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Johnny
Mc's Pit Pass
Rick E. Lee's OFFICAL Blog
Watkins Glen International
Michigan International Speedway
ESPN/KCMC Racing Podcast
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WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
“The Glen”
Located at the southern tip of one of New York state’s “Finger Lakes” (Seneca Lake) is Watkins Glen International, commonly referred to as “The Glen.” This racetrack first opened in 1948, and has been home to all styles of racing (sports car, open wheel and stock car).
NASCAR first came to “The Glen” back in 1957. In that inaugural race, Buck Baker beat out “Fireball” Roberts. Bucker won a grand total of $1,000 for winning that first race.
Watkins Glen closed in 1981, only to reopen three years later. NASCAR resumed racing at Watkins Glen in 1986, and that first race back….was won by Tim Richmond.
So, Buck Baker and Tim Richmond go in the books, as first race winners at “The Glen”, as Baker did it at the original incarnation of the track, while Richmond was the first race winner, after “The Glen” was reborn.
This year’s NASCAR race at Watkins Glen will be the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen. It is a 220.5 mile, 90 lap road course race, and is one of only two road course races on the NASCAR schedule. (The other road course race is the Toyota Save Mart 350, held in Sonoma, Ca. at Infineon Raceway). Because of that, Watkins Glen and Infineon are the only two Sprint Cup tracks, where the drivers have to turn right.
The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen will start at 1 p.m. (ET) on Sunday August 14, and will be televised by ESPN. The Speedway ticket office can be reached by calling 1-866-461-RACE or 1-607-535-2481.
Since NASCAR racing returned to “The Glen”…..no one has been more dominant than Tony Stewart. Tony won races there in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009. On August 14th, he’ll be going for his 6th win on the track. Jeff Gordon (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001), Mark Martin (1993, 1994, 1995), Rusty Wallace (1987, 1989) and Ricky Rudd (1988, 1990) are other racers who have won multiple times at Watkins Glen. The most recent Sprint Cup race at the track was won by: Juan Pablo Montoya (2010)
The official hotels of the race are:
Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel 1-607-535-6116
Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express 1-607-739-3681
Radisson Hotel (Corning, N.Y.) 1-607-962-5000
Other area hotels include these:
Falls Hotel (Watkins Glen) 1-607-535-7262
Comfort Inn (Watkins Glen) 1-607-535-2706
Hampton Inn (Watkins Glen) 1-607-662-0007
Glen Motor Inn (Watkins Glen) 1-607-324-4300
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