Lime Rock Park set to celebrate 60 years of the Ford Mustang and Ford Motorsports at Historic Festival 42. Image – Sam Posey driving the #1 Ford Mustang for Shelby Racing Co. in the 1969 Trans Am Weekend at Lime Rock Park

This Labor Day weekend, Lime Rock Park will roar to life as the Connecticut track is set to celebrate Ford as the honored marque for Historic Festival 42 (Aug. 30-Sept. 2). The five-day celebration will not only commemorate the 60th anniversary of one of the most iconic and enduring muscle cars in automotive history, the Ford Mustang, but also pay homage to the significant contribution Ford has made to automotive innovation.

The Historic Festival Committee also named the Honored Collector this year as Ross Myers. Myers, a regular competitor in Historic Trans-Am and a long-time competitor at Lime Rock Park, is the benefactor of Boyertown, Pennsylvania-based 3 Dog Garage Museum and will bring a large variety of rare Ford-powered cars that will be on display throughout the weekend and during Sunday in The Park.

1986 Ford Probe GTP & 1966 Mustang Trans Am from 3 Dog Garage

Adding to the excitement of the weekend,  Historic Festival will debut the new Turn of the Century World Challenge group. This group will showcase production-based street stock race cars from the 1995-2005 era, prepared for SCCA World Challenge, Motorola Cup and various national and international categories.

“Ford has played such a central role in racing through so many eras,  you could argue that you can’t really tell the story of racing without them,” said Historic Festival Chair Skip Barber. “It is a thrill to have Ford as the featured marque this year. It is hard to believe that this is already the 42nd edition and we anticipate building on what was a fantastic event last year. Having Ross Myers bring some very special examples from his collection and the addition of the new World Challenge class will make this a really memorable event. Ross has been a competitor in the Festival for years and we are happy to announce that he’s willing to add to his role this year as the Featured Collector. I have had some good outings with Ford-powered cars in my day, so I am personally very much looking forward to everything that is going into this very special HF42.”

Skip Barber with the checkered flag after a successful outing in Formula Ford, 1969

Ford Motorsports and the Mustang also have a rich history at Lime Rock Park. Mustangs have claimed the checkered 17 times over the last 60 years in championships like Trans-Am and Grand-Am, with the earliest victory coming from Sam Posey in 1969, driving the No.1 Carroll Shelby Ford Mustang in the Trans-Am Series. In total, Fords have claimed 34 victories during major events from NASCAR Busch North East Series to the Trans Am Series, IMSA and more at Lime Rock Park with Ford powerplants adding another 20 wins to the tally. Legendary drivers like Parnelli Jones, Dorsey Schroeder, Ron Fellows, Tommy Kendall, Peter Revson, Butch Leitzinger, and more recently drivers like Chris Dyson and Thomas Merrill have all won at Lime Rock Park piloting Ford-powered cars.

Throughout their illustrious history, Ford & their race cars have been at home at Lime Rock Park

Lime Rock Historic Festival 42  launches into action over Labor Day weekend with a 17-mile tour through the area on Thurs., Aug. 29 with the Historic Festival Parade presented by NBT Bank. Friday, Saturday and Monday feature non-stop, on-track competition across a diverse set of historic racing classes. On Sunday (Sept. 1), the Lime Rock Concours and Gathering of the Marques will display nearly 1,000 enthusiast cars and motorcycles arranged around the Lime Rock circuit for Sunday in The Park.

The full list of cars from the Myers’ collection and more details on new classes will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Historic Festival 42 is now accepting competition applications. Registration information can be found here: REGISTER – Historic Festival 42

Tickets and event information can be found here: https://limerock.com/events/historic-festival-42/