Meet Richard (Dicky) Reigel, a lifelong automotive and motorsport enthusiast. As many of us likely were, Mr. Reigel’s obsession with automobiles was inspired by his father. The two of them would go for drives, spectate races, and continuously dive deeper and deeper into the world of four-wheeled, internal-combustion-powered machines.
Eventually, Mr. Reigel graduated from being a simple enthusiast and is now a part owner and CEO of one of the most successful and monumentally historic race tracks in North America, Lime Rock Park.
A Historic Racing Landmark
Lime Rock Park, Located in naturally beautiful northwest Connecticut, is among some of the oldest speedways in the United States and has played a key role in the history of motorsport since 1957, when it first opened. Originally a sand and gravel quarry, ground was first broken in 1956, and since then, it has hosted some of the most famous and historically significant icons in motorsport, such as Mario Andretti, Derek Bell, Mark Donohue, Tom Kristensen, and countless others. Of the three major continuously operated North American road racing circuits established from 1955-1957, Road America, Laguna Seca, and Lime Rock, Connecticut’s own historic raceway remains the only one of the three to remain completely unchanged from its original track layout. Even after the complete re-paving of 2008, no apex was skewed, no turn was altered, and no other track aspect was modified.
A Timeless Setting
This mantra of tradition still shines through today. Tradition, beauty, and speed are Lime Rock’s main slogan. Being as old as it is, Lime Rock has nurtured generation after generation of motorsport and automobile enthusiasts. Lime Rock has hosted virtually every major North American race series, including IMSA, American Le Mans Series, Nascar, Trans Am, SCCA, and others. LRP pulls from its past to curate events that provoke the same feelings of tradition, beauty, and speed that have been felt since the original days of SCCA races in the 50s and 60s.
I took the time to meet with Mr. Reigel to discuss his connection with motorsport and Lime Rock Park, but also to capture the essence of Lime Rock as an environment of natural beauty and comfort and a feeling of nostalgia and history. Immediately as you enter the main paddock, you can see the original building from 1957. The stands are still intact, although unused, to ensure they remain preserved. Surrounded by mountains and guided along a river, the track truly is beautiful.
Adding to the beauty of the surroundings was the 2023 season pace car speeding around the track. The world’s fastest SUV, an Aston Martin DBX 707 provided by a long-time partner of the track, Miller Motorcars, wrapped in a bright green livery resembling the current Formula One Safety Car and nicknamed “Limey McQueen” as voted by Lime Rock fans.
I wanted to combine shots of Mr. Reigel speeding down the historic No Name Straight (now the Skip Barber Straight), flying through the uphill, and around Big Bend, followed by a series of shots compiled by the Lime Rock Historical Archives in order to portray the untouched figure of LRP. Many of these vintage shots are accumulations of Trans Am from 1970 and 1988, as well as SCCA clips from the 60s and early 70s. My hope is that this video evokes the senses of tradition, beauty, and speed and can help connect you to the history of racing and remind you of the first time a race car caught your eye.
