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Courant.com
Park Opens Track To Car Enthusiasts
By DAVID HEUSCHKEL
Courant Staff Writer
July 9, 2007
Skip Barber, president and owner of Lime Rock Park, fears the racetrack will one day become a golf course or be uprooted by the construction of condominiums. He'd rather hear the familiar sound of roaring engines - in his sleep.
As a way to preserve the future of the historic road course, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Barber announced the formation of The Club at Lime Rock Park for car enthusiasts with heavy feet and thick wallets.
The Club will be limited to 300 members who will have the opportunity to drive around the 1.53-mile track, which is surrounded by rolling hills and located at the foot of the Berkshires. Club members can select 20 "track days" out of 60 dates, beginning in 2008.
The revenue generated from the membership cost, which includes a one-time initiation fee of $110,000 and monthly dues of $550, will be used to construct a clubhouse and improve amenities at the facility.
Any automobile (except SUVs, trucks and vans) that passes a safety inspection and complies with applicable noise regulations can be driven around the track.
"The main purpose for club membership is to get access to the racetrack. Right now there isn't any," Barber said. "We're going to invest all the membership in upgrading the facility, that's the short-term thing. The long-term thing is I want to keep this racetrack."
"My biggest fear is that if the business and finances of Lime Rock Park are not sufficiently strong, the value of this beautiful piece of property could exceed its value as a racetrack and that when I am no longer around a future owner will be tempted to convert it to a golf course."
That's what happened 10 years ago to Bridgehampton Race Circuit on Long Island, a track that opened in 1957, the same year Lime Rock Park began operations.
Barber, 70, said he isn't worried about attracting club members. He has a long list of friends and contacts in the racing industry that includes actor Paul Newman, a Westport resident and Lime Rock regular for years, and talk show host David Letterman, who lives in New Canaan and co-owns an Indy Racing League team.
"I did an interview about this for CBS that will be with a young lady who I thought was about 12, which is a comment about my age," Barber said. "When I was done, she said, `My husband would like that.' So, who knows?"
Contact David Heuschkel at
dheuschkel@courant.com.
Copyright © 2007, The Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/sports/motorracing/hc-limerock0709.artjul09,0,3600175.story
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