A quieter and more secure future for Lime Rock Park

LIME ROCK — In March, Lime Rock Park (LRP) owner Skip Barber reached an agreement to sell a majority interest in the race track to a group of investors.

This group, led by Dicky Riegel, Charles Mallory and Bill Rueckert, “are the right guys,” Barber said.

Riegel is the former president and CEO of Airstream and is chair of the Board of Trustees at Salisbury School; Mallory is the founder of the Greenwich Hospitality Group; Rueckert is chair of the Board of Trustees of Teachers College at Columbia University.

All three are frequent users of Lime Rock Park — a fact not lost on Barber.

“I became concerned seven or eight years ago about who would be the steward of Lime Rock Park down the road,” he said.

Riegel, the new LRP chief executive officer, gave the Salisbury Planning and Zoning Commission an outline of future plans for the track at the commission’s Aug. 16 meeting (held online).

He began by saying that the new ownership team wishes to establish a good working relationship with the town and the commission.

He said LRP would address ongoing noise concerns from the Lime Rock Citizens Council. He also said LRP is working with the State Police and the town to address speeding on local roads.

Riegel said the new ownership wishes to expand the activities at Lime Rock Park, with an emphasis on the word “park.”

Riegel cited the 2022 Trade Secrets, an annual fundraising event for Women’s Support Services, as an example of an activity that is not related to motor sports.

He said the track will submit an application to build an “events chalet” that will be better suited for indoor events.

Also in the works are plans to expand the infield kitchen, which will replace the outfield kitchen and eliminate the need to cook food in the outfield kitchen and then drive it around to the infield.

In the B Paddock, LRP plans to build garages, which will reduce the number of vehicles arriving by trailer for racing events.

Further down the road are plans for a “hospitality area” in the outfield, with a hotel, dining and a museum.

Riegel said the ultimate goal is to make LRP a four-season tourist destination.

Dicky Riegel, at right in photo, is part of a new ownership group that purchased Lime Rock Park from owner Skip Barber, who is at left in this photo from last spring. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

The Historic Festival over Labor Day weekend is one of the highlights of the season at Lime Rock Park. Photo by Lans Christensen

Dicky Riegel, at right in photo, is part of a new ownership group that purchased Lime Rock Park from owner Skip Barber, who is at left in this photo from last spring. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan
Related Articles Around the Web

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less