2003 Rolex Vintage Festival, Lime Rock Park, Connecticut

Labor Day weekend is the time to be in western Connecticut at Lime Rock Park for the Rolex Vintage Festival. Norman Barrs’ 1929 Blower Stutz and George Holman’s DV-32 powered 1928 car were both there, well prepared and ready to roll. George would once again handle the Barrs’ car and George’s son Bill would demonstrate his considerable skills with the ’28 Stutz. Meanwhile, the pre-war Group 1 was one of the largest on the program and over 30 cars regularly answered the Grid Call.

Weather on Friday, Saturday and Sunday was nearly perfect. Monday would be another matter. Both cars performed very well with times in the low 1:20’s over the 1.53 mile course. The faster time was posted by Bill Holman in the ’28 car with several very clean and consistent laps. There were but two small glitches. A low battery on the ’28 car thwarted the car’s appearance for the first practice session on Friday. A couple hours on the battery charger cured that. Then a crack was discovered Friday afternoon on the intake plenum on Norman Barrs’ car. Dean Rymer removed the aluminum tube and took it back to Springfield for repair. Dean had the repaired part back on the car well before the 9AM Saturday morning warm-up.

The pre-war group at Lime Rock included a large number of Bugattis and several other Grand Prix cars. While the Stutzes were among the quickest of the sports cars they could not quite match the likes of Ian Landy’s ERA or Peter Giddings Alfa Romeo 8C2600 or a few of the Grand Prix Bugattis. It’s tough putting 3800lb cars with 220 -250 hp up against 1800lbs and 300+hp. Nevertheless, that was the grouping and the competition would be most interesting.

There is no racing at Lime Rock on Sunday, so the Vintage Festival hosts a first class Auto Show stretching the full length of the front straight through Big Bend and into the Esses. Both Stutzes were entered and scored a 1-2 victory, 1928 and 1929 respectively, each earning a handsome inscribed silver mug.

The rain began about 6AM Monday and let up a bit by 8AM. The 9AM warm-up, 10 minutes, was on a very wet track. Bill drove the ‘28 car gently and smoothly without putting a wheel wrong. He commented that it was extremely slick. George Holman discovered just how slick as the ’29 car broke loose in the left hander after Big Bend. No harm done, he gathered it up and continued on.

Group 1 race time was shortly after Noon. The weather had improved somewhat and the track was beginning to show some signs of drying. The starting grid was depleted only slightly by a few mechanical failures and a couple of entrants less than comfortable about the track conditions. At first glance, the starting positions of George Holman in the ’29 Blower car at 16th and Bill Holman in the 1928 DV32 car at 22nd don’t sound particularly impressive. At the very front were an ERA, 8C2600 Alfa Monza, Dreyer Champ car, 2 Maserati Grand Prix cars and 10, yes 10, Grand Prix Bugattis. From the drop of the Green, George was on the charge. One Maserati and the Dreyer were passed quickly and the Big Black Stutz handled the drying track better every lap. One Bugatti had a problem and another was considerably slower than the Stutz. At least two more Bugattis were dispatched along with a sizable number of lapped machinery. Well into the top ten by the final laps, the Blower Stutz was gaining on others when the rain returned. A small slip in the right hander in the esses, and the car spun nearly 360 degrees. George skillfully kept the car on the pavement through hard braking and masterful handling. The Splendid Stutz was straight, running and off again without losing a spot, although a couple of lapped cars did sneak by. The top-ten finish, with the adverse conditions and ferocious competition, was well earned. Bill Holman on the ’28 car also finished well ahead of his starting spot, at about 15th position. With knowledge that this was the very first competitive event in which Bill Holman had driven the Stutz, and in the rain to boot, the finish was superb.

Team Stutz has done well during this season with good finishes in every event. There is but one left, Elkhart Lake. Both Stutzes will once again be competing with the same driver line-up as at Lime Rock. Stay tuned.