Friday, September 7th, kicks things off with Festival, which includes tech inspection and race reenactments, Parked along the main streets of the village you will find over 500 classic sports cars of all ages and marques for your enjoyment. In addition to live music, wine tasting, food courts, and assorted other activities, a variety of vendors of racing items and related merchandise are provided for your entertainment and pleasure. In addition, The Legends Speak, a Q&A session featuring drivers and other motorsports figures of days gone by, is included as part of Friday’s festivities. The whole thing is capped off with a fireworks show that evening.
One day (Sunday) general Admission tickets are $30.
Three day tickets are $45.
Reserved RV camping passes are $125, first-come
First-served campsites at $50 each.
All camping is General Admission and includes 2 vehicle passes per order.
Historic Road Course
American road racing was revived at Watkins Glen on October 2, 1948, the first major road race run since before World War II. The original 6.6 mile circuit ran along country roads and village streets, starting and ending in front of the Schuyler County Court House on Franklin Street, near the Main Entrance to Watkins Glen State Park. Racing in the streets continued through 1952.
Today, you can drive the 6.6 mile course through the streets, just like those historic cars nearly 60 years ago. Along the way, pull over to read the markers, designating happenings along the way.
In 2002, through the efforts of the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Historical Committee, the original circuit was designated onto the National Register of Historic Places and the New York State Register of Historic Places.
Drivers Walk of Fame
The Drivers Walk of Fame, established in 1993, honors the great drivers who have competed at Watkins Glen since 1948, both on the original circuit and at the present track. Drivers from all classes of racing are honored with sidewalk markers bearing their names.
Take a leisurely stroll along Franklin and Fourth Streets in Watkins Glen to read all the markers. New markers are dedicated each September during the Grand Prix Festival of Watkins Glen Presented by Chemung Canal Trust Company.
International Motor Racing Research Center
Built expressly to preserve the heritage of motor racing, the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen is a 5,000 square-foot facility that is both a research library and an archive. Located on Decatur Street in Watkins Glen, the research facility is available to all interested persons for both serious scholarship and pure pleasure.
The archive is intended to serve as a safe repository for primary documents related to the history and heritage of worldwide motorsports. The Center holds approximately 2500 rare and reference books; hundreds of periodical titles; programs; manuscript collections; historic scrapbooks; posters; historic videos, fine art, and many other items relating to motorsport. Center Conversations is a free monthly talk series that takes listeners behind the scenes of motorsports.
