The Glen: Still racing after all these years
Racing fans around the world are quite familiar with Watkins Glen International Raceway (WGIR). This is somewhat surprising because the sleepy little hamlet, situated in upstate New York's picturesque Finger Lakes Region, barely registers to most Americans when its name is mentioned. Oh, they may have heard something about it, but they couldn't pinpoint it on a map.
So much for fame on the home front but after all, it's a small place in a rural environment. Watkins (as we Upstaters know it), it's waterfall-scoured gorge,
and Seneca Lake are merely moderately-known tourist destinations surrounded by forested hills, dairy farms, and lakes. But the fact remains that the Village of Watkins Glen and its international raceway have a storied and star-studded history in the world of motorsports.
In the local vernacular, WGIR is simply known as "The Glen" and its layout offers as many challenges to drivers as any road circuit in use today. From Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) amateurs to Formula One professionals, the Glen circuit successfully hosted hundreds of events, and with sellout crowds. That's why NASCAR is still racing there since it began competition at The Glen in 1957.
A progression of tracks
Glen racing did not always involve a closed-circuit track, and racing as we know it today began in 1948. The idea originated with Cameron Argetsinger, an Ohio resident and student at nearby Cornell University who often stayed at his father's summer house on Seneca Lake. SCCA member Argetsinger proposed an amateur road race to be called the "Watkins Glen Grand Prix" to the village Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber was ecstatic and Argetsinger selected a 6.6-mile course using paved roads with a short dirt and gravel stretch.
The first two years of racing through the hills and village streets were crowd pleasers, but that ended in 1950 when a driver was killed when his car fishtailed and rolled during the race. Earlier that same race, a car left the road, injuring a fireman and two spectators. Better safety and crowd control measures were introduced and racing continued on the same hill and village street course until 1952.
That year, tragedy again befell Watkins Glen. A car left the course on the start-finish straight in town, plunged into the crowd, killing one spectator and injuring 12. The day's race was over and that was the last time racing wound through the village streets.
Venue changes
Threatened with legal sanctions by New York State, race organizers looked for a safer location. In 1953 they found one in the Town of Dix, on top of the hill west of the village. Town roads were used for the new 4.6-mile course, and the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Corporation was formed by the Chamber of Commerce to manage racing.
Grand Prix racing continued from 1953 to 1955, when it became clear that poor visibility and drainage on the roads were causing an extremely hazardous situation. The corporation decided to build a permanent road course, purchased a 550-acre parcel near the existing course, and hired engineers from Cornell to draw up the layout.
The 2.3-mile course (minus the foot-shaped area known as "The Boot" located in the lower right corner of the course map) saw its first race in 1956, but it was not SCCA-santioned because of a squabble between the corporation and the SCCA. By 1957, however, ruffled feathers were smoothed over, the SCCA inspected the circuit and requested a few changes, then agreed to form the Glen region of the SCCA. The First Annual Glen Classic SCCA Regional was hosted that July. Racing had a permanent home at Watkins Glen.
NASCAR grand nationals came to The Glen in 1957, and the international Formula Libre in 1958. The United States Grand Prix became a fall tradition in 1961 and was held at The Glen for 20 years. Many hall of fame drivers battled on the circuit, including the likes of Sterling Moss, the great Jimmie Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, Jack Brabham, Emerson Fitipaldi, and those that came before and after.
Demise and resurrection
The 1970s featured outstanding Can-Am and Trans-Am racing, Formula 5000, and the CART Indy car series. However, Glen management was
hemorrhaging money and the track was forced to close in 1981 to professional racing. Bankruptcy and disrepair followed until a subsidiary of Corning Glass Works purchased it in 1983 and formed a partnership with the International Speedway Corporation.
Thanks to Corning and ISC, the WGIR is again home to race excitement. In fact today, August 13, the circuit hosts a NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship Series race, the AMD At The Glen. I enjoy the driving of NASCAR star Mark Martin, but his chances for a win are remote due to a forced start from the rear of the pack due to a necessary motor change-out in his car.
But that is fine with me, because we upstaters have been thrilled by auto racing at The Glen for a long time — today won't be any different. And as any driver or fan will tell you, the worst race there ever was just wasn't that bad.