Watkins Glen International

The Glen is not for the faint of heart - or those with more bravery than skill.

Watkins Glen is a 3.45 mile road course in the Finger Lakes region northwest of Elmira, New York. The track is southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, which is on the south end of Seneca Lake.

The circuit is characterized by long straights, dramatic elevation changes, and fast, sweeping turns. It is not for the faint of heart - or those with more bravery than skill.

Since opening in 1956, Watkins Glen has hosted a wide variety of races, including Formula 1, Can Am, Trans-Am, IMSA, Indycar, and NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Grand National. It was home to the US Grand Prix from the early 60's until the late 70's.

Watkins Glen is also host to a large number of club events put on by organizations such as the Porsche Club of America, the BMW Car Club of America, and, since 1999, COMSCC.

Watkins Glen has an official web page at http://www.theglen.com/

Track Configurations

Watkins Glen was heavily revised circa 1970, and the pits were moved from the bottom of the hill to their current location. What are now the final two turns were reworked to be somewhat slower, reducing the entry speed of the cars onto the new pit straight.

A few years later, a new section called "The Boot" was added, at considerable cost. The resulting financial burden eventually contributed to the loss of the US Grand Prix and the decline of the track. Fortunately ISC acquired and refurbished the track and with the coming of NASCAR events this fine circuit has prospered.

Presently Watkins Glen has two configurations. COMSCC and other sports car clubs typically use the long course, also known as the Grand Prix course. This configuration includes The Boot and the "Inner Loop" chicane.

The short course bypasses The Boot but uses the Inner Loop. This is the configuration used by NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Grand National races.

The bus stop type chicane called the "Inner Loop" was added in the early 1990s after the tragic death of NASCAR Winston Cup driver J. D. McDuffie in a Turn 5 accident. The chicane is on the right side of the back straightaway, just before the entrance to turn 5 ("The Loop"). It is numbered as four distinct turns (Turns 5, 6, 7, and 8), although it is generally taken as two turns. When the chicane is used, 4 is added to the turn numbers for all subsequent turns on the course.

The upper map is the typical flat map, and the other map is a topographical-style map, showing the elevation of the track surface.

Directions

• Take Mass Pike (Interstate 90) west to Albany
• In Albany continue on I-90 West to exit 25A, I-88 West in Schenectady
• Follow I-88 for about 116 miles to I-81 South towards Binghamton
• After 1.5 miles on I-81 take Rt 17 West towards Elmira
• After 60 miles take Exit 52N off of Rt 17 onto Rt 14 North in Horseheads
• Watkins Glen is 25 minutes (or 14 miles) from Horseheads
• After 13.7 miles, as you approach the town of Watkins Glen, turn left onto South Street
• Go .3 miles and turn right onto Genesee Street
• After .1 mile Genesee Street becomes CR-16
• Follow CR-16 for 4.1 miles
• The track entrance is on the left

Total travel time from Boston is approximately 7 to 8 hours.

Helpful Hints

• There will be camping available the night before the event. Normal open-gate hours are 6am to 9pm.
• Open wheel vehicles will be permitted at this event. Please make sure that the person at registration knows you are driving an open wheel vehicle, there may be special instructions waiting for you at the track.
• Garages will be available for rent at Registration.
• The restaurant at the track will be open both days from 11am to 3pm. We must guarantee $450 in sales each day to have the restaurant open at all. If you buy your snacks from the restaurant instead of the vending machines in the garages, it will help meet this minimum, and might save the club some money.

Food & Lodging

Visit the town's Web site at http://www.watkinsglen.com/ for information about local restaurants, lodging, and other local items of interest. There is also a long list of accommodations on the track's Web site at http://www.theglen.com/.

Contact Information

Watkins Glen International
P.O. Box 500, C.R. 16
Watkins Glen, NY 14891

607-535-2486
Extension 201 Administration
Extension 220 Operations
Extension 206 Race Operations

607-535-2481
Extension 261 Tickets
Extension 229 Sales & Marketing

http://www.theglen.com/