European-type sports car racing began in America with a race in 1948 at Watkins Glen, NY. This event, and the ones that followed, have made the tiny Village of Watkins Glen world famous.
Cam Argetsinger had purchased an MGTC and wanted an opportunity to race his car. He convinced the village leaders to close public roads to create a racing course. The track crossed over a railroad track, so he also had to convince the railroad to not run any trains on race day. Odds against accomplishing that were slim, but Argetsinger was successful and created a whole new identity and industry for the small village of Watkins Glen. This image is of Argetsinger driving his MGTC in that first race.
Only 5 races were held on the original street course. Large crowds of more than 250,000 people made crowd control over a 6.6-mile course impossible and safety suffered. A purpose-built race track was created a few miles from Watkins Glen which has hosted many races, including the Formula 1 races for 20 years, the longest tenure of any race track in the United States.
Twenty-five years ago a group of Watkins Glen citizens began a celebration of the original street races with a festival held in September. The poster at left is available for purchase at http://www.grandprixfestival.com/Posters.html.
Watkins Glen is a community that celebrates its racing history every day, not just at the festival. One cannot walk through downtown without being faced with reminders of the races that have been held on the original street course and at the International Speedway.
These murals were painted by the well-known automotive artist Robert Gillespie. Here he has depicted a Bugatti rounding Milliken Corner, the same corner where the photo of Cam Argetsinger's MGTC was captured in the earlier image.
Successful racers are recognized with granite plaques embedded in the downtown sidewalks. Zora Arkus-Duntov raced in the second Watkins Glen Grand Prix. He raced a lightweight British car with a powerful V-8 engine. Note that the engine was an Ardun, a combination of his hyphenated name. The engine was a Ford flat-head with dual overhead cam heads designed by Zora. His innovative abilities were recognized by General Motors who hired him to create another V-8 sports car, the Corvette. For a story of the Ardun head, click here.
Of course, the person who originated the racing in Watkins Glen, Cam Argetsinger, gets recognition. He continued to have a long career in racing leadership including heading the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).
The Grand Prix Festival begins at Smalley's Garage with a simulated tech inspection of race cars. When the races were held on the street course, 1948-1952, all of the races cars had to complete a tech inspection before being allowed on the race track.
The original Smalley's Garage not only still exists, it still operates as a garage, doing auto repairs as it did in 1948.
A wide range of activities are part of the schedule. Oh, most deal with cars, but some deal with people around cars. Here, famed British race driver and TV race announcer, David Hobb, signs a copy of his new book, Hobbo: The Autobiography of David Hobbs: Motor Racer, Motor Mouth.
There are beautiful cars to see, such as the Jaguar that is featured on the poster,
the OSCA that won the last race on the street course in 1952,
and an MGTC that raced in the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix in 1948. More interesting cars than can be seen in a day in concours, road rallies, and just parked along the streets.
Jaguar was the featured car in 2018. One of the Jaguar activities was a road rally. It began at one of the region's wineries with a commemorative bottle of wine, followed with an 80-mile road rally of winding roads in the area, then 2 laps on the Watkins Glen International Speedway race track, 2 laps on the old street race course, and finally parking the cars as a group in a city park. With 30,000 people in a village of less than 2,000 people, parking is at a premium. Having a reserved space in the city park was quite a perk. In this image the group of Jaguars gets the green flag to begin the 2 laps of the street course. As in 1948, the start-finish line is in front of the courthouse.
After the Jaguars arrived at the park, a panel discussion was held on Jaguar racing. David Hobbs and Davey Jones fielded questions from a moderator and the audience. It was an informative and, sometimes, humorous interchange.
The race cars entered at the Watkins Glen Vintage Races at the Speedway drove downtown to take part in the Festival. No license plates, no mufflers, not street legal, but the fun must go on. The featured car at the Vintage Races was the Mini, so many were in attendance.
The current vintage racers are lead on their lap by the Cornett MGTC which raced in the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix.
The Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival is a gear-heads dream of cars and history. MG should be the featured marque in 2024. Mark your calendars.
