The Grand Prix at The Glen was an IndyCar Series race held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. American open wheel racing at the circuit dates back to 1979.

Following a five-year hiatus, Watkins Glen was added back to the schedule for the 2016 season following the cancellation of the proposed Grand Prix of Boston. However, after the 2017 Season, it was announced that Portland International Raceway would be brought back to the 2018 IndyCar schedule, replacing the Watkins Glen event.

History

CART The CART series held the first American open wheel racing events at the circuit from 1979–1981. It was held during the waning years of the Formula One United States Grand Prix. At the time the popular track was starting to lose some of its image, and by 1981, fell into bankruptcy. The Formula One race was cancelled for 1981, and for that year, the CART race took over its traditional October date.

For 1979 and 1980, the CART series utilized the course layout, also known colloquially as the Six Hours course. In 1981, the "Boot" segment was utilized, and the Scheckter Chicane was removed, resulting in a layout.

After 1981, the CART series left, and did not return. The track was continuing to suffer from financial difficulties and was falling into a state of disrepair. Eventually, the circuit was sold to ISC, and began to regain stature and popularity with the addition of NASCAR in 1986.

IndyCar Series The IRL IndyCar Series debuted at the track in 2005, the first season in which the IRL added road courses to the schedule. During its entire run, the IndyCar Series race utilized the full circuit. The layout included the "Boot" and the "Inner Loop" bus stop chicane that was built in 1992.

In its first year, the race was scheduled for the traditional fall date. In 2006, however, it was moved to early June, the weekend immediately following the Indianapolis 500. It was paired alongside the traditional 6 Hours of Watkins Glen sports car event weekend. The move proved very unpopular, and was met with cool temperatures and rain. After only one season with the sports car and IndyCar doubleheader, for 2007, the IndyCar race was moved to Independence Day weekend.

The 2009 race, won by Justin Wilson, was the first IndyCar race ever won by Dale Coyne Racing, after 25 years of competition in the sport.

On June 28, 2007, Camping World signed a four-year deal to be the title sponsor of the race through 2010. Despite being considered a top venue by competitors, the race suffered from low attendance. Management believed that coupling the race with July 4 weekend was not ideal for attendance because many locals were out-of-town, and local college students were typically out of school for the summer and likewise also out-of-town. Furthermore, ISC, which owns Watkins Glen, pulled their events from the IndyCar calendar for 2011 after a dispute regarding sanctioning fees.

On May 13, 2016, following the cancellation of the proposed Grand Prix of Boston, the IndyCar Series announced that it would return to Watkins Glen, with the revived race being held on Labor Day weekend. Track management embraced the traditional fall date as the vacation season was over, and it enabled them to market to locals and college students whom were now back in town.

Past winners SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)ReportRef Laps Miles (km)CART Champ Car history 1979 Aug 5 Bobby Unser Penske Racing Penske Cosworth62150.474 (242.164)1:14:42120.889 Report 1980 Aug 3 Bobby Unser (2) Penske Racing (2) Penske Cosworth62150.536 (242.264)1:30:5199.309 Report 1981 Oct 4 Rick Mears Penske Racing (3) Penske Cosworth60202.62 (326.085)1:52:17108.273 Report1982–2004 Not heldIRL IndyCar Series history 2005 Sept 25 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G-Force Toyota60204 (328.306)1:45:42114.771 Report 2006 June 4 Scott Dixon (2) Chip Ganassi Racing (2) Panoz G-Force Honda55*187 (300.947)2:00:2092.418 Report 2007 July 8 Scott Dixon (3) Chip Ganassi Racing (3) Dallara Honda60204 (328.306)1:43:52116.813 Report 2008 July 6 Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman Racing Dallara Honda60204 (328.306)1:54:01106.403 Report 2009 July 5 Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Dallara Honda60204 (328.306)1:48:24111.915 Report 2010 July 4 Will Power Penske Racing (4) Dallara Honda60204 (328.306)1:40:27120.768 Report2011–2015 Not held 2016 Sept 4 Scott Dixon (4) Chip Ganassi Racing (4) Dallara Chevrolet60204.18 (328.595)1:41:40119.334 Report 2017 Sept 3 Alexander Rossi Andretti Herta Autosport Dallara Honda60202.2 (325.409)1:42:04118.865 Report

2006: Race shortened due to two-hour time limit.

Support race history

+ Indy Pro Series / Indy Lights Season Date Winning driver2005Sept 25 Jeff Simmons2006June 4 Bobby Wilson 2007July 7 Wade CunninghamJuly 8 Alex Lloyd 2008July 5 Raphael MatosJuly 5 Richard Antinucci2009July 4 J. R. Hildebrand2010July 4 Jean-Karl Vernay2011–2015 Not held2016Sept 3 Zach Veach2017Sept 3 Aaron Telitz

+ Atlantic Championship Season Date Winning driver1974Oct 4 Bill O'Connor1975–1986 Not held1987July 5 Calvin Fish1988 Not held1989July 1 Jocko Cunningham1990July 1 Brian Till1991June 29 Jimmy Vasser1992June 27 Russell Spence

+ Stadium Super Trucks Season Date Winning driver Ref 2017September 2 Robby Gordon September 3 Matthew Brabham

References

https://www.indycar.com http://www.champcarstats.com