Watkins Glen, New York; Friday, September 6^th, 2024

Victory Lane Magazine, December 2024: Volume 39, No. 12

Photos by Molly Batrowny, story by Terry Johnsen

It’s early September in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. The weather is changing and there’s a crisp note of autumn in the air. On the south edge of Seneca Lake sits the beautiful little village of Watkins Glen. For auto racing fans the name conjures up images of Formula 1 races from the 60’s and 70’s, the NASCAR Cup Series, and endurance sports car racing with famous makes such as Porsche, Ferrari, Matra-Simca, Jaguar, and the Ford GT battling for glory up at Watkins Glen International (WGI).

But these memories would have not been possible had it not been for the vision and drive of Cameron Argetsinger, along with a small group of sports car enthusiasts, to rekindle the dream of sports car racing in the United States after World War II. Starting in 1948, and for the next five years (1948-1952) the Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix saw daring drivers roar down Franklin Street and up into the Schuler County countryside on a thrilling 6.6-mile road course. From 1953-1955 racing had moved to a location near the current Watkins Glen International site, which then opened in 1956.

The name Watkins Glen has become a fixture in American and international racing and is spoken with reverence alongside prestigious locations such as Indianapolis, Daytona, and Sebring. To honor this legacy and pay tribute to its origins, the Village of Watkins Glen sets aside the Friday after Labor Day every year to throw a street-party. This year (2024) marked the 31^st Annual Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival. It’s become the highlight event of my racing calendar.

I had the pleasure and good fortune to speak with two of the festival’s organizers a week before the event, Tom Seem and Casey Creamer. When asked to describe and characterize the festival, Casey responded, “First of all I would describe it as motorhead paradise. For anyone into race cars, sports cars, vintage cars, newer cars, someone who is a car person, this is nirvana, its paradise. The Grand Prix Festival is an extension of the growth of vintage racing. You get to be there, to hear them, to smell them. You get to talk with the owners. Some are multi-million-dollar cars, some are worth just a couple of hundred bucks. If you’re really a car person, it’s the ultimate. A lot of little towns are into economic development and offer festivals, i.e. strawberry, garlic, apple festivals, with vendors and spectators, etc. Whereas this festival, yes there are spectators, but there a lot of participants. As a participant you are the festival.” Tom followed that description up with, “It is a celebration of the history of post-WWII racing in the US, which began at Watkins Glen. As a participant you get to drive the historic 6.6-mile course. It’s an opportunity to experience history.” And of course, the event wouldn’t be possible if not for the collective effort of State and local governments and the numerous businesses that lend their generous sponsorship support. Once again, the leading sponsor for the 2024 Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival is the Chemung Canal Trust Company. 

Traditionally, the festival has a supporting cast of vintage racers from the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) event held up at WGI, who bring their cars down to the village on Friday for the Grand Prix Tribute Laps. This year was an exception of sorts in that there was no event at WGI, due to the circumstances surrounding NBC’s television coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics and their coverage of NASCAR. This resulted in the need to move NASCAR’s event at WGI into September, which then required SVRA to move their event two weeks prior to the Festival in August. This was not the first time the events at WGI did not align with the traditional September date. Casey noted, “There was another year that didn’t involve the vintage races at the track and that was 2015, when they did a repave of the track, after the NASCAR event.  It went fine. This year we were asked to move the event. We would have preferred to be aligned with the SVRA event, but there’s no physical way to close the road.” He went on to explain that a lot of the original course is State Park property, and that between Memorial Day and Labor Day the State Park want to keep it open for tourists. The festival basically shuts it down. He added the Village of Watkins Glen, along with the County Sherriff does not need more traffic between Memorial Day and Labor Day. 

As an outside observer, one of the concerns that came to mind was how the schedule change may affect participation for the tribute laps. Tony Parella, SVRA’s President/CEO, knows the significance of the festival, and though their race cars were not at WGI for the weekend, he agreed to sponsor the tribute laps, and further supported the event by bringing a healthy contingent of cars and drivers to participate. When asked about a car count estimate, Casey told me, “We’ve been keeping track, it’s a moving target for sure. There will be SVRA race cars, non-SVRA race cars, special street cars, one special MG (Fergus MG circa 1952 race, owned by Glen Moore), 24 Lotuses, a group of super cars, 15-20 Porsche Speedsters (originals). We’re going to have plenty of cars!” The featured marque for 2024 was MG and the tribute laps of course included countless MGs of every era. It was a sight to behold.

Just listening to the overall coordination and planning involved to stage this wonderful event made me sit back and marvel at the dedication and commitment of all who are part of the festival. There are so many moving parts, and it moved along seamlessly. The schedule provided in the program began at 9:30am with the SVRA Tech Inspection at the famous Smalley’s Garage. A Concours d’Elegance presented by Lotus of Western, NY, took place in the State Park parking lot. Rallies are a vital part of the festival, headlined by the Stone Bridge Driver Events, which culminated with the cars finishing their tour with laps around the historic original track. At noon the Drivers Walk of Fame Induction Ceremonies took place on the Court House lawn. This year the inductees were: Ed Crawford (winner of the 1958 Watkins Glen Grand Prix in Briggs Cunningham’s Lister Jaguar), and John “Buck” Fulp (winner of the 1966 Watkins Glen Grand Prix in a Lola T70 MkII).

This year’s Grand Marshall was the renowned local artist, Robert Gillespie. His beautiful artwork has graced the festival program covers for years. His selection for this year was the perfect choice. In honor of MG, the artwork features cars of the famous marque streaming through Milliken’s Corner. The use of vivid colors and his distinctive brushwork style perfectly captures the sense of speed and excitement of racing in Watkins Glen. Visitors to Watkins Glen over the past few years would have certainly seen Gillespie’s two beautiful huge murals in town on the sides of Franklin Street Buildings. His most recent mural graces the wall of the Watkins Glen Visitors Center.

At 3:00pm, The Legends Speak event presented by the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) took place in Lafayette Park. This year the talk was entitled “All You Ever Wanted to Know About MG…and More!” The panel included Glen Moore (noted MG historian, and owner of the Bob Fergus MG TD which raced in 1952), Danny Cornett (the son of Denver Cornett, the driver that rolled his MG at Stone Bridge during the inaugural race in 1948), and Roger Linton (son of Roger Linton, who competed in many of the first Watkins Glen races). The moderators for the event were IMRRC racing experts, Rick Hughey and Dave Ward. Stories of MG racing glory were many, and the one-hour time allotted discussion just flew by. The Legends Speak talks are always a must-see part of the festival.

At 4:30pm the pre-race ceremonies began, the National Anthem was sung, and all the cars taking part in the Tribute Laps were in place. At 5:30pm the SVRA Grand Prix Race Tribute Laps began. Franklin Street was lined with excited spectators of all ages. The street party came alive with the roar of race engines, and everyone was treated to multiple laps of countless beautiful sports cars. After the laps were complete the streets stayed closed as the party continued full speed. Maria’s Tavern on Franklin Street featured the band The Variables, playing on a rooftop in front of a throng of happy festival goers. By 8:00pm the Sherriff’s Department dispersed the crowd in orderly fashion and Franklin Street was open again for normal traffic…until next year.

The 2024 Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival was once again a huge success. You’d never think the previously mentioned schedule changes ever occurred. The streets were jammed with sports car fans and enthusiasts, and more importantly, fans of the festival. They, like myself, will never miss it. I’m already looking forward to 2025. And word has it that Porsche will be the featured marque! Make your plans now! For more information on the festival, please visit the Watkins Glen Promotions website at www.watkinsglen.com and the festival website at www.grandprixfestival.com. The photographer who supplied the lovely photographs for this article is Molly Batrowny (@molly.b_photographs on Instagram). See you all next year!

TJ…..2024