Randy Hale # 31 C6 Corvette surrenders victory at Lime Rock Park on Memorial Day

The biggest race for sports cars on Memorial Day takes place at Lime Rock Park, a 1.5-mile track in the Northwest corner of Connecticut that opened in 1957.  A record crowd showed up under sunny skies on a perfect day for racing.

The competition is fierce because traffic bunches up quickly at the shortest track on the Trans Am schedule that has only one left-hand turn. 

The best suspension set-up is weighted for righthanders, never mind the left-hand bend before the “no name” straight, re-named for the legendary racer/actor Paul Newman.

Randy Hale, a local from Old Saybrook CT is getting the hang of his # 31 C6 ZO6 Corvette, built by Ted March.  (It was originally piloted by Eric Curran for the Whelen Racing team in the Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series).

Hale got a bit too aggressive, intentionally running into the # 88 Porsche 911.1 GT3 of Nathan Byrd and was penalized 25 seconds that cost him a victory in the XGT Class.

 In the high-powered TA class, David Pintaric, # 57 Kryderacing Mustang and Amy Ruman, # 23 McNichols Corvette had a spirited battle for the entire race until Ruman’s troubles near the end gave 4th place to Pintaric.

The Ruman Racing Team is a fan-favorite going on 25 consecutive years.

Justin Marks (owner of NASCAR TrackHouse team), stormed from 7th to win in his # 99 Camaro with help from lapped traffic and a red-flag period.

The odds-on favored team of # 16 Chris Dyson and # 20 Matt Brabham sponsored by Gym Weed could not catch up in their Mustangs.

 For those in the know, Gym Weed is a cannabis-infused energy drink sold only in California so far.  From samples made available, I guarantee it will lighten up your day.

 Photos courtesy of Chris Clark, Griffin Motley