Description:
Watkins Glen International (nicknamed ""The Glen"") is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been
home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.
Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975
to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the ""Inner Loop"" was installed in 1992 after a fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.
The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers. The facility is currently owned by International Speedway Corporation.
The circuit also has been the site of music concerts: the 1973 Summer Jam, featuring The Allman Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead and The Band and attended by 600,000 fans, and two Phish festivals: Super Ball IX in 2011 and Magnaball in 2015.
The Watkins Glen International race course has undergone several changes over the years, with five general layouts widely recognized over its history. Currently, two distinct layouts are used—The ""Boot"" layout (long course) and the ""1971 Six Hours"" layout (short course).
Public roads The first races in Watkins Glen were initiated by Cameron Argetsinger, whose family had a summer home in the area. With Chamber of Commerce approval and SCCA sanction, the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix took place in 1948 on a 6.6-mile (10.6 km) course over local public roads. For the first few years, the
races passed through the heart of the town with spectators lining the sidewalks, but after a car driven by Fred Wacker left the road in the 1952 race, killing seven-year-old Frank Fazzari and injuring several others, the race was moved to a new location on a wooded hilltop southwest of town. The original 6.6-mile (10.6 km) course is
listed in the New York State register and National Register of Historic Places as the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course, 1948-1952.
The second layout 4.6-mile (7.4 km) began use in 1953 and also used existing roads. The Watkins Glen Grand Prix Corporation was formed to manage spectators, parking, and concessions. This arrangement lasted three years.
Grand Prix Course The first permanent course was constructed on 550 acres, overlapping part of the previous street course. It was designed by Bill Milliken, and engineering professors from Cornell University. The layout measured 2.35-mile (3.78 km). This course was used from 1956-1970. In 1968 the race was extended to
six hours.
Short Course The circuit underwent a major overhaul for the 1971 season. When the 1971 Six Hours of Watkins Glen arrived in the summer of 1971, the circuit was unfinished. The short course had been finished, but the boot was unfinished, so the 1971 Six Hours was run on the short course layout. The ""Big Bend"" and the
turns leading up to it were eliminated, and replaced with a new pit straight. The new pit straight was not ready at the time, so the cars used the old pit straight just past The 90. For the 1971 Six Hours only, the start-finish line remained on the old pit straight, as the new pits were not finished in time, nor was the new section of track
past the Loop-Chute ready for the 1971 Six Hours. In 1972 the Six Hours event that year used the Watkins Glen long course for the first time.
When NASCAR returned to the track in 1986, they chose to use the short course layout. IMSA originally used the ""Boot"", but eventually, that series also began using the shorter 1971 layout.
The short course was slightly lengthened in 1992 (see ""Inner Loop"" below).
Long Course (The ""Boot"")
The most significant change to the track had not been completed for the 1971 Six Hours, but was finished in time for the Formula One race that autumn. The start-finish line was relocated to the new pit straight as planned. The new segment known as ""The Boot"" was completed in time for the race. At the end of the backstretch, after
the Loop-Chute, cars swept left into a new four-turn complex that departed from the old layout, curling downhill through the woods. The track followed the edge of the hillside to two consecutive right-hand turns, over an exciting blind crest, to a left-hand turn, and re-joining the old track. Its unique foot-like shape gave it the
nickname the ""Boot.""
The new layout including the ""Boot"" measured 3.377 miles (5.435 km).
In 1975, a fast right-left chicane was added in the turn 3-4 Esses section (called the ""Scheckter Chicane"") to slow speeds through the series of corners. This chicane was eliminated in the 1980s.
The ""Long/Boot"" course was slightly lengthened in 1992 (see ""Inner Loop"" below).
Inner Loop After a succession of serious crashes took place at the ""Loop"" at the end of the backstretch, a major change was made to the track's layout. During the 1989 Bud at the Glen, Geoff Bodine blew a tire at the end of the backstretch. He broke into a hard spin, and sailed straight off the track, crashing head-on into the barrier. In 1991,
during the IMSA Camel Continental VIII, Tommy Kendall's Intrepid RM-1 prototype crashed in the Loop, severely injuring his legs. Seven weeks later, NASCAR Winston Cup driver J. D. McDuffie died in an accident at the same site during the 1991 Bud at the Glen.
For 1992, track officials constructed a bus stop chicane along the back straight just before arriving at the Loop. Dubbed the ""Inner Loop"", it led into what was now being called, the ""Outer Loop."" This addition slightly increased the lap distance for both layouts.
