Recognizing Jim Haynes

There is a man who is not only unknown to the general public but also to much of the racing community. He was, however, of vital importance to modern American road racing. With the exception of those who organize races, he is virtually anonymous. Jim Haynes, however, is my own personal hero. He tried to do three things significant for U.S. road racing and was successful at two of them. Here’s what happened.

Lime Rock Park in Connecticut is unique insofar as motor racing is concerned because it is relatively near the New York metropolitan area. Established in the late fifties, by the early sixties, it was near bankruptcy and about to close. Jim Haynes, along with John Fitch, who lives nearby and had designed the track, raised sufficient funds and came to the rescue. Jim managed the track from 1964 until 1986. He saved the track and made it profitable in spite of a serious obstacle: a local injunction prohibiting Sunday racing. He inaugurated the Labor Day–weekend Vintage Festival in 1982, combining racing and a Sunday concours that has become, arguably, the premier vintage event in the East.