enginedmidget car, usually used on oval tracks. Ward used an advantageous power-to-weight ratio and his dirt-track cornering abilities to defeat several highly regarded sports cars and drivers for the victory. The year, the track also hosted the Little Le Mans race, won by Charles Callanan andRoger Penske in a Fiat Abarth. In 2008, the track was re-paved and two new corner complexes were added.^[4]

The track has a loyal following,^[4] though it did face some resistance from the local community shortly after it opened. In 1959, the Lime Rock Protective Association, with support from the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church,^[5] took the park to Litchfield Superior Court in an effort to ban Sunday racing. The court issued a permanent injunction against Sunday racing, and its decision was upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court. While restrictive, the carefully crafted injunction was also enabling. It preserved the track's right to conduct unmuffled sports car racing on Fridays and Saturdays, plus testing on Tuesdays and other operating benefits. The injunction stands to this day.^[6]

The track has featured many well-known racers includingPaul Newman, who supported his ownNewman-Haas team withBob Sharp,^[7]Mario Andretti,Stirling Moss,Dan Gurney,Sam Posey, andMark Donohue.^[4] Other racers have includedParnelli Jones,Joey Logano,Austin Dillon,Simon Pagenaud,Alexander Rossi, andTom Cruise.^[8] Posey and Newman have sections of the circuit named for them.^[9][10]

TheRolex Sports Car Series,American Le Mans Series andIMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship have used a configuration which included thechicane at turn five and West Bend.

The track is a natural terrain road course, constructed over hilly terrain in theBerkshire Mountains, part of the greaterAppalachian mountain range. The famousAppalachian Trail hiking route passes by the circuit on the ridge lines visible from the track a half mile to the east. The venue is somewhat unique in that it features no grandstands or bleacher seating, instead inviting fans to bring chairs and blankets and enjoy the racing from its grassy hillside areas under the shade of trees. While the venue is relatively compact, the relatively short track is renowned for its spectator experience, offering fans an up close view and close quarters racing.^[11][12]

For years the track was listed as being 1.530 mi (2.462 km) in length—the story goes that right after it was built, somebody used the odometer in aChevrolet to measure the track length—and 1.53 was taken as gospel. Following the 2008 reconstruction (see below), Lime Rock's operations people measured all four possible configurations, and as it turns out, each was 1.500 mi (2.414 km) long, plus or minus a few hundred feet. The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship gives the distance of the track as 1.474 mi (2.372 km).^[13] The "classic" configuration is seven turns, while the three optional layouts are eight, nine and ten turns, respectively.

Current

• May:Trans-Am SeriesTrans Am Memorial Day Classic
• June:NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesLiUNA! 150,ARCA Menards SeriesLime Rock Park 100
• July:Sportscar Vintage Racing AssociationLime Rock SpeedTour,National Auto Sport Association
• September: Lime Rock Historic Festival
• October:Radical Cup North America

Future

• USF Juniors (2026)

Former

• American Le Mans Series
  • Northeast Grand Prix (2004–2013)
• Atlantic Championship Series (1978, 1980, 1985–1992, 2009)
• Barber Pro Series (1986–2002)
• Can-Am (1983–1985)
• F1600 Championship Series (2011–2013)
• F2000 Championship Series (2009–2013)
• Ferrari Challenge North America (1994–2001, 2003–2005, 2011–2013, 2016)
• Formula BMW Americas (2004, 2006–2009)
• Global MX-5 Cup (2003–2006, 2011)
• IMSA GT Championship (1972–1998)
  • Northeast Grand Prix (1958–1964, 1986–1992)
• IMSA SportsCar Championship
  • Northeast Grand Prix (2015–2019, 2021–2023)
• IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (2023)
• International Race of Champions (2024)
• Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America (2013)
• Michelin Pilot Challenge (2006–2019, 2021–2023)
• NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (1993–2010)
• NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (2010–2011)
• North American Touring Car Championship (1996)
• Pirelli World Challenge
  • Lime Rock Park Grand Prix (1992–1993, 1995–2005, 2007–2008, 2013, 2016–2018)
• Rolex Sports Car Series
  • Lime Rock Grand Prix (2000–2001, 2006–2008, 2010–2013)
• SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship (1968–1972)
• SCCA National Sports Car Championship (1958–1964)
• Star Mazda Championship (2004)
• United States Road Racing Championship
  • Lime Rock Grand Prix (1999)

The fastest unofficial all-time track record set during a race weekend is 0:43.112 seconds, set byP. J. Jones in aToyota Eagle MkIII, during qualifying for the1993 Toyota Trucks Lime Rock Grand Prix. As of October 2025, the fastest official race lap records at Lime Rock Park are listed as:

• 
  Lime Rock Park, Connecticut
• 
  Lime Rock Park, Connecticut
• 
  Lime Rock Park, Connecticut
• 
  View from the Sam Posey Straight spectator area during an American Le mans Series event
• 
  GT3 cars battle through "The Left Hander", turn 3, headed up towards Paul Newman Straight during an IMSA event at Lime Rock Park

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLime Rock Park.

• Official website
• Documentary by Chris Szwedo
• Skip Barber Racing School (UsesMacromedia Flash)
• Lime Rock Park race results at Racing-Reference

• Salisbury, Connecticut
• Motorsport venues in Connecticut
• Tourist attractions in Litchfield County, Connecticut
• Sports venues in Litchfield County, Connecticut
• American Le Mans Series circuits
• IMSA GT Championship circuits
• NASCAR tracks
• National Register of Historic Places in Litchfield County, Connecticut
• Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
• Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
• Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places
• Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
• 1957 establishments in Connecticut
• Sports venues completed in 1957
• Road courses in the United States

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles using NRISref without a reference number
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from January 2025
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from August 2023
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• NRHP infobox with nocat
• Commons category link is on Wikidata