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WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL HISTORY OF NASCAR RACING
The history of NASCAR was rooted at the year of Whisky Rebellion in 1794, a century before the invention of the automobile. Whisky rebellion was the protest by frontier farmers against the federal tax on whiskey. Many frontiersmen built secret stills, manufactured, and delivered their product in secret instead of giving the tax. And this caused the origin of NASCAR history. Despite of Prohibition, the illegal business of whiskey, or "moonshine", flourished in the 1920's and early 30's. The secret transportation of moonshine became more severe than its secret manufacturing. Moonshine runners were commonly termed as "bootleggers", who were responsible for running illegal whiskey from hidden stills to hundreds of markets across the Southeast. These bootleggers were often caught by the police in pursuit, driving at high speeds at night. The consequence for loosing a race was either jail or the loss of livelihood. The drivers began to race among themselves to see who had the fastest cars with the growth of bootlegging. On Sunday afternoons they raced and used the same car to haul moonshine in the night. The racing of moonshine cars became the rage among the people in the back roads of the South and continued even after the end of the Prohibition era, as the huge tax placed on whiskey on the abolition of the Volstead Act in 1933. William H.G. "Bill" France organized a race on the Daytona Beach, Florida in the summer of 1938. The winner received items as a bottle of rum, a box of cigars, and a case of motor oil - NASCAR history had begun. Being a visionary, France felt the need for stock car racing with an official organization to list champions, keep statistics, and memorialize records and record-holders. The beginning of World War II brought to an end of stock car racing. The production of new cars brought to a halt after all the drivers left for the war. Some of drivers ran occasional and random races at places like the beach at Daytona at the end of the war. Bill France felt
that it was high time for a national sanctioning body to govern stock car
racing. He gathered promoters from the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest to the
Ebony Bar atop the Streamline Inn as Daytona on December 12, 1947. The next
three days rules were drawn and specifications agreed upon. The name of the
organization decided as NASCAR- the National Association for Stock Car Auto
Racing. The promoters quickly made an
"official" sport out of it, creating many organizations, each with
their own rules. Some of them were the NCSCC (National Championship Stock Car
Circuit), NSCRA (National Stock Car Racing Association), etc. This resulted in
preventing auto racing from reaching the national level. Apart from this, no
guaranteed payment was offered to the pilots. One June 19, 1949, the first NASCAR race, which would lead to the present-day Winston Cup Series, held at the Charlotte (N.C.) Fairgrounds. This NASCAR division was named as "Strictly Stock" and opened to competitors, who drove full-sized, American made passenger cars, with complete bodies, hoods, fenders, bumpers, and grilles- all parts were required to be listed in the manufacturer's catalog for each model. The winner of the race was Glenn Dunnaway in a '47 Ford. However, inspectors found an illegal part in his car after the race. It had been used for bootlegging earlier that week, and the illegal shock wedge was used often to increase speed of bootlegging cars. The owner of the Dunnaway's car sued, but the NASCAR lawyer won the case. Jim Roper, driving a '49 Lincoln was the winner of the first ever NASCAR race. But, Red Byron became NASCAR's first ever-national champion at the end of the season. The idea of the "super-speedway" came to reality at Darlington, South Carolina on September 4, 1950. Johnny Mantz was the winner in a 1950 Plymouth, when the first Southern 500 held. Now called as a Labor Day tradition, this day helped bring more people to the sport. NASCAR began to flourish in 1950's, when corporate sponsors, like Pure Oil and Champion Sparkplugs actively took part in the sport. The major automobile manufacturers, such as Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler started to give "factory backing" to individual drivers, who would receive money from a manufacturer to drive its product. "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday", became the common motto for these automobile manufacturers as they understood the potential of racing to sell cars. NASCAR held races in Municipal Stadium [later JFK Stadium] in Philadelphia and Soldier Field in Chicago in the 1950's. On May, 1957 five people-including an 8 year old boy- were hurt from flying debris from a crash at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. This incident pulled out all the automobile manufacturers from racing. However, Bill France kept the organization functioning by convincing promoters to increase their prize money. Among the two other factors, which served to keep NASCAR alive was the appearance of NASCAR's first superstar, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts in 1958. (He was nicknamed from the fierce fastball he threw while playing baseball at Florida State. He won 32 races in his career.)
The opening of the Daytona International Speedway in 1959 was the second factor that helped bring NASCAR through its first lean years. This was track Bill France had dreamt of for many years. On constructing the track over a plot of wetland four miles away from the ocean, he risked almost everything he had. Many people thought that the track was going to be a failure and France will loose everything. But, his were proved wrong after the first Daytona 500. The race received so much hype in the weeks that even Walter Cronkite came to cover it. Every part of the 2.5-mile track could be seen from any seat in the grandstand. That time no one had ever seen the speeds and fierce competition which showcased in the first Daytona 500 in 1959. After five hundred miles of racing, it took 61 hours to determine that Lee Petty's Oldsmobile beat Johnny Beauchamp's Ford by a fraction of a car length. The photo taken at the finish line is one of the most famous photos in racing history. Between 1962 and 1964 all automobile manufacturers decided to return to NASCAR racing. NASCAR's rules had changed from a stock car having to be "stock" to a stock car being anything but "stock" in the mid 60's. The modified cars were produced to the drivers for safety purpose. The legends and their years of fame: 1948-1949: Red Byron... 1950-1960: Curtis Turner, Lee
Petty, Herb Thomas, Buck Baker, Tim Flock... 1960-1975: Richard Petty
"Le King", Fireball Roberts, David Pearson... 1975-1985: Darell Waltrip,
Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker... 1985-1997: Dale Earnhardt,
Bill Elliot, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace... 1998-present: The young wolves: Jeff Gordon, John Andretti, Jeremy Mayfield, Bobby Labonté, Jeff Burton... ABOUT THE TRACKS – WATKINS
GLEN INTERNATIONAL
Financial crisis and the problem of spectator control had
been nounting in 1952 . This was the last year when the original track passed
through the center of town. For the second time, in a 3 lap trial prior to the
main race of the day, a car entered in the crowd at Watkins Glen. In this accident, 12 spectators were injured
and 1 died. The race schedule of that day was immediately stopped, which never
completed. This was the last time when a race had been passed through the town.
On a 550 acre parcel, which was an overlapped part of the
second race course, the new race course
was shifted, where no roadways were shared. Entire new roads were built for the
new track. Bill Milliken consulted several engineering professors from Cornell
laid out the 2.3 miles long new course and specified the pavement and was
completed the night before the first practice. The Because of the changed
management of SCCA, the race went forward without one as the promotors were not
able to come to terms on a race sanction. Despite the efforts of SCCA to get
its drivers to withdraw, finally the race continued following a press release
turf war. The 9th Watkins Glen Grand Prix went off uneventful. A "get
together" race at the course on October 20th and 21th was decided by the Grand
Prix committee. But, the turf war continued as the SCCA announced a ban on SCCA
driver participation. The race went off with a small but friendly turnout. The
SCCA inspected the circuit and recommended a small and reasonable list of
changes. The SCCA of Glen region formed in early 1957. Peace was restored as
the The Watkins Glen Grand Prix committee lifted the SCCA ban and made all the
changes. The Glen region put on the First Annual Glen Classic SCCA Regional on
July 5th and 6th of the same year. Cameron Argetsinger became the SCCA Chief Steward and the
10th Watkins Glen Grand Prix started on 3rd Saturday of September, 1957. With
no serious accidents, there were over 225 entries. Walt Hansgen in a D Type
Jaguar won the Grand Prix. NASCAR visted Watkins Glen for the first time in
1957, as the Grand National Division (which eventually became NASCAR Winston
Cup) appeared. The US Grand Prix was held at Watkins Glen for 19 years, which
had started in 1961. Watkins Glen filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors in
1981. The facility was purchased by a division of Corning Glass in 1983 and
reopened after a year. Since then
NASCAR has been bought a major share in the track by Corning. Today, the fourth course exists with a "short
course", which is roughly as of the third course, with turns 2, 3, and 4
corresponding to turns 1, 2, and 3 of the third course. On the final version of
the third course turn 4 is followed by Turn 5 ("the Loop"). Turn 6 of
the short course is a revision of the third course turn 5. The fourth course is
distinctly different from the third course, which has changed pit lane and the
pit straight. After the tragic death of NASCAR Winston Cup driver J. D.
McDuffie in a Turn 5 accident, a‘Inner Loop’, a chicane was added just before
the entrance to ‘The Loop’ on the right side of the back straightaway in the
early 1990s. It is called 4 distinct turns (Turns 5, 6, 7, and 8), although it
is generally taken as two turns. 4 is added to the turn numbers for all
subsequent turns on the track, if the chicane is used,.
Area Info: Providing a magnificent scenic beauty of majestic farmland, the Watkins Glen International is situated amidst the rolling hills of the exquisite Finger Lakes region of New York. Some of the world's finest wine can be found within the Finger Lakes region surrounding with all the natural beauty. Visitors will find unique variations in scenery ranging from forested hills and rugged mountains to fertile farmland and meandering streams. Watkins Glen is strategically located to allow access to several major metropolitan markets including Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester and Binghamton. Discover and enjoy the unspoiled beauty of country's quiet villages, dynamic nightlife, culture, shopping and sophistication of the cities along with the best racing action.
Ticketing Policies The regular tickets show the exact seating location at the time of purchase and are generally in stock. Online tickets are no longer available as our online ordering function is not in "real time". There is also a choice to purchase tickets in a similar seating location, at the same or a similar price if tickets ordered are no longer available. Other than originally ordered, customers are not compelled to accept tickets. Credit Cards are charged only when the ticket availability is confirmed. All the Credit Card holders are required to fill the authorized form and faxed back to us along with a copy of credit card (front and back) and driver’s license before ordering the tickets of more then $1,000.00. All cards with billing addresses outside of the United States require the same procedure. A sales agent will get in touch with the customer via email, fax or phone if an order has been placed. Within a few days of order confirmation or by a mutually agreed upon date, tickets are delivered. Sometimes even before the closing to the date of the event, ‘pre-ordered’ tickets for some events are not available. ‘Pre-Ordered’ tickets are not currently in stock. Orders for general seating locations are taken as exact seating locations are not yet available. Dispatch of tickets will be as soon as we obtain them. Deliveries are not made until the week of the event in some cases. For more information, look into individual event pages.
The Credit Card customers are required to fill the Authorized form for Pre-Orders” over $300.00 and faxed back to us along with a copy of the credit card (front and back) and drivers license. This also applies for all cards of outside billing addresses in United States. [Please Note: If a Credit Card Authorization Form is required to process an order, a copy of the cardholder’s driver’s license and the front and back of the credit card being used must be included with the completed form when it is returned to us. All customer information is strictly confidential and used only to verify the customer’s identity and prevent fraudulent activity. Authorization Forms must be returned to us in a timely manner. We reserve the right to cancel an order if the proper documentation has not been returned to us even if the order has been confirmed.] |
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With the return of the soldiers after the
conclusion of World War II, the demands for new cars in the USA raised with an
alarming rate. The industries, which had produced weaponry for 5 years,
immediately applied their designs to the new cars. It resulted in the arrival
of fast, powerful and robust cars enjoyed by the young people in the market.
Soon the trend started to organize more or less legal races.
Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett crashed on the
back straightaway during World 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in 1964.
To avoid the cars, flipped and broke the fuel’s tank, Roberts changed his
direction. Soon the car burst into flames and Jarrett ran to drag him out of
the fire. Jarrett who burnt his own hands in rescuing Robert began tearing off
his clothes. Immediately, he was taken to the Charlotte Memorial Hospital.
Roberts died on July 2, 1964 as he was burned over 80% of his body. 
The track moved to its permanent
location in 1956, running on course surrounding asphalt, paved and muddy roads
in and around the Village of Watkins Glen. Various racing competition was
hosted by The Glen including Formula One, Can-Am, Trans-Am and Indy cars. For
the first time Tim Richmond won the NASCAR Winston Cup Series on August 9,
1986. Since then, the NASCAR Winston Cup race at Watkins Glen turned as the
largest weekend sporting event of New York State. 
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