A pack of colorful vintage open-cockpit sports racing cars and small GT coupes sweeping down a tree-lined racetrack straight past a red banner reading Paul Newman Straight.

Lime Rock Historic Festival 44 Honors Newman and Alfa Romeo

ByKevin Nguyen
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The average American associates the Labor Day holiday weekend with picnics and barbecues, swimming and boating, and hiking or biking. But for more than four decades, hundreds of thousands of car nuts have been celebrating the holiday at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park at the racing circuit’s annual Historic Festival.

Organizers describe Historic Festival 44 as a five-day “celebration of racing’s living automotive history.” The celebration takes place in and around the famed racetrack’s 1.53-mile road course. It features parades, exhibits, races, a car show, and concours judging of classic cars.

It would be difficult to find a more historic site to host the activities than Lime Rock. Built in 1957 on what had been a sand and gravel quarry, Lime Rock proudly proclaims that it has played host to nearly every major American road racing sanctioning body. The list includes NASCAR, IMSA, Trans-Am, Grand-Am, Can-Am, SCCA, World Challenge, and the American Le Mans Series.

The list of racing legends who have run there is equally impressive: Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Al Holbert, Geoff Brabham, Derek Bell, Scott Pruett, Carroll Shelby, and Paul Newman, to name just a few. Newman, the late actor/racer who called Connecticut home, and professional racing driver coach Bruce MacInnes were honored during Historic Festival 44 with a Legends of Lime Rock placard ceremony, the circuit’s version of a hall of fame.

Italy’s Alfa Romeo also received special recognition as the Historic Festival’s featured marque. About 50 Alfas filled out the field for an all-Alfa race on Monday afternoon, and 26 were showcased in a paddock display. Organizers called the Alfa turnout “the largest gathering of significant Alfa Romeos ever assembled in one place.”

A yellow Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ coupe running alongside a red open-top Alfa Romeo race car on a racetrack, both panned against blurred trackside signage.
An Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ runs wheel to wheel with a red Alfa Romeo racer in the festival’s all-Alfa run group.
A red Alfa Romeo 155 sedan with black wheels parked under a white tent beside a red Alfa Romeo 155 race car covered in sponsor decals, with a prewar Alfa Romeo grand prix car behind them.
An Alfa Romeo 155 road car, a model never sold new in the United States, parked beside its DTM race car counterpart in the Historic Festival 44 Alfa Romeo display.

That’s not to say Alfa was alone in celebrating its racing heritage this Labor Day weekend. Organizers said this year’s turnout of more than 1,200 vintage vehicles made it the largest Historic Festival in modern history. The entrants included 287 race cars competing during three days on track and an additional 190 rare and significant cars participating in a concours. Judges for the event included Alfa Romeo Museum Chief Curator Lorenzo Ardizio, Hagerty’s Barn Find Hunter Tom Cotter, classic car appraiser and consultant Donald Osborne, and NEMPA’s own Wayne Carini.

Two judges in red caps and blazers inspect a red TVR Griffith with its hood open while the owner and another man talk beside it on a grass show field.
Judges look over a TVR Griffith and hear its story from the owner in the class titled British Body, American Heart.

Unfortunately, we weren’t among that esteemed group of classic car connoisseurs (although we did meet some of the judges). For us, that was one of the highlights of the weekend, which we began by watching a parade of the many amazing vehicles attending Historic Festival 44. The parade began at Lime Rock Park’s hometown of Lakeville, meandered through surrounding towns, and ended at Falls Village.

A red streamlined prewar coupe leads a silver Alfa Romeo coupe and two 1930s convertibles down a two-lane road in evening light, the lead driver waving an arm out the window.
The Thursday parade rolls out of Lime Rock Park and through downtown Lakeville on its way to Falls Village.

That was Thursday. On Friday, action began on the racetrack with practice runs for nine groups made up of touring cars and Trans-Am and open-wheeled racers. Witnessing motorsports of a bygone era in which drivers are not aided by modern technology such as anti-lock brakes or traction control is a sight to behold. Driving skill is on full display as drivers push their vintage race cars to the ragged edge on New England’s most famous racetrack. Roaring American V8s battle screaming European inline-4s and flat-sixes as nearly 300 entrants thrill the throngs attending the races.

A bright green Dodge Challenger race car cornering ahead of a dark Ford Mustang and a red Chevrolet Camaro on a racetrack, with motorhomes and spectators lining the fence behind.
A Dodge Challenger in period Trans-Am livery heads the Historic Trans-Am run group with a Mustang and a Camaro in pursuit.

After the noise and excitement of Friday and Saturday’s on-track action, Sunday calmed things down with a (mostly) quiet morning and afternoon concours and car show that extended around the racetrack. The setup allowed spectators to wander around the entire road course getting up close and personal with the multitude of cars in the show and the competitors in the concours.

A dark grey prewar Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Berlinetta coupe with flowing fenders and a tall shield grille driving slowly past spectators at a racetrack paddock.
This Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Berlinetta was among the showpieces of the Alfa Romeo celebration at Historic Festival 44.

Lime Rock Park, located in the northwest corner of Connecticut, is well worth the drive for anyone who loves cars and racing. Whether you’re into the classic racing cars that turn out every Labor Day weekend or the many other races on the circuit’s calendar, Connecticut’s famed racetrack should be on any auto enthusiast’s list of places to visit.

Words and photos by Kevin Nguyen.

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Kevin Nguyen picked up a camera in 2012, but he was hooked on cars long before that. A lifelong Mainer, he chases automotive culture across New England and around the world, from fog-soaked hill climbs to the back roads and paddocks closer to home. His photography has run through J.D. Power and Hooniverse, and he stays plugged into the local enthusiast scene. He is a member of the New England Motor Press Association.

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