The Grand Prix at The Glen was an
IndyCar Series race held at
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
in
Watkins Glen, New York
Watkins Glen is a village and census-designated place in and the county seat of Schuyler County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,829. Watkins Glen lies within the towns of Dix and Reading. To the southwest o ...
.
American open wheel racing
American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.
Competitive events ...
at the circuit dates back to 1979.
Following a five-year hiatus, Watkins Glen was added back to the schedule for the
2016 season following the cancellation of the proposed
Grand Prix of Boston The Grand Prix of Boston was a proposed IndyCar Series race scheduled to be first held on September 4, 2016. The race was to have taken place on a 2.25 mile route along the South Boston Seaport. The city of Boston, Massachusetts Department of Transp ...
. However, after the
2017 Season, it was announced that
Portland International Raceway would be brought back to the 2018 IndyCar schedule, replacing the Watkins Glen event.
History
CART
The
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
series held the first
American open wheel racing
American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.
Competitive events ...
events at the circuit from 1979–1981. It was held during the waning years of the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
United States Grand Prix
The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...
. At the time the popular track was starting to lose some of its image, and by 1981, fell into bankruptcy. The Formula One race was cancelled for 1981, and for that year, the CART race took over its traditional October date.
For 1979 and 1980, the
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
series utilized the course layout, also known colloquially as the Six Hours course. In 1981, the "Boot" segment was utilized, and the
Scheckter Chicane was removed, resulting in a layout.
After 1981, the CART series left, and did not return. The track was continuing to suffer from financial difficulties and was falling into a state of disrepair. Eventually, the circuit was sold to
ISC, and began to regain stature and popularity with the addition of
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
in 1986.
IndyCar Series
The IRL IndyCar Series debuted at the track in 2005, the first season in which the IRL added road courses to the schedule. During its entire run, the IndyCar Series race utilized the full circuit. The layout included the "Boot" and the "Inner Loop" bus stop chicane that was built in 1992.
In its first year, the race was scheduled for the traditional fall date. In 2006, however, it was moved to early June, the weekend immediately following the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. It was paired alongside the traditional
6 Hours of Watkins Glen
The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...
sports car event weekend. The move proved very unpopular, and was met with cool temperatures and rain. After only one season with the sports car and IndyCar doubleheader, for 2007, the IndyCar race was moved to
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
weekend.
The 2009 race, won by
Justin Wilson, was the first IndyCar race ever won by
Dale Coyne Racing, after 25 years of competition in the sport.
On June 28, 2007,
Camping World signed a four-year deal to be the title sponsor of the race through 2010. Despite being considered a top venue by competitors, the race suffered from low attendance. Management believed that coupling the race with July 4 weekend was not ideal for attendance because many locals were out-of-town, and local college students were typically out of school for the summer and likewise also out-of-town. Furthermore,
ISC, which owns Watkins Glen, pulled their events from the IndyCar calendar for 2011 after a dispute regarding sanctioning fees.
On May 13, 2016, following the cancellation of the proposed
Grand Prix of Boston The Grand Prix of Boston was a proposed IndyCar Series race scheduled to be first held on September 4, 2016. The race was to have taken place on a 2.25 mile route along the South Boston Seaport. The city of Boston, Massachusetts Department of Transp ...
, the IndyCar Series announced that it would return to Watkins Glen, with the revived race being held on
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
weekend.
Track management embraced the traditional fall date as the vacation season was over, and it enabled them to market to locals and college students whom were now back in town.
Past winners
*2006: Race shortened due to two-hour time limit.
Support race history
References
http://www.indycar.comhttp://www.champcarstats.com
{{IndyCar Series races