Grand Prix at The Glen

Grand Prix at the Glen

IndyCar Series
Venue	Watkins Glen International
First race	1979
First ICS race	2005
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)
Most wins (driver)	Scott Dixon (4)
Most wins (team)	Penske Racing & Chip Ganassi Racing (4)

The Grand Prix at the Glen is 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.

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.

From 1979–1980, 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 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, 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 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 fairly popular venue by competitors, the race suffered from low attendance. Coupling the race with July 4 was not-well received by fans and management. The race, along with all races at ISC-owned tracks, did not return to the calendar for the 2011 season.

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.^[2][3]

Past winners

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report
						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
1980	Aug 3	Bobby Unser	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	62	150.536 (242.264)	1:30:51	99.309	Report
1981	Oct 4	Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	60	202.62 (326.085)	1:52:17	108.273	Report
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
2006	June 4	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz G-Force	Honda	55*	187 (300.947)	2:00:20	92.418	Report
2007	July 8	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:43:52	116.813	Report
2008	July 6	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Rahal Letterman Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:54:01	106.403	Report
2009	July 5	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:48:24	111.915	Report
2010	July 4	Will Power	Penske Racing	Dallara	Honda	60	204 (328.306)	1:40:27	120.768	Report
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

• 2006: Race shortened due to two-hour time limit.

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

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

References

1. http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070628/SPORTS0201/706280329/1002
2. "IndyCar Series replaces proposed Boston race with return to Watkins Glen". ESPN.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
3. "Labor Day IndyCar race called off in Boston". Boston Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2016.

• http://www.indycar.com
• http://www.champcarstats.com