course, constructed over hilly terrain in the Berkshire Mountains, part of the greater Appalachian mountain range. The famous Appalachian Trail hiking route passes by the circuit on the ridge lines visible from the track a half mile to the east. The venue is somewhat unique in that it features no grandstands or bleacher seating, instead inviting fans to bring chairs and blankets and enjoy the racing from its grassy hillside areas under the shade of trees. While the venue is relatively compact, the relatively short track is renowned for its spectator experience, offering fans an up close view and close quarters racing. For years the track was listed as being in length—the story goes that right after it was built, somebody used the odometer in a Chevrolet to measure the track length—and 1.53 was taken as gospel. Following the 2008 reconstruction (see below), Lime Rock's operations people measured all four possible configurations, and as it turns out, each was long, plus or minus a few hundred feet. The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship gives the distance of the track as . The "classic" configuration is seven turns, while the three optional layouts are eight, nine and ten turns, respectively. Lap records The fastest official all-time track record set during a race weekend is 43.112 seconds, set by P. J. Jones in a Toyota Eagle MkIII, during qualifying for the 1993 Toyota Trucks Lime Rock Grand Prix. The fastest official race lap records at Lime Rock Park are listed as: Races Can-Am Formula Atlantic Formula Libre Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (2006–2013) Lime Rock Grand Prix IMSA GT Championship (1972–1998) United States Road Racing Championship (1999) Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series (2000–2001, 2006–2008, 2010–2013) NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (1993–2010) NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (2010–2011) North American Touring Car Championship (1996) Northeast Grand Prix American Le Mans Series (2004–2013) IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (2015–2019, 2021–present) Pirelli World Challenge (1992–1993, 1995–2005, 2007–2008, 2013, 2016–2018) SCCA Continental Championship Formula 5000 (1968–1972) SCCA National Sports Car Championship (1958–1964) Trans-Am (1967–1974, 1981, 1985–1989, 1992–1993, 1995–1999, 2002–2003, 2010, 2012–2015, 2019, 2021–present) Gallery See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut Notes References External links Documentary by Chris Szwedo Skip Barber Racing School (Uses Macromedia Flash) Lime Rock Park race results at Racing-Reference Salisbury, Connecticut Motorsport venues in Connecticut Tourist attractions in Litchfield County, Connecticut Sports venues in Litchfield County, Connecticut American Le