Preview: Watkins Glen

In the lush rolling hills of New York lies a track that could easily be passed by if you didn’t know what you were looking for, but this weekend tents will be lining those hills as flans flock to Watkins Glen International Raceway to watch the Camping World Grand Prix. As the pilots of the IndyCar Series prepare for the main event here are some story lines to watch for:

Coming into the Glen this weekend, there is only one Indy Car driver that has visited Victory Lane at the historic course. In three previous appearances at Watkins Glen Scott Dixon has ended his day by being the first to take the Checkered Flag.

The only other open-wheel driver to win three consecutive events at the track was Graham Hill in a Formula 1 car. If Dixon wins, he will become the first IndyCar Series driver to win four consecutive races at one track. If he is able to accomplish the feat he will eclipse his teammate Dan Wheldon’s record as he is the only active driver that has three consecutive wins at one track (Homestead-Miami).

When it comes to starting on the front row at Watkins Glen, there is only one driver who has sat on the pole position every time the Green Flag has waved at an Indy Car event. Helio Castroneves has dominated qualifying at the Glen, but when it comes to race day his luck has fallen short. Despite the prime starting position and leading 49 laps, Castroneves has finished 12th, seventh and 18th.

Being the second road course this season that all IndyCar drivers will be competing on in one weekend, it will be interesting to see how the transition teams fare this weekend. In St. Petersburg the transition drivers showed that turning right and left helped level the playing field. Graham Rahal won the race in St. Pete and five other drivers new to the series finished in the top 10. For eleven of the drivers entered, it will be their first trip to the historic 3.4-mile road course.

Single-car qualifying has been eliminated on road and street courses in 2008. Drivers are now randomly assigned to two groups that receive 20 minutes of qualifying time each. The top six from each group advance to a second 15-minute session, and then the fastest six from that session advance to the Firestone Fast Six to determine the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award winner. This weekend we will see how the IndyCar drivers will adapt to the new format.

With three first time winners in 2008 (Graham Rahal, Danica Patrick and Ryan Briscoe) it appears as if there is a good chance that a new face may grace Victory Lane. With the somewhat level playing field this weekend, there is a good chance that Dixon’s strong hold on Watkins Glen victories may be in jeopardy.

Fast Facts

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.

The stars of Formula 1 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 also recording wins at the track.

Suffering from financial problems, the track closed in 1980, but in 1983 International Speedway Corporation purchased the track giving it new life. 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.

Several changes were made to the Glen in 2005, so that it could be safe for the stars of the Indy Car Series. In preparation, the circuit was overhauled. Grandstands from a Nazareth Speedway, which had closed, were installed, the gravel in The 90 was removed and replaced with a paved runoff area, and curbing was cut down for the Indy Racing League event. Previously, the high curbing in the chicane had become a place where NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars would bounce high off the curbing, creating an ideal opportunity for cars to lose control, and to slow cars. Other areas of the track received improvements as well: the exits of turn 2 (the bottom of the esses), the chicane, turn 6 (the entrance to the boot), turn 9 and turn 11 all had additional runoff areas created and safety barrier upgrades. The carousel run off has been paved, as well as turn 1 (the 90) and the esses are being paved in the winter of 06-07. Augmenting what was already in place along the front stretch, additional high safety fences were installed on the overpasses crossing the service roads at the top of the esses and just out of the boot immediately after the exit of turn 9.

2008 marks the 60th Anniversary of the first race held in the streets of Watkins Glen. The season long celebration will include the announcement of the top driver from each of the six decades that make up The Glen’s history and will conclude with the U.S. Vintage Grand Prix.

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