Watkins Glen International, Racing Circuit

Watkins Glen International stands in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, just south of the village of Watkins Glen at the foot of Seneca Lake. Widely regarded as the spiritual home of American road racing, the area drew crowds from the late 1940s when law student Cameron Argetsinger organised races on local public roads; a dedicated permanent circuit followed in 1956. Almost every major class in North American motorsport has competed here, from Formula One to Can-Am, sports cars and the NASCAR Cup Series. The track is best known for the long uphill Esses that open the lap and for the Boot, a wooded four-turn loop added in 1971 that extends the layout downhill before climbing back to the main course. After a fatal accident, an Inner Loop chicane was inserted on the back straight in 1992, and the circuit now runs in four principal forms: a Grand Prix Circuit and a Short Circuit, each available with or without the Inner Loop. In 1983 Corning Enterprises joined International Speedway Corporation to buy and rename the facility, and it is now owned by NASCAR. The headline events are the NASCAR Cup Series race and the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen, an IMSA endurance classic. From 1961 to 1980 it hosted twenty consecutive runnings of the United States Grand Prix. Affectionately known simply as "The Glen," it remains one of the most revered road courses in the country.

Operated by: NASCAR (Speedway Motorsports LLC)