Twenty Years of Formula One at the Glen
Near Watkins Glen, New York
In nineteen sixty one, Watkins Glen became the American home of Formula One, the premier class of international motor racing. Cameron Argetsinger, who had organized the original street race in nineteen forty eight, helped prepare the circuit for its first world championship event with only six weeks of lead time before the inaugural race that fall. The first United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen took place in October of nineteen sixty one and was won by Innes Ireland, driving for Colin Chapman's works Team Lotus.
Ireland's victory was the first world championship win for the Lotus marque, and though it would prove his only victory in the top class, it was a landmark result that established the Glen's credentials. The race returned to Watkins Glen every year through nineteen eighty, a run of twenty consecutive United States Grand Prix that made it one of the most beloved stops on the Formula One calendar. Drivers spoke of the rolling Finger Lakes scenery, the passionate American fans, and a circuit that rewarded skill across a wide variety of corners and gradients.
Champions including Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, and Emerson Fittipaldi all won at the Glen. When the race departed after nineteen eighty, moving the United States Grand Prix to other venues, it left behind a circuit that had given a full generation of Americans their closest view of the world's most prestigious racing series.
