In 1982, an ad-hoc collection of brain-addled racers and car collectors who met regularly at the Bridgehampton Candy Kitchen suddenly got a reason to organize. The Bridgehampton Race Circuit -- as revered a piece of asphalt as any in the States -- was to become a giant condominium complex. Springing into action, the group repaired to Bobby Van’s, a darkened watering hole to plan a counterstrike.

That’s how the Friends of Bridgehampton, later the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group (BRHG) was born. Led by Guy Frost, a Roslyn, NY architect and Bob Devol, both SCCA racers, the group includedlocal farmer Richard Hendrickson, journalist Peter Klebnikov and a dozen other hardcore members. Running a David against Goliath campaign, we forged links with environmentalists, business owners and the car racing community throughout the Northeast. We conducted polls, financed water analyses and car shows, wrote op-eds, and in less than a year, sent would-bedeveloper Carol Konner home packing. A short while later, Wall Street trader Bob Rubin volunteeredto buy the track and preserve it for racing, fending off yet another ploy by developers. This allowed racing to continue unabated for another 16 years.

We had big plans for The Bridge: With Bob Rubin, we sought to return the track to its former glory, staging vintage events and pro races that would be a magnet for car lovers the world over. Ultimately, however, the realities of trying to run a race course in a wannabe suburb where people warm to the roar of leaf blowers caught up to us. With no help from the local politicians, we were unable to prevent Bridgehampton’s demise and its subsequent conversion into a golf course.

Today, BRHG works with local historians and golf course owner Bob Rubin to perpetuate the lore of Bridgehampton and its half century of racing. Our members run the annual Vanderbilt Cup Centennial Celebration demonstration runs and concours, and help organize the Bridgehampton Road Rallye. Some of us remain successful racers; others are more famous for igniting borrowed Ferraris; all of us have survived sandstorms and hurricanes and many glorious sunny days at Bridgehampton.

We invite you to join the Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group free of charge and help us preserve the memory of a very special chapter in American road racing.

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