Tree Clearing Fall 2013
Whiskey Hill Raceway Spring 2015
Palmer Motorsports Park (PMP) was conceived by the New England Region Sports Car Club of America (NER SCCA) which formed a new track committee and LLC (NER Investments) to build and operate a racetrack. After a lengthy search, a 600+ acre tract on Whiskey Hill in Palmer Massachusetts was secured.
In December 2007, after professional review and public hearings, the Palmer Planning Board granted a special permit. A local racer/developer was given control and he made further changes: a new layout (shown here), hotel, restaurant, private garages and aBarkow Leibinger-designed structure, which the Palmer Planning Board approved in 2009.
A victim of the 2008 recession, the project stalled for 3+ years before control of NER Investments was transferred again. After funding and development permits were secured, J. Read Corp. broke ground in late 2013 (Groundbreaking Memo). After much site work and a few hiccups, in May 2015 Whiskey Hill Raceway opened: a bidirectional 2.3 mile racetrack with 190+ feet of elevation and vistas into New York, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire. The trade magazine Road & Track proclaimed Whiskey Hill Raceway one of the top 10 race tracks to drive in North America.
No history is complete without naming names. First and foremost, NER SCCA's Dick Patullo, Bruce Allen, Don Laverty and Lou Gingerella, who respectively chaired the committee, concocted a biz plan, literally humped & number-crunched a balanced-site, 2-mile circuit, and donned a golden parachute; SCCA and town officials – Bob Ring & Don Duffy & Mike+Linda & Kathy Barnes – who cut red tape and paved the way; Tim Pappas for his eco-prescient site plans; and lastly, "Wanking for Palmer" Leon & Jordie. Credit (literally) goes to Don Anderson of Hampden County Savings Bank for bankrolling and Greg Read & Dan Moeller for managing the project. In cameo roles: Joe Marko & Will Turner for inspiration, Jonathan Fryer Esquire for billable hours, Charli-Electrified Greenhaus for solar flares, and your land court jester & scribe Hot Diggity Dog "Fast Fred" (and wife Pamela for her well-earned stink-eye rolling).
History continues with: Christopher Tier, Al Sandy, Kaleigh White, Matt, Mark, Nick, Kevin, JC, Stan & staff who scrub floors, wack weeds, wave flags, pump gas, guard the gates & post on TikTok, FB & IG; and by our sponsors, members and all who shred the alphalt or just hangout and schmooze in the paddock.
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