An era closes....

To some of us with a bit of history knowledge, and especially to us in the Northeast, the name Jim Vaill has special meaning.

Jim Vaill, the man most responsible for carving Lime Rock out of his fathers gravel pit with a bulldozer creating one of the great American road circuits has passed away, from natural causes.

In 1955, the story goes, Jim Vaill and his buddy John Clark would tear around the gravel pits on Saturday afternoons in Johns MG-TC. Somehow, word got down to Westport, CT, to the then fledgling SCCA, and club members, in the form of Briggs Cunningham and Gaston Andrey made the trip north, and suggested the circuits formation. Jim jumped on a bulldozer and began the grading, but along the way made some calls and got John Fitch involved. Fitch and his racing pal Bill Millikin, the head of the Cornell Aeronautical Lab, got the idea of involving the Cornell highway safety department to aid in the design of the track. They are credited with the decreasing radius nature of Big Bend, the creation of proper runoff room, (for '55!) the esses, and the way the track turns AND rises and drops in the uphill and downhill. Interestingly, the uphill only accounts for a 35 foot rise, while the downhill is significantly more.

Jim spent, '56 carving, grading and creating what we have enjoyed ever since. His father must be cited too, as he supported his son through the year as well as aiding in funding and advice.

The first event?? An SCCA drivers school! 152 students put the first miles on the track, on April 20th, 1957. The firt big crash? A VW Beetle rolled in the downhill. Unfortunatley, the scholl tore up the pavement, and left potholes...a problem that seems to remain to today! So, Jim swallowed hard and spent $17,000 to repave the entire track in three days!

Saturday, April 27th 1957 marks the day the track saw its first laps in anger, and following on Sunday, SCCA New York Regions Henryk Szamota was cheif steward for Lime Rocks first race, featuring drivers Bob Holbert, Briggs Cunningham, restruanteur Vince Sardi, and John Fitch, who raced before a crowd of 6600 spectators. Among the crowd were fashion designer john Weitz, and newsman Walter Conkite.

The first days track record was set by Briggs in his D type Jag at a 1:10.4. Spec classes existed even in the 50s, but the car of choice was the English MG -TC!

After the hugely succesful race Jim was offered a large sum for the track by Bill Kimberly of Kimberly Clark, but refused...

The New England Region of the club has decided to rename the June Lime Rock National in his memory, as the "Jim Vaill National", dropping the previous "Flower Power" designation.

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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

Having grown up at Lime Rock I have many fond memories. My Father rolling John and I in a picnic blanket and rolling us down the hill, yelling like banchis all the way down. Sliding down the hill on cardboard boxes salvaged from a dumpster with little regard for the impending impact with the fence...The only thought... to beat John to the fence. Injury was never a thought! Our first racing experience!

SCCA racing at Lime Rock was a rich source of family back then and after years of unintended estrangement, the same medium has brought us back together, closer than ever, and to jog our memories every once in a while is a good thing.

Wonderful post Jake. Thank you.

Jim, if you're out there somewhere and happen to have an Internet connection in the great beyond, I hope you hear this.

Thank you for all that you did. It cost you alot, both emotionally and financilally, but you have allowed many people to come together and share the camraderie that only racing can bring.

Thanks

Eric