Lime Rock’s new investors chart a future for the park

SALISBURY — Two years ago, Skip Barber announced the sale of Lime Rock Park to a group of investors with deep ties not only to auto racing in general, but to the historic Lakeville track in particular.

Since assuming control of the road racing circuit in 2021, the Lime Rock Group, LLC, comprised of general partners Charles Mallory, Dicky Riegel and Bill Rueckert, along with a group of private investors, have begun making improvements to the venue and formulating major plans for its future, which includes the construction of a 48-room Delamar Lime Rock boutique hotel in the coming years.

Already, the new owners said they have invested more than $4 million in infrastructure improvements which includes more than $1 million to repave the FCP Euro Proving Grounds half-mile permanent autocross course located in the infield where most of the community events are staged.

Future plans include consolidating and improving facilities, signage, food and track safety.

“The group is bringing outstanding new vision and vitality to Lime Rock’s operations and to our regional community,” according to Barber. “They are ideal stewards of the park’s long and successful legacy.”

Barber has retained ties with LRP as a significant owner in the new entity and is an integral part of its management committee, as the business continues to leverage his worldwide reputation in the motorsports industry.

The Skip Barber racing school and driving academy, which he founded, continues to accelerate participants’ racing dreams.

Off to a speedy start

Summer of 2023 kicked off in late May with the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic May 26 through 29, featuring an array of high-octane thrills plus the Royals’ Garage car show and a craft beer Grand Prix, drawing a record crowds. It’s been full speed ahead at the Lakeville venue ever since.

Other non-racing events held at LRP in recent weeks include Project SAGE’s annual Trade Secrets garden and antiques extravaganza, FCP Euro Sunday Motoring Meets and the Little Guild’s popular Great Country Mutt Show. The 2nd annual Lime Rock Park Epic cycling event and a new Airstream event are slated for fall.

“We love the fact that we can be involved with community organizations that do good things in the Lime Rock area,” said Riegel, president and CEO of Lime Rock Park.

“We recently moved our banking relationship to Salisbury Bank/NBT, reflecting our relationship with the community, and we continue to host our state dignitaries here at the park. We feel an incredible link to the state of Connecticut and that we are an important and historic element in Connecticut.”

Community partners also include The Hole in The Wall Gang Camp, The Piston Foundation, Salisbury Winter Sports Association, Lakeville Hose Company, FCP Euro and the Sharon-based Just Hands Foundation, which helps people with disabilities gain access to the racetrack. (See related article, Page One.)

While unmuffled racing on Sundays is off limits, the day still offers myriad events. The venue’s Sundays at the Park features a series of car shows and gatherings throughout spring and summer including FCP Euro Sunday motoring meets and a special Concours d’Elegance featuring historically significant classic cars in motion.

Already, efforts appear to be paying off. “Overall attendance has increased dramatically over the last two years,” Riegel noted. For non-racing patrons, their first visit is often an opportunity to view the venue as a place to spend quality family time.

“All these things demonstrate how we’re a park, and not just a commercial racing facility.”

About the new management team

Riegel resides in Bedford, New York, but is no stranger to the Northwest Corner or its celebrated racetrack. He is a graduate of the Salisbury School and served on its board of trustees for 25 years and as board chair for several years.

“My history is, I love classic things,” said Riegel, who earned an MBA degree with a concentration in finance and marketing from Columbia Business School, and an undergraduate degree in Art and Architecture from Middlebury College in Vermont.

“I previously worked in advertising and marketing with Mercedes Benz and had a long career in the recreational vehicle industry.”

Riegel was the founder and CEO of travel company Airstream 2 Go, LLC, the exclusive, factory-authorized source for rental Airstream trailers and tow vehicles. Prior to that, he served in positions from 1998 through 2012 at Thor Industries, Inc., the world’s largest recreational vehicle manufacturer, including as its COO and as president and CEO of Airstream, Inc.

“That experience of taking a moribund product and making it modern and relevant was a heady experience for me. Now, lo and behold, I have the opportunity to get involved with another classic brand, Lime Rock Park.”

He said he is excited for the challenge of “taking Lime Rock Park, the classic, and reimagining it so it is modern and relevant and attracting new customers, new participants, people from all walks of life who can enjoy this place and help people realize their dreams.”

Realizing dreams is a common refrain in conversations with Riegel, who is an avid skier, golfer, hockey player, fisherman and automotive enthusiast.

The father of two grown children has fond memories of the day in 1982 when his dad picked him up from school in a classic ’31 duPont when he was a student at Salisbury School and heading to the track.

“I got to drive that car at the age of 15. I remember the thrill of going around the track,” noted Riegel, who still owns the rare classic automobile, of which only 537 were produced between 1919 and 1931. “My dad died 10 years ago, yet that memory helped forge the passion I found for Lime Rock Park.”

Years later, during a family outing at LRP, Riegel recalled, his son Richard, then 5, “turned to me and said, ‘Daddy, this is the best day of my life.” Today, Richard is part of LRP’s ownership.

LRP general partner Mallory, founder of the Greenwich Hospitality Group, has a passion for hotels and restaurants as well as preservation, art and design. He owns and operates boutique-style hotels both in and outside of Connecticut, including the Delamar luxury brand.

Mallory’s family, which has deep roots in the state’s maritime history, founded the Mystic Seaport Museum, the nation’s leading maritime museum.

Rueckert, an auto racing enthusiast, grew up driving too fast on the back roads of rural New Hampshire and Vermont. He never had a formal track day until moving to Connecticut and attending the Skip Barber driving school and racing school.

Rueckert’s background is in finance and investments. He started his professional life as a Wall Street banker at Brown Brothers Harriman and has run businesses in the oil and gas industry, real estate and resort development, and later managed an investment fund specializing in community banks.

He also has an active nonprofit life and serves on several charitable organizations, including as chairman of the board of Teachers College, Columbia University and chairman of the board of the YMCA Retirement Fund.

Riegel noted that while he and his two general partners all have a passion for racing and Lime Rock Park, they also need to keep the business financially viable.

“We have a new group of owners, and the owners are not just in it for the passion…we have to have a return on the investment,” the venue’s CEO said.

“The challenge is, how do we support the objectives of the community and the economic objectives of Lime Rock Park in symmetry?”

48-room hotel ‘linchpin of our operation’

LRP officials recently presented plans for garages and an infield kitchen to the Salisbury Planning and Zoning Commission and are working on revised siting.

“Our plans are to have everything submitted early summer for project work to begin this fall/winter,” said Riegel. “The hotel is still 18-24 months out, so nothing has been formally submitted on that.”

The construction of a hotel on site, “will be the linchpin of our operation at Lime Rock Park by not only serving all of our different events, but also participants and fans,” said the venue’s CEO.

Salisbury Planning and Zoninig chairman Michael Klemens said he has yet to see LRP’s revised plans, but based on preliminary discussions with the owners, “they have been forthcoming and engaging with the land use office.

“They are strictly limited to what they can and can’t do on that property,” Klemens noted.

“They are limited not by noise levels, but by hours of operation. If they want to start having other events,” such as weddings or other non-racing activities at the venue, he noted, “they will need a special permit, which requires a public hearing.”

Once a special permit is granted, the Salisbury land use official said, they can request a zoning permit the following year, similar to what the organizers do for Trade Secrets and The Great Country Mutt Show, and other recurring events.

“The caution here is, if they try to start a lot more events, I think they may get push-back from the neighbors,” Klemens said. “They have to be mindful of the section of the zoning regulations they operate under…things that are not construed as customary or incidental. Hopefully, it’s not going to be controversial.”

Doug Howes who is a neighbor to the track and president of the grassroots Lime Rock Citizens Council, said he is cognizant of LRP’s need to improve facilities and attract paying patrons to secure its future, “as long as it’s allowed under the town’s guidelines.”

Riegel said the owners’ goal for a more inclusive venue is a win-win for all involved.

“It will bring new people to the community, buying gas, visiting restaurants, doing things that support the Northwest Connecticut community.

“Often, when people think of a racetrack, many think it’s a concrete jungle, smoky and dirty and that people are rough and tumble, and it can’t be any farther from the truth,” Riegel said.

“Instead, there are people out there, spread out on picnic blankets, having a great time and maybe living a dream.”

  

Crowds enjoying a Fan Walk during the 2022 FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix. Lime Rock Park archives