| |
 |
 |
What
Marco said in the runup to Watkins Glen last year
:
"I'm really excited
to be going to Watkins Glen as the NYSE team
is coming off a very good test. It's a very
challenging course, but Eddie (Jones, race
engineer) and I hit it off well and I believe
we've found what I need for a comfortable,
competitive road course car."
Marco Andretti, #26 NYSE Dallara/Honda/Firestone |
 |
#Race
#10 :
Watkins Glen:
Indy Grand Prix
Sunday
July 8th
Watkins Glen, New York
2790 County Road 16,
Watkins Glen, NY 14891
2006 Winner:
Scott Dixon
Distance:
60 laps/204 miles
TV:
3:30 p.m. on ABC
Ticket
Info
Race
Track Website
Star-Gazette's ten things to know
The
Race :
The Watkins Glen Grand Prix IndyCar Series weekend returns
to the legendary 3.4-mile road course on its new date, July
6-8. The Indy Pro Series, Historic Grand Prix and Grand-Am
Cup Series will also take on the historic 3.4-mile long course
during the weekend.
The Soul of American Road Racing will
offer a variety of 4th of July themed fan activities at the
track including a large fireworks display to celebrate Independence
Day, a free concert on Saturday night and a free wine tasting
to experience the Finger Lakes Wine Country. Experience the
New York Finger Lakes region this weekend and camp onsite.
A
large variety of camping is available complete with a kid's
zone for family fun. Don't miss this celebration and race
weekend as the historic track welcomes open-wheel racing
back for the third year in a row during the highly anticipated
Watkins Glen Grand Prix.
Backstory:
The
SunTrust Indy Challenge Presented by XM Satellite Radio is
an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Richmond
International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.
The event debuted as a night race in 2001. It was the first
Indy/Championship car event in the state of Virginia in 48
years. NASCAR had sanctioned two Championship Car events
at Martinsville Speedway in 1952-1953.
Watkins
Glen International (nicknamed "The Glen") is an
auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York at the
southern tip at Seneca Lake owned by International Speedway
Corporation. It was long known around the world as the home
of the United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for 20 consecutive
years (1961–1980), but it has been home to road racing
of nearly every class for over 50 years.
The Glen
hosted a variety of other events throughout the Grand Prix
years: from Can-Am, Trans-Am, IROC and Endurance Sports car
racing to Formula 5000 and the CART series, these races strengthened
the circuit's reputation as the premier road racing facility
in the United States. From 1968 through 1981, the "Six Hours at The Glen" endurance race
featured top drivers like Mario Andretti, Jacky Ickx, Pedro
Rodríguez and Derek Bell. Different races were sometimes
featured together on the same weekend (e.g., Six Hours and
Can-Am) and drew sizable crowds, but without a Formula One
race, the circuit struggled to survive. It finally declared
bankruptcy and closed in 1981.
After a 25 year layoff, major-league open wheel racing returned
to the track as one of three road courses on the 2005 Indy
Racing League schedule. In preparation, the circuit was overhauled
again. Grandstands from a speedway in Nazareth, Pennsylvania,
which had closed, were installed, the gravel in The 90 was
removed and replaced with a paved runoff area, and curbing
was cut down for the Indy Racing League event.
Previously,
the high curbing in the chicane had become a place where NASCAR
Nextel Cup cars would bounce high off the curbing, creating
an ideal opportunity for cars to lose control, and to slow
cars. Other areas of the track received improvements as well:
the exits of turn 2 (the bottom of the esses), the chicane,
turn 6 (the entrance to the boot), turn 9 and turn 11 all had
additional runoff areas created and safety barrier upgrades.
The carousel run off has been paved, as well as turn 1 (the
90) and the esses are being paved in the winter of 06-07. Augmenting
what was already in place along the front stretch, additional
high safety fences were installed on the overpasses crossing
the service roads at the top of the esses and just out of the
boot immediately after the exit of turn 9.
Another overhaul for 2006 made fundamental changes to the
circuit for the first time since 1992. Officials installed
a new control tower, which includes booths for the officials,
timing and scoring, television and radio (the new position
allows broadcasters to see more action from Turn 10 through
the foot of the Esses), and the public address announcer
on top of the new frontstretch grandstand, moving the start-finish
line further ahead of the Sprint bridge, as the start-finish
line is moved 380 feet further towards The 90 in order to
accommodate the new timing and scoring post.
The new start-finish
line also means the starting lights used for club races is
moved further ahead, creating more action off Turn 11 as
tactics will change with the later finish line, where slingshot
moves could become paramount to the finish.
|
