Actually, Chris, I gave LRP a *LOT* of credit. I grew up in Texas simply dreaming of the "mystique" of Lime Rock Park, relishing the Memorial Day race on TV after watching the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 (?) the weekend before. When I came to CT for the first time my visit to LRP was the *first* thing I did, even before going to the hotel. And, yep, I ducked the first time I drove under The Bridge.

But since then, the mystique has quickly worn off. I've driven nearly two decades at that place, most of it on worn, buckled, and cracking pavement (on places where it wasn't a concrete patch). Most of it has been paddocking on dirt (when it wasn't mud or out-and-out standing water). Bathrooms are minimal - non-existent in the B Paddock - and it's only recently I haven't had to pay someone extra to clean them. Showers? Yeah, right.

And then there's the track. It was world-class course -- in 1959, when there were few other choices. Only 1.5 miles, visually attractive mostly because it has "park" in the name. Only recently has it been redesigned such that it won't ALWAYS kill you when you make a simple mistake, and that was only due to coming *this* close to losing one of its very few profitable weekends. And, recently the costs involved in playing there as a club has nearly tripled, and it's rare that I get out of there as a spectator for two bills when all is said and done.

And, of course, each time I decide to race (or sometimes spectate) there, it usually requires an additional day off work because there's no racing on Sunday. Oh, but that adds to the mystique, right...?

Bottom line, the dogs bark but the caravan moves on. Lime Rock Park was nice in its day, but that day is long past; there are so many better, world-class facilities, some of them historical but highly revised, most of them built within the last couple decades. Hell, even crappy-ass Nelson Ledges and Hallett are better tracks as driver's courses! If someone built Lime Rock Park exactly as it sits now, it would be heralded as a great "country club" facility for those with tons of money to drive their Ferraris around, but it would be unlikely to garner a lot of attention from the racers. And it would NEVER get a major date like ALMS. Not in a million years.

I do like the breakfast sandwiches and tots, though. Could live on those for a long time.

Hey, you always remember your first time: I still hold a soft spot for Texas World Speedway with its crappy roval configuration and a long sense of history with Indy and NASCAR. But in the light of day, when you look back at the high school yearbook photo of the girl you got your first kiss from, you soon recognize she was as dumpy as the rest of them...