Grand Prix at The Glen

Grand Prix at The Glen

IndyCar Series
Venue	Watkins Glen International
First race	1979
First ICS race	2005
Last race	2017
Distance	204 miles (328.306 km)
Laps	60
Previous names	Kent Oil 150 (1979–1980) Watkins Glen 200 (1981) Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix Presented by Argent Mortgage (2005) Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix Presented by Tissot (2006) Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix (2007) Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen (2008–2009) Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen (2010) Indycar Grand Prix at the Glen (2016–2017)
Most wins (driver)	Scott Dixon (4)
Most wins (team)	Penske Racing & Chip Ganassi Racing (4)

The Grand Prix at The Glen was an IndyCar Series race held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. American open wheel racing 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. 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 series held the first American open wheel racing events at the circuit from 1979–1981. It was held during the waning years of the Formula One United States Grand Prix. 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 series utilized the 2.428-mile (3.907 km) 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 3.377-mile (5.435 km) 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 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 3.403-mile (5.477 km) 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. It was paired alongside the traditional 6 Hours of Watkins Glen 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 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.^[1] 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.^[2] Furthermore, ISC, which owns Watkins Glen, pulled their events from the IndyCar calendar for 2011 after a dispute regarding sanctioning fees.^[3]

On May 13, 2016, following the cancellation of the proposed Grand Prix of Boston, the IndyCar Series announced that it would return to Watkins Glen, with the revived race being held on Labor Day weekend.^[4][5] 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

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
						Laps	Miles (km)
CART Champ Car history
1979	Aug 5	Bobby Unser	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	62	150.474 (242.164)	1:14:42	120.889	Report	[6]
1980	Aug 3	Bobby Unser	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	62	150.536 (242.264)	1:30:51	99.309	Report	[7]
1981	Oct 4	Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	60	202.62 (326.085)	1:52:17	108.273	Report	[8]
1982 – 2004	Not held
IRL IndyCar Series history
2005	Sept 25	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz G-Force	Toyota	60	204 (328.306)	1:45:42	114.771	Report	[9]
2006	June 4	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz G-Force	Honda	55*	187 (300.947)	2:00:20	92.418	Report	[10]
2007	July 8	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:43:52	116.813	Report	[11]
2008	July 6	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Rahal Letterman Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:54:01	106.403	Report	[12]
2009	July 5	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:48:24	111.915	Report	[13]
2010	July 4	Will Power	Penske Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:40:27	120.768	Report	[14]
2011 – 2015	Not held
2016	Sept 4	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	60	204.18 (328.595)	1:41:40	119.334	Report	[15]
2017	Sept 3	Alexander Rossi	Andretti Herta Autosport	Dallara	Honda	60	202.2 (325.409)	1:42:04	118.865	Report	[16]

• 2006: Race shortened due to two-hour time limit.^[17]

Support race history

Indy Pro Series / Indy Lights Season Date Winning Driver 2005 Sept 25 Jeff Simmons 2006 June 4 Bobby Wilson 2007 July 7 Wade Cunningham July 8 Alex Lloyd 2008 July 5 Raphael Matos July 5 Richard Antinucci 2009 July 4 J. R. Hildebrand 2010 July 4 Jean-Karl Vernay 2011 – 2015 Not held 2016 Sept 3 Zach Veach 2017 Sept 3 Aaron Telitz

Atlantic Championship Season Date Winning Driver 1974 Oct 4 Bill O'Connor 1975 – 1986 Not held 1987 July 5 Calvin Fish 1988 Not held 1989 July 1 Jocko Cunningham 1990 July 1 Brian Till 1991 June 29 Jimmy Vasser 1992 June 27 Russell Spence

Stadium Super Trucks Season Date Winning Driver Ref 2017 September 2 Robby Gordon [18] September 3 Matthew Brabham

References

1. "Elmira - Home".
2. de la Bastide, Ken (May 13, 2016). "IndyCar going back to 'Glen'". The Herald Bulletin. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
3. "Watkins Glen To Host IndyCar This Year As Replacement For Canceled Boston Race". Sports Business Daily. May 16, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
4. "IndyCar Series replaces proposed Boston race with return to Watkins Glen". ESPN.com. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
5. "Labor Day IndyCar race called off in Boston". Boston Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
6. "1979 Kent Oil 150". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
7. "1980 Kent Oil 150". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
8. "1981 Watkins Glen 200". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
9. "2005 Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix Presented by Argent Mortgage". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
10. "2005 Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
11. "2007 Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
12. "2008 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
13. "2009 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
14. "2010 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
15. "2016 IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
16. "2017 IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
17. "Dixon repeats amidst Glen chaos (+results)". Auto123.com. June 4, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
18. Brame, Chuck (September 4, 2017). "Matt Brabham Wins Stadium Super Trucks Race Two at The Glen". WETM-TV. Retrieved December 22, 2019.

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