1987 SCCA F Production Champion Jim Knerr is also a bit of a photography buff. Fortunately for our readers, Jim took some time away from his 68 Sprite on occasion to shoot a few racing photos. As he has dusted off some of his old shots, Jim came across some photos of Paul Newman (aka PLN) in action.

A visit to Jim’s Flickr page is a must do, as not only is there a bunch of racing stuff, but he has some killer warbird shots as well.

Thanks for sharing the memories.

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As I’m on vacation this week, I’m taking things a bit easy here in The Garage. That’s right, no challenging posts, nothing that takes more than a few minutes. Photos are fun and every gearhead loves some cool pics.

For some reason, I’ve become drawn to helmets and the way they are just dropped around the pits. Sat on a nice shelf, plunked down on top of the car or tossed into the seat, they all look pretty cool. Not to mention the pros expensive lids offer up some cool ideas for us not so pros when it comes time to paint our own lids. These shots were taken around the pit lane at Lime Rock a few weeks ago.

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On our recent trip to Lime Rock, I had hoped to bring something cool home for the kids, just like any good Dad is supposed to do. What was I going to pick up? Who knew. Until of course I was taking some respite from the sun while poking about in the Driving Impressions store and came across the Scalextric slot cars. I knew I had to bring home some slot car goodness.
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Every race track has it’s own home town personalities. They are the folks who everyone knows and every one of them has a story. Some, like John Fitch have a history that rivals or exceeds their home track. To say that John Fitch is a legend around Lime Rock would be an understatement, as he is in fact a legend around racing in general.

Racer, safety advocate, inventor and car builder. Fitch has done all of this stuff and more, so it was pretty cool to be able to say hi and get a quick photo. I had never seen the Fitch Phoenix before, but originally thought it was some sort of Corvette clone. I wasn’t too far off, as Fitch’s one off prototype is based on the Chevy Corvair and was heavily influenced by the Mako Shark concept.
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Some photographers love nothing better than to stand trackside and grab thousands of shots. Personally, pit lane is like candy for the budding shooter in me. There really is no other spot that has the same energy and so many incredible photo possibilities. I could literally spend an entire day toting the camera around the pits.

ALMS rules prevent photographers from entering the pit lane when they are hot unless they are wearing a fireproof suit. I think that will be an excuse to sausage my lard ass into my old driving suit when the ALMS crowd visits Mosport next month!

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And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: The lovely ladies of Lime Rock!

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Some time ago, Jil McIntosh wrote a piece about auto writers who forget that they are (or should be) writing for real people, not just zillionaires. You know the guys, they are the ones who write that a 2 seater that sells for a hundred grand is a value priced sports car. While I can’t remember when or where Jil’s article appeared, it came to mind this weekend as we traveled in the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt.

Nicknamed Frank, our tester came equipped with touch screen navigation and keyless alarm. The current pricing packages bring Frank to a whopping $34,079 cdn. So let’s add this up here: 2 doors, 315 horsepower, 325 ft/lbs torque, leather interior, navi, a cool shifter, aluminum dash, upgraded suspension and brakes, cold air intake and an absolutely incredible exhaust note. All of that adds up to an incredible value in my eyes.
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I really need to get a digital slr, as my manual focus skills with the FZ-8 are seriously lacking. Of a few hundred on track shots, there are only a few that I’m happy to share. Not to worry though, these few should keep everyone happy until the Girls of Lime Rock set appears!

Oh yes, the shot above is the surprise winner, the Patron Acura of David Brabham and Scott Sharp.

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Lime Rock Park is one of the grand old ladies of North American motorsports, having made it’s mark during the golden era of sports car racing in the Fifties and Sixties. In fact, it is one of the few remaining tracks from the early days, with places Like Watkins Glen and Mosport carrying the flag for road racing in a natural setting. What a setting it is indeed!

Nestled in a valley in the Berkshire mountains, Lime Rock is surrounded by some stunning scenery which makes for a couple of incredible natural grandstands where spectators can see as much as 3 turns at a time. The track is also relatively short (when compared to a place like Mosport) and the LMP cars were lapping in the 50 second range, which means there is always something going on in front of the fans. I almost cringe to say it, but Lime Rock offers better spectating opportunities than my home track, Mosport.
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This uttered by my co-piloto after we switched seats and I removed my sandals after becoming co-piloto.

Oh well, perhaps I should scrub down the summer footwear on occasion.

The drive was uneventful other than some fun roads once we left New York State. Wait a minute, who am I trying to kid? The designated co-piloto desided to run the really loud Bullitt Mustang to redline in the first three gears right in front of a NY State Trooper! Jackass!

Of course a few miles later the same cruiser appeared in our rear view mirror. Surprise!

Anyway, once we left the interstate, we found some incredible roads through three states. Once we hit Connecticut, I got back behind the wheel anticipating some twisties. I wasn’t to be denied. I’m not sure, but I think a windy rural road and 315 horsepower breathing through a more or less open exhaust do not equal 35 miles per hour. I can be pretty certain that our average speed for the last 20 miles was far in excess of that! Damn this car sounds and feels great.

Tomorrow, we’re headed a few miles down the road to Lime Rock where we hope to get tons of stories, not to mention some great photos. For now, it’s off to bed!