- The Glen has a rich racing history that started in 1948 with the first post-World War II road course race held in the United States on October 2nd of that year. For the next five years, fans would turn up in huge numbers to watch the top drivers in American sports car racing.
- The first NASCAR race held at the Glen was in 1957. Buck Baker won the race, and Fireball Roberts finished second. True international competition began the following year with the first Formula Libre race.
- Formula One raced at the Glen from 1961 through 1980. Innes Ireland won the inaugural U.S. Grand Prix. Alan Jones won the final F1 race held at the Glen.
- The Glen fell into disrepair over the next few years as a result of financial difficulties, leading to the track's sale to Corning Enterprises in 1983. Corning Enterprises then formed a partnership with International Speedway Corporation, forming Watkins Glen International.
- On July 7, 1984, the Glen reopened with Al Holbert, Derek Bell, and Jim Adams winning the inaugural Camel Continental race. In 1986, NASCAR made its return to the Glen, with the late Tim Richmond winning. Since then, the race has been one of NASCAR's most popular.
- Thinking of you: Steve Park (2000 winner at The Glen).
- Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart are maestros at the Glen. Martin won three straight Glen races in the early 1990's. Gordon and Stewart lead all Cup drivers in wins at the Glen with four.
- Look for strong runs from Marcos Ambrose, Robby Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, pole sitter Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Gordon.
Predicted Race Winner: Marcos Ambrose. The popular Aussie breaks through and gets that first Cup win.
Many thanks to www.nascar.com and www.theglen.com for the information I cited.
14 comments:
nice gas and go Jon. Great info on the Glen. Ironic that the got the track back into Cup by partnering with ISC.
I echo your race pick. I hope your right and Ambrose picks up a win>
You know, since you guys went to the Sonoma race, road courses are a little more interesting! lol
Stork, thanks. Ambrose has looked stout all weekend between the NNS and Cup. I think it's time for him to win.
Beverly, LOL! We had a BLAST at the Sonoma race! We're hoping to do it again next year.
Nice post as always. I was wondering until I saw the citing at the bottom if you knew all of that information off the top of your head... lol.
It wouldn't surprise me at this time of the year if Johnson got his first road course victory from the pole...
Gotta give your Ambrose pick some respect though too. You were right last time at Indianapolis...
Gonger, thanks. It would have been too easy to pick Johnson, but I considered it. I also considered Kevin Harvick before settling on Ambrose.
JON,
EXCELLENT POST, NOT A REAL ROAD COURSE FAN, BUT IS GOOD INFO TO HAVE AND I REALLY SORT OF HOPE YOU ARE RIGHT, AMBROSE WOULD BE A COOL WINNER, JUST SO LONG AS JPM DOESN'T WIN.
GUNAQUAT
Hey Gunaquat, thanks, and welcome to blogspot! Marcos winning would be great. JPM will be strong as usual. But watch out for Harvick--he always does well at the Glen.
Nice info Jon. I love to watch the road course races now. They have taken the place of the short tracks as a place for beating and banging.
I was watching a show about gangs on the History Channel the other night. it was about a gang in Fresno called the Bulldogs. There was a police sgt. on the show named Alex Robles....know him?
Better late than never Jon! AH, the memories of the road courses...
Marcos would love to see Vicky Lane I am sure but I will be pulling for that Blue Deuce on the outside front row!! I hope he stays close enough to JJ to punt him in the last 30 laps!!!
Gene, thanks. The road course races have gotten pretty exciting lately. I've heard of Alex, but I can't say I know him. The Bulldog gang is pretty vicious in Fresno--the cops are doing all they can to get them off the street.
Kristen, makes me want to go back to Sonoma! I also want to see JJ get dumped in the same place that Logano got dumped in the Nationwide race. JJ can dish it out but he can't take it.
"Stupid is forever."
Beverly, that was the BEST quote of the year in ALL of sports! I LOVED IT! He has a new fan here!
Jon -
I'd love to see this track in person. I've heard that the museum they have there is great too!
Will you get to watch today or will work interfere? I guess I'll be watching on tape delay, if I ever find time to watch it!
Iowa-Girl, unfortunately work interfered and I didn't get to watch the race. I'd love to visit the Glen in person someday!
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