Year of Skip Barber ... (Continued)
His eponymous school not only created champions in every professional racing series in the U.S. and produced winning drivers at the Indy 500 or Daytona 500 for decades. In addition, the school saved countless lives on the roads through safe driver training programs, as well as having had a profound impact on the sport, training and developing an entire generation of mechanics, administrators, and marketing specialists who often, like the driver graduates, found their way to the upper levels of motorsport. Paul Pfanner, of Racer All smiles here for a full SBRS class
Magazine, repeatedly has stated “The school was the major entry point into motorsports for so many for so long.” Understanding the key role that the facility could play in building his growing school, and with a deep desire to preserve the track from development in the very high-value Connecticut countryside, Barber led a group of investors, all racing school graduates, who purchased the track from Harry Theodoracopulos in 1983, eventually becoming the sole owner.
Barber sold his school in 1999 and continued to work there until 2001. Today, the Skip Barber Racing School continues to be the world’s largest automotive education and entertainment company, offering driving and racing schools at the finest tracks in America. In 2021, Barber sold the track to a different group of investors who were equally passionate and deemed well-suited to carry out Lime Rock Park’s legacy into the future. Barber remains a large shareholder in Lime Rock Group LLC and is an active track management team member.
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