Tying some racing history together
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Lime Rock Vintage Trans Am 2016

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•Sep 8, 2016

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bensunkl
1.91K subscribersFootage from the Lime Rock Historic Festival 2016. Mostly featuring the vintage Trans Am cars.

 

Tying some racing history together
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Paul Newman’s legendary mark left on Lime Rock Park

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emailBy Lime Rock Park | January 21, 2022 7:53 AM ET

Over the last 65 years, some of the greatest names in racing history have been drawn back to the challenge presented by Lime Rock Park. And for one famous racer, a visit to the to the Connecticut road course proved to be a pivotal plot twist in a career for the ages.

Acting was Paul Newman’s profession. He worked very hard at his craft, and was not only a huge star, but also a respected professional with scores of awards and accolades earned through the decades.

Driving a race car was P.L. Newman’s passion. He also worked hard at that craft, practicing at the lower levels and racing his way to the upper echelons of the sport, setting some impressive records along the way.

Newman caught the racing bug late in life, playing a race car driver in “Winning.” Just as an actor builds his craft, Newman knew that he couldn’t go straight to driving an IndyCar. So he got a Datsun 510 and began running track days on Tuesdays at Lime Rock Park, not far from his home in Westport. As he got better, he began entering SCCA events.

It turns out that he was pretty talented, and the next thing you know, he started winning. He joined up with another Connecticut racer, Bob Sharp, moving up to faster cars and a bigger stage as he went from club racing to becoming a regular on the professional Trans-Am championship.

“I’m a little long in the tooth for this,” he said early in his career. But he didn’t let his age or relative lack of experience stop him. He won seven SCCA National Championships, finished second overall in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans and won a Trans-Am race in Brainerd in 1982.

The next year, Newman teamed up with Carl Haas to launch Newman/Haas Racing, which went on to score 105 CART IndyCar races with names like Andretti, Mansell and Bourdais. In 1986, Newman led the final 21 laps to score his second and final Trans-Am victory. Fittingly, it was at Lime Rock, in Bob Sharp’s red, white and blue Nissan.
“P.L.” Newman and wife Joanne Woodward celebrate his victory in 1986.

In 1995, Newman’s studio presented him with a unique 70th birthday present — a sponsored ride in a Jack Roush race car in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Joining Newman in the No. 70 “Nobody’s Fool” Ford Mustang were Mark Martin, Tommy Kendall and long-time friend Michael Brockman. Not only did they win the GTS class, they finished third overall and captured the major headlines. That made him the oldest winner in a major professional race — an honor he still holds.

Newman’s final Trans-Am outing was in 2003, when he finished a lead-lap fifth in his own Corvette.
Newman (at left) helped create another bit of racing history by bringing F1 superstar Nigel Mansell to CART in 1993 for the team he co-owned with Carl Haas. Motorsport Images

Even after he eased away from major competition, racing remained his passion. Coming into the sport with a mild-mannered Datsun 510, Newman went out in a beast. He won his last race at Lime Rock driving a 900-horsepower Corvette carrying his age — 81. The following year, he won the pole in his final race at Watkins Glen.

The following year, lung cancer took its toll. But Newman did not go quietly into the night. On August 13, 2008, Lime Rock shut down for two hours so Newman could turn his final laps in his GT1 Corvette. He died one month later.

Ever the racer, Paul Newman might have found some “heaven on earth” at other racetracks. But for nearly the final 50 years of his life, Newman’s racing home was at Lime Rock Park.

Newman’s 97th birthday would have been January 26. So as the racing world looks to kick off the 2022 season in Daytona, a tip of the helmet to everything that Newman accomplished — on the track and off.

The 65th season of racing at Lime Rock Park kicks off in May, featuring the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic May 27-30.

 

Tying some racing history together
See last post in thread:
See it before it goes away.
*****************************
Inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame*********************

NASCAR Hall of Fame Tour 2013************************


NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum Tour... Charlotte, NC

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/a...ml#post9441920

*************************************

Abandoned tracks in Florida area and other places (updated)
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...s-fl-area.html

Bonneville History
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...e-history.html

Daytona History
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...a-history.html

Drag Racing History
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/dr...ml#post9366328

This link has some historic drag racing pics.

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/dr...pics-ever.html


Local historic drag racing track Twin City Oldsmar

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...florida-4.html


Indianapolis History

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...ml#post9373490

24 Hours of Lemans history

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...s-history.html


Lemans

Lime Rock Park history

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/au...rock-park.html


Pikes Peak racing history
Is Pikes Peak a road Race?


https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...ml#post9362624


History of Race Cars

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...ml#post9370578

Road Racing History
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/g...g-history.html

Sebring history

The way to part 2 "A brief History of Sebring Raceway" is here:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/g...-40-posts.html
-------------------------------------------------
This was the original brief history of Sebring part 1
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/general-car-chat/816701-sebring-raceway-brief-history-part-1-has-now-exceeded-40-posts-115-posts.html
---------------------------------------------------

A bit of stock car racing history

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...ml#post9362625

There are Old School Stock Car Pictures here:
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/e...-pictures.html

Tying some Tampa Racing history together with links: Tampa International Raceway (Fair Grounds)

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/ge...l-raceway.html

 

Jim Haynes, 2023

Photos via Jim Haynes archives
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emailBy RACER Staff | March 3, 2023 10:17 AM ET

Jim Haynes, one of the major figures in the history of Lime Rock Park, has died, the track announced Friday.

A two-time SCCA National Champion driver, Haynes purchased Lime Rock Park in 1964 from its builders and over the next 11 years, first as owner and then as general manager, shepherded the facility’s growth from near bankruptcy to internationally recognized motorsports venue.

Skip Barber, who succeeded Haynes as president of Lime Rock Park and was friend of Jim’s for more than six decades, noted the debt owed by everyone who today enjoys visiting and using the track. “All of us who are members of the Lime Rock Park community, fans, event participants and track staff, greatly appreciate the contributions Jim made in the track’s formative days, and his dedication to its long-term success,” said Barber.

Following his tenure at Lime Rock Park, Haynes worked with the SCCA’s national office. Prior to his retirement to Florida with Toni Abercrombie Haynes, his wife and partner of 43 years, Jim was for many years the general manager of Wisconsin’s Road America circuit.

 

Drivers and cars confirmed for July IROC event at Lime Rock Park

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emailBy RACER Staff | June 6, 2024 4:08 PM ET

The lineup of drivers and cars have been confirmed for the first IROC event in more than 20 years. Scheduled for July 19-20 at Lime Rock Park, IROC will enhance an already exciting SpeedTour All-Star Race weekend.

Featuring both an on-track racing exhibition and static display, the event will reunite original IROC competitors with cars raced in the legendary series. Mark Martin, a 96-time winner across NASCAR’s top-three series, 13-time IROC race winner and five-time IROC series champion, will be one of the drivers piloting the historic IROC cars at Lime Rock Park.

“I have always said that the crown jewel of my racing career is what I was able to achieve in IROC,” said Martin. “The event at Lime Rock Park is going to be an exciting opportunity to reminisce about those great times and to reunite with some of the best people in motorsports.”

Joining Martin as other former IROC competitors driving in the event will be Greg Biffle, Geoff Brabham (two-time IROC race winner), Davy Jones, Bobby Labonte (three-time IROC race winner and 2001 IROC series champion), Max Papis, Ken Schrader and Danny Sullivan (one IROC race win). In addition to this impressive list of former IROC drivers, the event will include four-time NASCAR Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday, Grand-Am Sports Car Series and Trans Am champion Boris Said and 1995 NASCAR Truck Series champion Mike Skinner.

An equally exciting component of the event at Lime Rock Park will be approximately 20 authentic IROC race cars spanning over 30 years of racing history. The oldest are a pair of 1974 Chevrolet Camaros — one driven to victory at Riverside International Raceway by Bobby Allison in 1975, and utilized again in 1976 by A.J. Foyt to clinch his second IROC championship; the other was raced by Foyt in 1975, as he finished second to Bobby Unser by just two feet, in what was the second-closest IROC finish in history.

The newest car is a 2005 Pontiac Firebird raced by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves. In November 2005, Castroneves drove the car to a fourth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his final IROC start.

The event will also reunite several of the original racers with their cars, as former IROC winners return. Fans will instantly recognize the lime green No. 14 Dodge Avenger, which won three times with three drivers from three different disciplines: F1’s Martin Brundle, NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Sr., and IndyCar’s Al Unser Jr. However, it will be the car’s final driver who will get to reunite with it at Lime Rock Park — Mark Martin.

Fans will also recognize the red 1984 Chevrolet Camaro, which is believed to be the most period-correct 1984-era IROC Camaro in existence. Owned by Richard Childress, this car was raced by Dale Earnhardt twice in the 1980s.

Of course, there will be cars that were driven by not only the best names in motorsport, but also those of Hollywood fame. The School Bus Yellow No. 15 1978 Chevrolet Camaro was driven to victory by both Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip, as the two NASCAR Hall of Famers were among 31 drivers who turned laps in the car. However, that count doesn’t include actors Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, James Brolin and Gene Hackman, who enjoyed a private test day in the car at Sonoma Raceway in December 1977.

“We have received such an overwhelmingly positive response from fans since announcing our event at Lime Rock Park and I believe this impressive lineup of legendary drivers and historic IROC cars will just keep that momentum going,” said Ray Evernham, co-principal of IROC Holdings. “It will truly be a unique experience for fans to get up close and personal with cars that have been driven by racing royalty. From Fittipaldi to Earnhardt, Foyt to Martin. These cars are truly time capsules that represent racing on a worldly scale. Pair that with being able to shake the hands of some of the legends that drove them and you have a once-in-a-lifetime experience for race fans.”

“We’re thrilled to have IROC join us at the SpeedTour All-Star Race,” said Tony Parella, CEO of Parella Motorsports Holdings. “As a racing fan, there was nothing better than IROC—it brought together all the best drivers from all forms of motorsports. Personally, I’m really excited to witness this all coming together — with so many of the original cars and drivers — it’s going to be great.”