With its rise from ragged infancy
in 1948 to its position as America's premier racing facility surely
qualifies The Glen as an astounding and unlikely success story, which
continues to be written fifty years later.
Law student Cameron Argetsinger dreamed of bringing European style
competition to the village where he spent his summer vacations and he
drew up a challenging course that encompassed asphalt, cement and dirt
roads in and around the village of Watkins Glen. The dream became
reality on October 2, 1948, "The Day They Stopped the Trains," in the
first post-World War II road race in the U.S. For five years, the top
names in American sports car racing visited the small village and huge
crowds came out to watch them race.
Competition moved to a temporary course in 1953, and 2.3-mile permanent
circuit was built in 1956. The following year, The Glen hosted its first
professional race, a NASCAR Grand National Stock Car event won by Buck
Baker over Fireball Roberts. True international competition began in
1958 with the running of a Formula Libre race.
The Formula 1 stars all visited The Glen in 1961 for the first Watkins
Glen U.S. Grand Prix, which would be a fall tradition at the circuit
through 1980. Innes Ireland won the inaugural running, with great
drivers such as Clark, Hill, Stewart, Lauda, Fittipaldi and Hunt among
the winners of later Grand Prix.
The circuit itself was expanded in 1971, as the seventies brought a wide
variety of competition to The Glen, including the Can-Am, Trans-Am, Six
Hours, Formula 5000 and CART Indy Car Series. Race winners included many
of the top names in international motorsports, including Mark Donohue,
Mario Andretti, Jody Scheckter and Bruce McLaren.
Alan Jones' victory in the 1980 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen
marked the close of an era. Financial difficulties led to the Watkins
Glen date being dropped from the Formula 1 schedule and as a result, the
bankrupt track closed following a CART race in 1981. Over the next two
years the track fell into disrepair, hosting only a few non-spectator
SCCA weekends. Corning Enterprises, a newly-chartered subsidiary of
Corning Glass Works, purchased the track in early 1983 and formed a
partnership with International Speedway Corporation forming Watkins Glen
International.
The Glen reopened on July 7, 1984, with Al Holbert, Derek Bell and Jim
Adams winning the inaugural Camel Continental at the renovated facility.
On August 9, 1986, fans witnessed Tim Richmond's triumph at the return
of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The Bud at The Glen grew to become New
York State's largest motorsports event and saw some of NASCAR's finest
take the checkered flag including, Martin, Wallace, and in 1998, Jeff
Gordon, won his second consecutive Glen race before a record crowd.
In 1991, Terry Labonte won the first NASCAR Busch Grand National race at
the Glen beginning an impressive streak of four wins in six years,
including three consecutive wins in '94 through '96. His three year win
streak ranks him with other Watkins Glen three-time winners: Formula One
ace Graham Hill, SportsCar drivers Al Holbert and Derek Bell and Winston
Cup driver Mark Martin.
1992 saw a major reconfiguration of The Glen's back straightaway. The
addition of the Inner Loop increased the length of the long course to
3.4 miles and the short course to 2.45 miles. The new turns enhanced
competition while adding quality spectator viewing. The Glen cemented
its distinction as North America's fastest road course when Davy Jones
won the pole for the Camel Continental IX with a fast lap of 150.334 mph
on the reconfigured 2.45 mile short course.
In 1997, International Speedway Corporation, whose holdings include
Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington
Raceway and Phoenix Int'l Raceway, became sole owner of the historic
road course, exercising a stock option buy-out of Corning Incorporated.
The sale completed Corning's mission of rebuilding the race track while
revitalizing the Southern Finger Lakes Region.
In addition to holding major NASCAR and SCCA events, Watkins Glen
International also hosts one of the nation's premier vintage events, the
Zippo U.S. Vintage Grand Prix. This event was the climax of the 50th
anniversary season, returning many of the original cars and drivers to
the original 6.6-mile street circuit through the village during the
Grand Prix Festival Race Reenactment.
1998 saw a first time combination event featuring the Lysol 200 NASCAR
Busch Series and the Bully Hill Vineyards 150 NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series as the "Festival of Speed and Sound" weekend at Watkins Glen
International. A weekend filled with great racing and live musical
entertainment.
In addition, Frontier Corporation (now known as Global Crossing), a
nationally known communications, cellular phone and electronic media
company headquartered in Rochester, New York, became the new sponsor of
NASCAR's biggest event in New York, The Frontier @ The Glen, NASCAR
Winston Cup event in 1999 for a three year deal designed to showcase
talented, cutting edge competition on The Glen's historic course.
Fans that attended NASCAR Winston Cup Series races in 2000 and 2001 saw
two unforgettable finishes. In 2000, Steve Park held off Mark Martin to
capture his first ever Winston Cup victory and shared his emotion with
the fans, celebrating on top of his car on the frontstretch. Then,
history was made in 2001 with Jeff Gordon's remarkable seventh road
course victory, setting a NASCAR Winston Cup record.
Watkins Glen International celebrated the 50th anniversary of road
racing in Watkins Glen during the 1998 racing season. Throughout fifty
years of change, Watkins Glen has embodied more than giant crowds and
great speeds. The racing community continues to return to Watkins Glen
for broader reasons. Watkins Glen has become a racing institution, the
premier road racing facility in the United States.
