AUTHORS TO DISCUSS NEW WATKINS GLEN BOOK MAY 18

Award-winning motorsports author Michael Argetsinger and renowned race historian Bill Green will launch a new book about the history of the Watkins Glen race track at the International Motor Racing Research Center on Saturday, May 18.

The free talk, part of the on-going Center Conversations speaker series, will be at 1 p.m. at the Center located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen. It is open to all.

Joining Argetsinger and Green on the program will be Philippe Defechereux and Clark Lance, discussing Defechereux’s book “Watkins Glen, The Street Years 1948-1952, Glory, Drama and the Birth of American Road Racing.” Lance’s father, Harold, was the photographer of many of the photos used in the book.

Gilles Villeneuve celebrates on the victory podium after winning the 1979 U.S. Grand Prix. This photo and some 200 more are included in the new “Watkins Glen International” by Michael Argetsinger and Bill Green.

Defechereux’s book and “Watkins Glen International” by Argetsinger and Green will both be offered for sale during the day. The authors also will be signing their books.

Both presentations will be accompanied by slide shows of selections of photographs from the books.

“Watkins Glen International” will be released on May 6 by Arcadia Publishing as part of its NASCAR Library Collection. The 127-page, pictorial format book, with more than 200 photos, is the second in Arcadia’s series on NASCAR tracks.

The book begins with Frank Griswold earning the checkered flag on Franklin Street on Oct. 2, 1948 and takes the reader through 64 years of competition, right up to Marcos Ambrose in the winner’s circle at the 2012 Sprint Cup race. Many of the photographs are from the authors’ own collections, and the staff at the Racing Research Center assisted Argetsinger and Green throughout the book’s production.

“This book is an excellent review of history at Watkins Glen in pictures, over the many, many years, bringing the track to the forefront of world class racing,” Green said.

“The opportunity to collaborate with my friend Bill Green made this book a particular delight," Argetsinger said. "Bill and I felt a responsibility to make this an important historical record as well as an entertaining read."

Argetsinger of Chicago is an award-winning motorsports author and publicist, as well as an international road racing driver.

Argetsinger has written four books, all of which were published by David Bull Publishing. His most recent book is “Formula One at Watkins Glen: 20 Years of the United States Grand Prix 1961-1980,” a 2011 partnership project of the Center and Bull Publishing. The book was a finalist for the 2011 Dean Batchelor Award, presented by the Motor Press Guild.

Argetsinger’s first book, the critically acclaimed “Walt Hansgen: His Life and the History of Post-War American Road Racing,” received a Gold Medal for biography and was named Best of Books for 2006 at the International Automotive Media Awards. “Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed,” Argetsinger’s second book, was also named Best of Books by the IAMA and won the overall competition as Best of 2009. The photo companion to the biography, “Mark Donohue: His Life in Photographs,” was published in 2010.

Argetsinger is a member of the Center’s Governing Council and is a son of the late Cameron R. Argetsinger, founder and organizer of the first races in Watkins Glen.

Green, who is the Center’s historian, is internationally recognized for his exhaustive knowledge about racing at Watkins Glen and elsewhere. His personal collection of racing materials was launched at the first Watkins Glen race in 1948 when, as an 8-year-old, he bought a program. The collection today comprises 3,000-plus hard and soft cover books, racing posters, photographs, motorsports magazines and full race results of Watkins Glen 1948 to present.

Since 1948, he has missed only two Watkins Glen race seasons: 1966 and 1967, when he was stationed in Morocco with the U.S. Navy. He made up for the misses by attending Formula One races in England and Germany.

“Watkins Glen International” is his second collaborative book, having co-authored “Watkins Glen, From Griswold to Gordon: Fifty Years of Competition at the Home of American Road Racing” with J.J. O’Malley in 1998.

The day’s program also includes Defechereux and Lance on Defechereux’s book, which was published in 2011 by Dalton Watson Fine Books.

“Watkins Glen, The Streets Years” tells the dramatic and fascinating story of the early years of road racing in America after World War II, beginning at the Glen and soon spreading to Bridgehampton, Elkhart Lake, Daytona and Sebring, then California. It is replete with exclusive color photographs of the era, personal interviews with the key characters and drivers, plus full racing details and results for those critical five years.

Defechereux is a former New York advertising executive with experience in racing and iconic brands such as Audi, VW, Mercedes-Benz and Ford. He has had many automobile-related articles published in various magazines and websites over the years, plus an earlier book on James Dean, his Porches and racing career.

The inspiration for the book came from photographs by Harold Lance and Charles Davison. In February 1948, Harold Lance helped established the Detroit Region of the Sports Car Club of America. When he learned that a road race for sports cars would take place in Watkins Glen in the fall of 1948, he travelled there to witness and photograph the historic events that marked the birth of road racing in America. He and his pal Davison returned to Watkins Glen each year through 1952 to photograph all the action.

In 2011, the Harold Lance and Charles Davison Watkins Glen Photo Archive became a part of the collections at the Racing Research Center.

Son Clark Lance is a native of Detroit and has been active in sports cars since his youth.  He has worked for Toyota Motor Sales, USA since 1976 and is currently the training manager for the Lexus Eastern Area in Parsippany, N.J.  Clark raced with the SCCA in the 1970s and is now active in vintage racing with a Lotus Elan.

CENTER SPONSORING BUS TOUR TO SIMEONE MUSEUM

The International Motor Racing Research Center is organizing an outing to The Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 27.

"Racing Solutions for 1954" is the theme of this "Demonstration Day" at the Simeone Museum. The featured cars will be a 1952 Cunningham C4R, a 1955 Mercedes Benz Gullwing, a 1953 C-Type Jaguar and a 1954 Ferrari 375MM. After the demonstration runs, Center bus tour participants will have lots of time to tour this magnificent museum, voted Museum of the Year at the 2011 International Historic Motoring Awards.

Center Historian Bill Green will give a talk en route about the featured cars.

The tour bus will leave from Horseheads, N.Y., at 6:30 a.m. An additional pick-up stop in Binghamton, N.Y., will be planned if needed.

The price for Sponsorship Team supporters as of June 15 will be $75. For those who aren't Sponsorship Team members, the price will be $110. The prices include admission to the museum.

Full payment is due at the time of making a reservation. The deadline for reservations is June 15.

For more information or to reserve a place on the tour, contact the Center at (607) 535-9044 or by email at kip@racingarchives.org. Visit the Simeone Automotive Museum website at simeonemuseum.org.

Karl Ludvigsen visits Watkins Glen racing center, shares life, cars, stories

An audience of over 100 people visited the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen on Saturday, April 13, to listen to the prolific author and auto industry insider, Karl Ludvigsen, speak. In an illustrated talk he called “My Motoring Lifetime,” Mr. Ludvigsen shared aspects of his life with cars, and included a few stories along the way.

Karl Ludvigsen speaks at the Racing Research Center on April 13

In introducing Mr. Ludvigsen, IMRRC president, J. C. Argetsinger, said the author "writes beautifully" and that the racing center owns over 30 of the author's books in its collection. He remarked that the author had first seen Watkins Glen in 1950 and said on arriving that morning that the village did not seem all that different from all the times he has been there before.

One of the first slides Ludvigsen showed was a black-and-white photograph of his childhood bedroom. Plastered all over the walls were dozens of cut-out pictures of cars, showing that his life-long passion was ignited early. Intricate diagrams and sketches of cars that he drew in his school days illustrated that his interest only deepened as he matured.

For the complete story by Connie Ann Kirk, writing for examiner.com, Click Here

Karl Ludvigsen to Speak at the Center April 13

Automobile industry insider and author/historian Karl Ludvigsen will speak about his experiences in the worlds of cars and racing on April 13.

The free talk, part of the on-going Center Conversations speaker series, will be at 1 p.m. at the Center. It is open to all.

“A Lifetime on Wheels” will be an illustrated presentation based on Ludvigsen’s careers as an executive in the motor industry and as an internationally published editor, journalist and author of more than five dozen books on cars and racing, which include a notable series of books on racing drivers. Many have won awards.

Karl Ludvigsen

“Karl Ludvigsen is a celebrated author as well as an important figure in his own right in automotive history,” Racing Research Center President J.C. Argetsinger said. “His books and technical articles set the standard for the best in research and technical insight.”

Ludvigsen, who was born in Michigan and now lives in England’s Suffolk, saw his first road race in 1951 -- at Watkins Glen. In the early years of his writing career, aged 22, Ludvigsen was technical editor of Sports Cars Illustrated and three years later, after service in Germany with the Signal Corps, was its editor, transforming it into Car and Driver. He later served Motor Trend as its East Coast editor.

In the 1960s Karl established Mobility Systems Company and the Motor Racing Safety Society. Ludvigsen also headed a company, Formula 1 Enterprises, that developed the first practical Halon-gas fire extinguishers for racing cars.

Karl worked for both General Motors and Fiat in the United States before moving to Europe to take a vice-presidential position with Ford of Europe. He led both governmental affairs and Ford’s extensive motorsports programs, in charge of several new-car development projects, including a Group C racing Ford.

After leaving Ford in 1983 he started his own management consulting firm, London-based Ludvigsen Associates and saw it become a leading provider of advice and support services to car and component producers throughout the world. Ludvigsen was a major contributor to his company’s research and analysis in all aspects of vehicle making and selling, from the first germ of a new idea to the reaction of the customer.

Since 2000 Ludvigsen has been concentrating on authorship. His writing career has given Ludvigsen an oeuvre of more than five dozen books on cars and drivers, of which his histories of the Corvette, Porsche and the racing cars of Mercedes-Benz are considered the standard works on those subjects. Ludvigsen’s series on racing drivers now includes such immortals as Alberto Ascari, Dan Gurney, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bruce McLaren and the great Juan Manuel Fangio.

“The presence of Karl Ludvigsen at the Research Center has been particularly anticipated because of his demonstrated emphasis on accuracy and detail in his automotive writing,” Argetsinger said.

The popular Center Conversations program has long been a cornerstone of the Racing Research Center’s educational outreach and oral history initiative. Noted authors, race historians, drivers, team owners and track officials have taken listeners behind the scenes of every race series over the years. Speakers have included Donald Davidson, historian at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Doug Nye, writer and historian; David Donohue, racer and son of famed driver Mark Donohue; Bobby Rahal, driver and team owner; and the late John Fitch and Bill Milliken, both legendary figures in road racing.

Driver, Writer Denise McCluggage Leading 2013 Sponsorship Team Campaign

"A charming place with the right vibes for getting things done."

That’s how writer and driver Denise McCluggage describes the International Motor Racing Research Center.

We're glad she thinks that way, and that's one of many reasons why we invited McCluggage to serve as the chairman of the 2013 Sponsorship Team campaign. To our credit, she said yes.

The Center's Sponsorship Team program is the cornerstone of fund-raising efforts to support the mission of preserving the history of motorsports, of all series and all venues. The Center receives no public funding and is dependent on the fans and industry of the sport.

For a Sponsorship Team form, click here.

"The money comes not from grants but from the people who use the Research Center or quietly admire the idea of it,? McCluggage writes in her appeal letter. "My intent is to encourage you to recognize the exquisite value of the Research Center and support it vigorously. It's a fine thing to do."

"The mutual respect shared by Denise and the Center is evident,? Center President J.C. Argetsinger said." We are very pleased that she will be leading this important effort to support the work that we do."

McCluggage has been a friend of the Center since the very beginning. Her "Now and Then" column in the Oct. 26, 1998 issue of AutoWeek introduced the Center to her readers. ?Watkins Glen is opening a window on the world of motor racing for everyone,? she wrote soon after the facility's dedication.

Her column went on to describe the racing history of the village of Watkins Glen.

"The new library will add to that legacy and bring even more world visitors here, some over the new name-embossed bricks and some over the cyber-route," she wrote prophetically, eight months before the library opened.

McCluggage has returned to the Center and Watkins Glen since that first report, most notably in 1998 when she was inducted into the Watkins Glen Drivers Walk of Fame with a block on the village’s main street, in front of a popular restaurant, The House of Hong.

McCluggage's marker acknowledges her appearances at the Glen during a racing career that has included driving for a number of different racing and rallying teams in the United States and abroad. Cars she has raced or rallied include Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati, Jaguar, MG, Volvo, Mini-Cooper, Rover, Triumph, Lotus, Fiat, Ford, Renault, OSCA, Elva, Alfa-Romeo and DeTomaso.

Her co-competitors at one time or another included Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Phil Hill, Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly and Curtis Turner.

Her resume includes placing first in Gran Turismo at Sebring in 1961 in a Ferrari and a list of successes in rally events around the world. McCluggage can also claim a number of class and overall victories at Nassau, Bridghampton, Daytona Beach, Elkhart Lake, Lime Rock and the Nurburgring.

McCluggage was involved at the inception of Competition Press, now AutoWeek, for which she is a columnist. She writes for websites including denisemccluggage.com. She is an honorary judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance, Amelia Island and the Santa Fe Concorso.

Supermodified racing subject of March 2 Center Conversations

“Sweet 16” racing and now on display at the Racing Research Center.

Supermodified racing – fast, thrilling and boasting devoted fans – will be the focus of a panel of insiders, led by national television race commentator and magazine editor Dick Berggren, at the International Motor Racing Research Center on March 2.

Berggren will serve as moderator and a speaker as the panel discusses supermodified racing around the nation, with an emphasis on competition at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway, located about 90 miles northeast of Watkins Glen.

The Center Conversations talk will be at 1 p.m. at the Racing Research Center located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen. It is free and open to all.

The five-eighths-mile paved Oswego Speedway, overlooking the shores of Lake Ontario, is familiar territory to everyone on the panel, including Berggren, who describes it as “the most storied of all supermodified tracks.”

“Supermodified racing has been described as the best-kept secret in American motorsports, and we think it’s time to share that secret,” Center President J.C. Argetsinger said. “These cars are extremely fast and very maneuverable. They put on an exciting show, as any Oswego fan knows.

“We’re honored that Dick Berggren is going to lead an experienced group to tell the supermodified story.”

Berggren is an appropriate moderator, having raced supermodifieds, modifieds, stock cars, and sprint cars from 1967-81.

For more than three decades, Berggren was a pit reporter for NASCAR TV coverage. He retired in 2012, after spending his last 12 years with Fox. With more than 20 years under his belt writing and editing for racing magazines, Berggren founded Speedway Illustrated in 2000.

Berggren will lead a panel of speakers that includes Perry Adams, vintage supermodified racer; Steve Miller, longtime supermodified driver, team owner and builder; Jamie Moore, retired driver and Oswego Speedway Hall of Famer; and Dan Kapuscinski, public relations specialist at Oswego.

“Sweet 16,” a supermodified car owned by Adams with a history at Oswego, is on display at the Racing Research Center through the March 2 talk. Miller built the car, with its roadster-style body, sprint tail and massive wing, in 1991.

Adams calls the car “truly wonderful,” and races it in vintage supermodified events. His racing experience also includes turns behind the wheel in sprint karts and in the SVRA and HSR vintage series. Adams has worked as a farmer and independent trucker and now works for the Town of Phelps Highway Department and builds Cobra kit cars. He also is restoring a 32 Ford dirt modified car.

Miller said all the cars he has built since the early 1970s have been dubbed “Sweet 16,” though the car on display at the Center for a short time carried the number 76 – an easy paint-job number switch. Three primary drivers raced the car for Miller: Mark Hartman, Gene Lee Gibson and Johnny Payne.

“The car was very fast, and we had some fun with it,” said Miller, who piloted supermodifieds in the 1970s.

Miller operates Steve’s Body Shop in Mexico, N.Y., and continues to field a supermodified team, with Dave Gruel of Fulton returning this season. Last year, Gruel won the July King of Wings event at Oswego for Miller. It was Miller’s first trip to victory lane.

Moore had a celebrated career at Oswego and in 2010 was inducted into the track’s Hall of Fame. At the time, he was seventh in all-time Oswego points and 14th in all-time Classic points. He began racing in the late 1970s, after helping in the pits as a teenager.

“Jamie Moore was a top contender every week he strapped into a supermodified. He was as consistent as they came, and always at the front of the pack,” track officials said when he was honored. Moore retired from racing a few years ago.

“I’ve had fun,” Moore said. “Now I just visit and watch good shows. See the competitors, and see old friends. Special events are when I go.”

Moore works as superintendent of Hammond & Irving Inc. in Auburn, N.Y., which manufactures seamless steel rings for heavy industry.

Kapuscinski is beginning his second season as public relations specialist with the famed Oswego Speedway. An Oswego native, he was a media specialist with the World of Outlaws for three years. He also has seven years of experience racing supermodifieds and limited supermodifieds.

International Motor Racing Research Center Historian Bill Green will start the
2013 Center Conversations series on Saturday, Jan. 12.

Green’s talk will focus on the posters of race events and thrill shows. He will display examples from his extensive personal collection and will, undoubtedly, share some of the behind-the-scenes stories for which he is noted.

The talk will be at 1 p.m. at the Center. It is free and open to all.

Green’s talk will kick off another exciting and interesting year of speakers.

The rest of the schedule for the first half of the year:

March 2 – Dick Berggren, national motorsports announcer and magazine editor, will moderate a panel of speakers taking a look at super-modified racing, with a focus on competition at the Oswego (NY) Speedway.

April 13 – Noted author and automobile industry insider Karl Ludvigsen presents "A Lifetime on Wheels," an illustrated talk based on his experiences in the world of cars and racing over the years.

May 18 - Bill Green and Michael Argetsinger launch their new book from Arcadia Publishing, “Watkins Glen International,” a history of the Watkins Glen race track, from its earliest years on public roads to today's internationally acclaimed Watkins Glen International circuit.

June 15 – Corinne Economaki and author Leo Levine team up to present a salute to Corinne’s father, the great motorsports journalist Chris Economaki, who died last year.

Additional talks will be scheduled, and more details about the talks already planned will be released later.

Staffing enhancements are giving the International Motor Racing Research Center a strong start into the new year.

Glenda Gephart, long associated with the Center, has been appointed as director of administration and communications, and two former Center volunteers are filling positions to improve financial and administrative operations.

The Center’s archival and cataloguing capabilities are strengthened by the recent addition to the staff of professional archivist Evan Earle. Earle, a lifetime motorsports enthusiast and staff member of the Cornell University Archival Department, brings impressive credentials and knowledge to the Center.

Augmenting the communications department is the recent appointment of Judy Stropus as a consultant. Stropus is known internationally in the motoring world for her public relations skills as well as her background as a driver and race team manager. Working with Gephart, Stropus has already reached new levels of media recognition of the Research Center.

“These staff changes, coupled with continuing exemplary work by Historian Bill Green and Archival Associate Kevin Hughey, raise the quality of the Racing Research Center’s work to a higher level,” Center President J.C. Argetsinger said. "We've calculated that we have more than 300 years' worth of experience if we add up how many each person now on the staff has been involved in motorsports. Add that experience to individual professional expertise, and we have a staff to be proud of.”

Gephart was appointed to fill the position left vacant by the retirement of Max Neal. Gephart has been associated with the Racing Research Center since August 1999.

In 1978, as a reporter for the Elmira (NY) Star-Gazette, she began covering races at the Glen. She is a former editor of The Watkins Review & Express in Watkins Glen and continues to work as a freelance reporter.

Gephart is a journalism graduate of Penn State University. She lives in Reading Center, NY.

Kim Klein, new financial associate, attended her first race as a newborn. She has been involved with the Center as a volunteer since it opened in June 1999.

Klein has been a member of the Glen Region Sports Car Club of America since 1982, working with timing and registration, rally events and the social committee. For 16 years she operated her own business, Professional Career Services, working with state and federal contracts, job development and human resources services in Corning, NY.

Klein graduated from Keuka College with an honors degree in organizational management. She lives in Corning.

Kip Zeiter is the Center’s new administrative support staffer, working primarily with the collections. He is a long-time motorsports enthusiast, and notes that his favorite series of all time was the Can Am. His favorite tracks: Watkins Glen and Oswego Speedway. He began volunteering at the Center last year.

Zeiter has more than 30 years in the travel industry as an agent and manager, as well as being founder and co-owner of AIM Travel & Tours in Ithaca, NY from 1994 to 2002. He was among the first in the industry to package, promote and escort group tours to NASCAR races around the nation. He lives in Ithaca.

Florida Man Wins Mustang Boss 302

A retired Marine living in Kissimmee, FL, is the winner of the 2013 Mustang Boss 302 raffled by the International Motor Racing Research Center.

The winning ticket held by Patrick Woods was drawn on Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Center by Town of Dix Supervisor Harold Russell. Dix is the town in which the Watkins Glen International race track is located.

“You never think you’re going to win something like this. It’s a bit overwhelming,” Woods said after learning of his win.

Woods, who is retired after a 30-year career in helicopter aviation with the U.S. Marines, said he bought raffle tickets for the Mustang Boss 302 “just on a whim.”

Woods said he is a “car guy,” noting that he owns a 1928 Model A Ford roadster pickup, which he drives. But he drives it conscientiously – it still has its original 10-gallon gas tank.

“You don’t get very far,” Woods said.

His new Mustang should take him a lot further.

The Mustang Boss 302 was selected as the Racing Research Center’s 2012 raffle car as a way of honoring the 50th anniversary of the debut of the Mustang concept car at the 1962 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.

The Center raffles a significant vehicle each year as its major fund-raising effort to support its mission to preserve the history of motorsports.

Center officials hope to announce the 2013 raffle car early in the new year.

Legendary Italian racer Tazio Nuvolari

The International Motor Racing Research Center talk about car racing legend Tazio Nuvolari scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 1, has been postponed due to illness.

Still planned for Saturday are the 1 p.m. drawing of the winning ticket for the Center’s raffle of a 2013 Mustang Boss 302 and the awarding of the Center’s Volunteer of the Year.

Nuvolari speaker Joe Tierno of Honeoye Falls, N.Y., will reschedule his talk for early in 2013.

Legendary Italian racer Tazio Nuvolari will be the subject of a Center Conversations talk on Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Racing Research Center.

Also on Dec. 1, at 1 p.m. promptly, Harold Russell, supervisor of the town of Dix, the town in which Watkins Glen International is located, will draw the winning ticket for the Center’s 2012 raffle of a 2013 Mustang Boss 302.

All 1,962 raffle tickets were sold by Nov. 15.

“A lot of people recognized that the 2013 Mustang Boss 302 is an impressive car. We are thankful for their support of our work by buying raffle tickets, and we’re especially grateful for the support from the motorsports media that publicized this effort,” Center President J.C. Argetsinger said.

The winner will be notified immediately after the drawing.

The day after the last raffle ticket was sold was the birthday of Nuvolari, born in Castel d’Ario, Italy, in 1892.

A great natural talent, Nuvolari is regarded by racing experts and historians to be one of history’s greatest drivers. He was a champion motorcycle and car racer. He won the European Grand Prix championship in 1932. The only Grand Prix race he never won was the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix.

Nuvolari aficionado Joe Tierno of Honeoye Falls, N.Y. will speak just after the Mustang ticket is drawn. The talk is the final session of 2012 and is free and open to all.

Long fascinated with Nuvolari, Tierno will highlight his talk with photographs and film to illustrate Nuvolari’s career and the world in which he became a champion.

Tierno saw his first race at Watkins Glen in 1952 and in his racing career piloted MGs, Formula Vees and go-karts.

In 1958, while still in high school, he was a co-founder of the Binghamton (N.Y.) Automobile Racing Club, BARC.

CENTER RECEIVES GRANT TO DIGITIZE USGP MATERIALS

The International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen has received a grant to fund the digitization of United States Grand Prix materials.

The $7,000 grant from the South Central Regional Library Council in Ithaca, N.Y. will support the Center’s commitment to making materials in its collections more easily available to the public.

Center President J.C. Argetsinger said the materials of which digital copies will be made include 20 years of race programs, some 200 photographs and some 200 pages of race results. Some of the materials are not now available to the public from any other source.

The United States Grand Prix had a home at Watkins Glen for 20 years, from 1961 through 1980. The first Formula One Grand Prix race was run at the Glen on Oct. 8, 1961.

“This matching grant will give the Center’s digitization effort a big boost,” Argetsinger said. “The staff is especially excited that results of our efforts to preserve the history of motorsports will be easily available from another source. We appreciate that this grant will help to widen our audience.”

Once digitized, the Grand Prix materials will be accessible through the Center’s website and through New York Heritage at www.nyheritage.org, a research portal for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and anyone else interested in learning more about the people, places and institutions of New York.

The New York Heritage website provides free access to more than 160 distinct digital collections, totaling hundreds of thousands of items. The collections in New York Heritage represent a broad range of historical, scholarly, and cultural materials held in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, newspapers, books and more.

The Regional Bibliographic Data Bases and Interlibrary Resources Sharing Grant will be administered by the South Central Regional Library Council.

The Library Council is one of nine Reference and Research Library Resources Councils in New York. As a multi-type library consortium, the Council serves 69 members across 10,000 square miles in the counties of Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, and Yates.

Track Historian to Discuss Road America Oct. 13 in the Final Session of ‘America’s Great Tracks’

Road America, described as one of the world’s most challenging road-racing courses, will be in the spotlight at the International Motor Racing Research Center’s final installment of its popular 2012 Center Conversations series “America’s Great Tracks” on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Tom Schultz, track historian at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin's Road America since 2000, will speak at 1 p.m. at the Center, located at 601 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen, N.Y. The talk is free and open to all.

“Tom Schultz is uniquely qualified to tell the story of Road America and the three-year history of racing on public roads through and near the village of Elkhart Lake that preceded the construction of the permanent circuit,” said J.C. Argetsinger, president of the Racing Research Center, located in Watkins Glen, N.Y. “Road America and Watkins Glen have a long history of friendship and cooperation as the two most distinguished and successful American road racing venues.”

Road America was the vision of civil engineer Clif Tufte, who spent almost a year planning the 4.048-mile circuit, which opened on the weekend of Sept. 10-11, 1955.

Phil Hill won the inaugural 148-mile feature SCCA National race in a Ferrari Monza, finishing side-by-side with the D-type Jaguar of Sherwood Johnston.

Tufte built the track on 525 acres of farmland. Millions of dollars in improvements have been made over the years, but the original 14-turn configuration has never been altered, according to the track’s website at www.roadamerica.com.

Schultz celebrated the track’s 50th anniversary in 2005 with the book “Road America: Celebrating 50 Years of Road Racing.”  His first book was “Road America, Five Decades of Racing at Elkhart Lake,” published in 1999.

Over the years he has been a photographic contributor to more than 10 racing books published worldwide.

Schultz retired in 2008 as senior vice president of Tri City National Bank in Milwaukee, Wis., after a career in banking.

He attended his first car race in May 1956 and has been an active fan ever since. He was press officer for the SCCA’s Olds Pro Series in 1993 and press officer for the club’s North American Pro Series in 1994. He was assistant press officer for the SCCA Trans-Am Series from 1995-2000.

Schultz has been a contributing editor of Sports Car magazine since 1980, and since 2006 has served as master of ceremonies for the Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d'Elegance.

The “America’s Great Tracks” series carries on the mission of the International Motor Racing Research Center to preserve the history of motorsports in all series, at all tracks. Previous speakers in the series were J.J. O’Malley, Daytona International Speedway; William Edgar, Riverside International Raceway; and Donald Davidson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
 

Honoring the Mustang with Raffle for 2013 Boss 302

The International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen is honoring the historic first public appearance of the Mustang brand 50 years ago at Watkins Glen by featuring a 2013 Boss 302 as its fund-raising raffle car.
 
Each year the Center staff selects a car emblematic of the Center’s mission to preserve and celebrate the history of motorsports. The car must also appeal to the Center’s supporters and the general public.
 
The staff could think of no better selection for the 2012 fund-raising effort than the iconic Mustang: 50 years ago, the Ford Motor Co. determined that race fans gathered at Watkins Glen for the 1962 U.S. Grand Prix would be the first to see the company’s newest concept car.
 
The Center is selling just 1,962 raffle tickets for this iconic production vehicle, valued at $44,900. The raffle is the major annual fund-raiser for the non-profit facility, a leader in the collection of materials representing the documentary heritage of amateur and professional motor racing worldwide and especially at Watkins Glen. The Center is located just minutes from world-famous Watkins Glen International.
 
The Center receives no public funding and is solely supported by fund-raising and donations.
 
The winning ticket will be drawn on Dec. 1, 2012, at the Center. The price of the ticket is $60 for one or $100 for two. The winner does not need to be present to win and will be notified immediately after the drawing.
 
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Center at 607-535-9044 or by using a form posted on this Center’s website. Click on the link on the Home Page.
 
A month before the October 1962 U.S. Grand Prix weekend, a reporter for Competition Press wrote that “the wraps have come off” a new car that Ford was building.
 
“A pretty impressive piece of work,” but it didn’t appear to be a production prototype, the story read. “A production version might be developed, of course, should public acceptance demand it.”
 
On Saturday, Oct. 6, 1962, racer Dan Gurney was behind the wheel as Ford introduced the Mustang to the world. Stirling Moss, recovering from race injuries and appearing as honorary starter, helped show off the car on race day.
 
“There’s no doubt about it,” Art Peck wrote in his Competition Press column a week later, “the car is startling.”

Stirling Moss waves to the crowd from the passenger seat of the Mustang concept car at the 1962 U.S.
Grand Prix. Race historian Charles Lytle is at the wheel. (Photo courtesy of the William Green Racing Library)

The 1962 Watkins Glen unveiling of the Mustang reflected a partnership between Ford and the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Corp. that had started a year earlier and would continue through 1967 and then be revived in later years at Watkins Glen International.
 
“It was an exciting day in October 1962 when Ford presented the world debut of their Mustang prototype at the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen,” said J.C. Argetsinger, president of the Racing Research Center. “On the 50th anniversary of the now iconic Mustang brand, it is fitting and appropriate that the Research Center presents for its fund-raising raffle the Boss 302 – the latest and most exciting Mustang in Ford’s arsenal.”
 
The 1962 concept Mustang was a mid-engined, two-seater. It was built on 90-inch wheelbase with 48-49 track front and rear. It had independent suspension all around, front disc brakes, built-in rollbar and 13-inch cast magnesium wheels.
 
The 60-degree, V-4 1500cc Cardinal engine was located forward of the rear axle, the power was delivered through a 4-speed, all-synchro transaxle to the rear wheels.
 
Automotive writers across the nation had a lot to say about Ford’s “toe in the water” of racing. And they agreed that, as first presented, the Mustang needed some serious changes to be competitive.
 
Ford knew that, too, and continued to work on the design.
 
Another Mustang concept was presented to race fans at the 1963 U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and then the third version rolled off the production lines in April 1964, defying standard practice at the time of releasing new models in the fall and earning the nickname “1964½.”
 
“All summer long they were virtually unobtainable,” said Michael Argetsinger, award-winning motorsports author and a member of the Governing Council of the Racing Research Center. “They were the hottest thing around.”
 
The launch of the Mustang was Ford’s most successful since the Model A, with a million cars sold in less than two years.
 
“A lot of us enthusiasts knew that this was the thing to come when Ford pledged that they would be racing in all forms,” said renowned race historian Bill Green, who serves as historian for both the Racing Research Center and Watkins Glen International.
 
“It was a new and exciting era. America was going racing again. Ford was putting out the message that they were back in the performance business, while at the same time making these cars affordable to the average person,” Green said.
 
The Mustang is now in its fifth design generation.
 
The new Mustang was the pace car at the 1964 Indianapolis 500, and the very same car that led the pack at Indy served as the pace car at the 1964 U.S. Grand Prix.
 
For the next three years, Mustangs were the official cars of the Glen. Each year, Ford would send 23 Mustangs to be used by Grand Prix teams during their visit and two Mustangs that were used throughout much of the year by Grand Prix Corp. staff.
 
Not only did the top cars come to the Glen, the top men did, too, Argetsinger said, recalling visits by Lee Iacocca and Don Frey, “fathers” of the Mustang, and other Ford executives.
 
The racing history of the Mustang at the Glen is extensive, appearing on entry lists in Trans-Am, SCCA and SVRA events over the decades. Storied drivers such as Mark Donohue, Parnelli Jones and George Follmer drove their Mustangs at the Glen.
 
Nationally, Mustang won several manufacturers’ championships in the Trans-Am series and the IMSA GTO class. Its drivers have earned several drivers championships as well.
 
NHRA, NASCAR and racing series in Europe have also seen Mustang wins.
 
Off the track, this hugely popular car has won multiple Car and Driver Ten Best awards, including 2011, and Motor Trend Car of the Year twice. In 2005 it was runner-up to the Chrysler 300 for the North American Car of the Year award.
 
The 2011 Ford Mustang was awarded Consumer Reports’ 2011 Top Pick in the Sporty Car category.
 
For the past three years, including 2012, Popular Mechanics has selected the Mustang as the Top Performance Car in its annual Auto Excellence Awards.
 
MotorWeek named the Mustang Boss 302 as Best of the Year in its 2012 Drivers’ Choice Awards

Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Center at (607) 535-9044 or by email at max@racingarchives.org.

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INDY 500 HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON FEATURED SPEAKER AT IMRRC AUG. 25

Donald Davidson, longtime historian at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will be the featured speaker at the International Motor Racing Research Center on Saturday, Aug. 25.

Davidson is considered the preeminent expert on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and the United States Auto Club.

Davidson’s appearance to discuss the famed 500-mile race held at one of the world’s most recognized race tracks is being presented in the third installment of the Center’s 2012 Center Conversations series, “America’s Great Tracks.”

The free talk begins at 1 p.m. at the Center at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen, and is open to all.

Also slated to speak is car collector and publisher Joseph Freeman, who will cover the “Roadster Era” at the Indianapolis 500. His Joe Hunt Magneto Special, a front-engined “Watson Copy” roadster that raced in the 500 in 1960, is now on display at the Center.

“Davidson is a legend in the world of Indianapolis racing. He’s a giant,” said Center Governing Council member and award-winning motorsports author Michael Argetsinger. “His statistical knowledge of all things Indy 500 is unparalleled in the sport, as well as his ability to enthrall the audience with his stories.”

Davidson has been historian for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1998, but his involvement with the track began decades earlier.

A serious race fan from afar, he attended his first Indianapolis 500 in 1964. Traveling from his home in England, Davidson took with him a deep knowledge of the series, including knowing the results of every race and much about every driver who had ever competed in an Indy 500.

He had written before his arrival to track radio announcer Sid Collins and was invited to the booth, becoming a big hit with the crowd.

At the next year’s race, Davidson again joined Collins in the announcer’s booth. A few days after the race, he was hired by USAC as a statistician, a position he held for 31 years.

Davidson’s career in radio includes decades of shows about racing. His career as a writer includes his “Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500,” co-authored with Rick Shaffer and published in 2006, as well as many magazine articles and collaborations with other book authors.

Davidson was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2010. At the time, he was one of only 25 who were living and one of only two living who were never a participant.

Car collector Freeman is owner of Racemaker Press, specializing in books about vintage racing. He is a vintage racer and former president of the Society of Automotive Historians.

Freeman also is past president of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, Mass., and is a car show judge.

The talks by Davidson and Freeman continue the mission of the Racing Research Center to preserve the history of motorsports in all series, at all tracks.

The final talk in the 'America's Great Tracks' series will be on Oct. 13 and presented by Tom Schultz, historian at Road America since 2000.

William Edgar to Speak about Riverside on June 23

William Edgar, motor sports filmmaker, photographer and historian and member of a prominent West Coast racing family, will be the second speaker in the International Motor Racing Research Center’s 2012 Center Conversations series dubbed “America’s Great Tracks.”

Edgar, who also is a contributor of articles for automotive magazines and book author, will speak about early post-war racing in southern California culminating in the opening of Riverside International Raceway, the construction of which was financed by his father, postwar sports car racing team pioneer John Edgar.

Edgar’s June 23 talk will begin at 1 p.m. It is free and open to all.

The additional sessions in the “America’s Great Tracks” series will be Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 25 and Road America on Oct. 13. A talk about Daytona International Speedway kicked off the series in May.

Riverside operated from 1957 through 1989. The road course hosted NASCAR, IMSA, SCCA, USAC, CART, Formula One, NHRA and AMA.

Many of the world's greatest drivers raced at Riverside and were intimate friends of the Edgar family, making Will Edgar’s Research Center presentation an intensely personal and unique look at the great drivers of the era.

John Edgar was a pioneering force in post-World War II sports car racing in America. During the 1950s he fielded marques that included MG, Siata, Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati, piloted by first-rate racing talent such as Bill Pollack, Jack McAfee, Carroll Shelby, Phil Hill, Pete Lovely, Masten Gregory, Paul O’Shea, Lance Reventlow, Bruce Kessler, Skip Hudson, Jim Rathmann, Chuck Daigh, Jo Bonnier, Pete Woods, and Ruth Levy, according to his son.

John Edgar was also a professional-caliber photographer and many of his photographs, now held in the Edgar Motorsport Archive, will be presented in William Edgar’s Watkins Glen talk. 

Edgar has worked as a documentary filmmaker in general and racing subjects since the early 1960s. He has written for motor sports magazines since the mid-1980s.

His 1998 “American Sports Car Racing in the 1950s,” co-authored with Michael T. Lynch and Ron Parravano, won The Motor Press Guild’s 1998 Dean Batchelor Award “For Excellence in Current Automotive Journalism.” 

The “America’s Great Tracks” series carries on the mission of the International Motor Racing Research Center to preserve the history of motor sports in all series, at all tracks.

Formula One Book Wins IPPY Award

(May 17, 2012) Michael Argetsinger’s acclaimed book about the 20 years of Formula One racing at Watkins Glen has been awarded a gold medal in the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards, the IPPY awards.

The top-place honor was awarded in the transportation category.

“Formula One at Watkins Glen: 20 Years of the United States Grand Prix, 1961-1980” was a joint venture by Argetsinger, the International Motor Racing Research Center and David Bull Publishing of Phoenix, AZ.

The IPPY honors were awarded to books produced by smaller publishers in more than 70 different categories.

“I'm especially pleased at the recognition the book has received because it serves a good cause. All proceeds from sales benefit the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen, an invaluable archive of information and materials on racing history,” David Bull said.

The book was released in June 2011 as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race at Watkins Glen, which would become known as the home of the U.S. Grand Prix.

American World Champion Mario Andretti wrote the forward for the book.

The 160-page, hardcover book includes approximately 250 color and black and white photographs. The vivid narrative chronicles the action and events of each year’s race, and it also tells the story of the organizers who brought Formula One to Watkins Glen and the forces that led to its eventual demise. The cost of the limited-edition book is $49.95. Supplies are dwindling, and it will not be available for much longer.

The Independent Publisher Book Awards were conceived in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles produced each year, and reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing.

This year’s entry totals were the biggest ever, with 4,813 print book entries, 390 e-book entries and an average category size of 50, all from more than 2,400 independent authors and publishers.

“Formula One at Watkins Glen: 20 Years of the United States Grand Prix, 1961-1980” can be purchased by calling the Racing Research Center at (607) 535-9044 or by emailing max@racingarchives.org. An order form also is available at the Center’s website at www.racingarchives.org.

All profits from the sales of the book go directly to the Center.

Daytona International in the Spotlight May 19

Daytona International Speedway will be the focus of a talk May 19 at the Racing Research Center. The talk by J.J. O’Malley, motorsports journalist and author and senior editor of publications for the International Speedway Corp., is the first in the 2012 Center Conversations series dubbed “America’s Great Tracks.”

The other sessions: Riverside International Raceway, June 23; Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Aug. 25; and Road America, Oct. 13.

O’Malley’s talk will begin at 1 p.m. It is free and open to all.

O’Malley knows Daytona well. His latest book, “Daytona Hot Shoe: The History of Short Track Motorcycle Racing in Daytona,” was released in March by Anthem Motorsports.

Among his eight other books on racing are “Daytona 24 Hours: the Definitive History of America’s Great Endurance Race” and “Daytona 500: 50 Years of the Great American Race 2008.”

O’Malley teamed up with Center historian Bill Green to produce “Watkins Glen - From Griswold to Gordon: Fifty Years of Competition at the Home of American Road Racing.” O’Malley is a former director of communications at Watkins Glen International. He also currently works with the Grand American Road Racing series. Daytona International Speedway, owned by the International Speedway Corp., is the flagship oval track for NASCAR. It opened in 1959 and since then has hosted the Daytona 500 NASCAR race, the signature event for both the track and the series.

The oval track is 2.5 miles long, with 31 degrees of banking in the turns. A 3.56-mile road course, which incorporates part of the banked oval, winds through the 180-acre infield and is used for sports car and motorcycle events.

The track seats 167,785, with additional space in the infield for fans. The 480-acre speedway grounds also house the headquarters for the International Speedway Corp., a publicly traded company that owns the Daytona Speedway, as well as 11 other race tracks. The “America’s Great Tracks” series carries on the mission of the International Motor Racing Research Center to preserve the history of motorsports in all series, at all tracks.

‘America’s Great Tracks’ Theme of 2012 Speaker Series

Four of the nation’s great race tracks will be featured in the International Motor Racing Research Center’s 2012 Center Conversations speaker series.

“America’s Great Tracks” will focus on Daytona, Riverside, Indianapolis and Road America.

All sessions are free and open to the public.

The schedule:
~ Saturday, May 19 at 1 p.m., Daytona International Speedway. J.J. O’Malley, senior editor of publications for the International Speedway Corporation, is an appropriate speaker about a race track he knows well. Among his eight books on racing is “Daytona 24 Hours: the Definitive History of America’s Great Endurance Race.” The race celebrated its 50th anniversary in February this year.
Since opening in 1959, the track has been the home of the Daytona 500 NASCAR race.

The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5-mile, high-speed tri-oval; a 3.56-mile sports car course; a 2.95-mile motorcycle course; and a .25-mile karting and motorcycle flat-track.

~ Saturday, June 23 at 1 p.m., Riverside International Raceway. William Edgar, a prominent historian and contributor of articles and photography for automotive magazines, will speak about early postwar racing in southern California and the Riverside, CA, race track that his father, postwar sports car racing team pioneer John Edgar, helped develop.
Riverside operated from 1957 through 1989. The road course hosted NASCAR, IMSA, SCCA, USAC, CART, Formula One, NHRA and AMA.

~ Saturday, Aug. 25 at 1 p.m., Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Donald Davidson will speak about the famed track for which he has been historian since 1998. He attended his first race there in 1964. The next year, he was hired by the United States Auto Club as statistician, a position he held for 31 years.

Indianapolis hosts the renowned Indy 500 race, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. The 2.5-mile oval track opened in 1909.

~ Saturday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m., Road America. Tom Schultz has been track historian at Road America, in since 2000 and knows all of the classic track’s great stories. He has authored two books about the track in Elkhart Lake, WI: “Road America, Five Decades of Racing at Elkhart Lake” and “Road America, Celebrating Fifty Years of Road Racing.”
Road America hosted its first SCCA national race weekend in 1955. Millions of dollars in improvements have been made over the years, but the original 4.048-mile, 14-turn configuration has never been altered.

Winning 1975 McLaren M23 on Display through August

A McLaren M23 with one of the longest and most illustrious histories of the series is now on display at the Racing Research Center.

Hosting this spectacular car is a fitting cap to the Center’s 2011 yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race at Watkins Glen. It will be on display through April.

Owned by Governing Council member Gregory G. Galdi, the M23/09 took the checkered flag as winner in its very first outing, in the Argentinian Grand Prix in January 1975 with Emerson Fittipaldi at the helm. In July of that year, Fittipaldi drove the car to victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The M23/09 competed in 25 Grand Prix races - 29 races overall - and had podium finishes in the hands of Fittipaldi, James Hunt and Jochen Mass.

It has had only two owners: McLaren executive Leo Wybrott and Galdi. A full 25 years from its last race, the car had been residing in the Brooklands Museum.

With Mass at the wheel, the car finished fourth at the 1976 U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, its only running at the Glen. The car’s most recent appearance at Watkins Glen was in a vintage event in 2006.

The M23 series debuted in the 1973 season. The initial car earned pole position with Denny Hulme in its first race.

The M23 series would go on to win its manufacturer two championships in three years and ensure its place in the history of Formula One.

From 1973 to 1977, the M23 was under a development program that resulted in numerous, often significant, changes from race to race. With feedback from drivers Hulme, Peter Revson, Fittipaldi, Hunt and Mass, the M23 underwent constant upgrades in the search for improvements to gain a competitive edge.

The body changed, the front track narrowed, a custom six-speed gearbox appeared. The now easily recognizable chisel-front nose was developed, as well as suspension modifications.

Outsiders played a big role as well. Goodyear essentially custom-designed tires for the car, and Nicholson McLaren was tasked with extracting additional horsepower out of the well-developed 3.0 liter DFV engine.

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CUTLINES:

The M23/09 is at the June 1975 Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp circuit. Emerson Fittipaldi started 11th and finished 8th in the race. The M23 is now on display at the Center.

The M23/09 is on display through August.

IMRRC to Celebrate Elva – Elva cars invited to participate

International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen to honor ELVA – the book and the car – April 21-22 – Elva owners and cars invited to participate

Award winning author Janos Wimpffen will be the keynote speaker at the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen on April 21-22 for a program celebrating the Elva race car. Wimpffen will be available to sign copies of his new book Elva: The Cars, the People, the History (David Bull Publishing), recent winner of the Motor Press Guild’s Dean Batchelor award for the best book of 2011. The event is part of the Center’s annual Open House weekend.

Elva owners and enthusiasts are invited to participate. The Center will display Elva cars on its premises on Saturday April 21 as part of the event program. On Sunday, April 22, the event moves up on the hill to Watkins Glen International (WGI) race circuit where the cars will be on display at the start/finish line and victory circle area. The weekend is WGI’s traditional Opening Weekend where thousands of area enthusiasts come to the Glen to drive their cars on the 3.4 mile circuit. Laps are at controlled speed behind a pace car and proceeds go to a local charity.

Participants registered for the Elva display will have the track to themselves during a dedicated period midday to drive exhibition laps at controlled speeds. There is no charge for Elva participants for their laps during this defined period.

Elva owners wishing to participate should contact Research Center administrator Max Neal at 607/535-9044 or max@racingarchives.org to register to be part of this unique event.

“U.S. Grand Prix: 1962-1980” Talk Set for Dec. 3 at 1 p.m.

The International Motor Racing Research Center will conclude its yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race at Watkins Glen in December.

The first race was on Oct. 8, 1961. On Saturday, Dec. 3, Center Historian Bill Green and Center staffer Kevin Hughey will look at the ensuing years of Formula One at the Glen, including the final event on Oct. 5, 1980.

Their free talk will be at 1p.m. at the Center at 610 S. Decatur St.

“U.S. Grand Prix: 1962-1980” will include facts from the history books, the speakers’ personal recollections and memorable moments captured in slides covering the entire period.

Green, who also serves as historian at Watkins Glen International, launched the 50th anniversary celebration in February when he teamed up with motorsports author and Center Council member Michael Argetsinger for a talk about Formula Libre, the precursor races to Formula One, and the Oct. 8, 1961, race, won by Innes Ireland of Great Britain.

Hughey gave a talk in July about the 28 Americans who competed in Formula One at the Glen.

Also on Dec. 3, the Center will draw the winning ticket for its raffle of a 1967 Mustang, one-of-a-kind “resto-mod” built as a tribute to the famous Ford Highland Green Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 blockbuster movie “Bullitt.”

Tickets will be sold right up until the drawing, just before the talk begins.
The annual car raffle is one of the Center’s major fund-raisers.

Artists to Discuss their Formula One Works on Nov. 19

Artists whose Formula One pieces are now on display at the International Motor Racing Research Center will talk about their work in a panel discussion Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Center.

The show, “The Art of Formula One,” opened at the Center on Oct. 8. It is presented in partnership with the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

ARTS Council Executive Director Ginnie Lupi will moderate the panel discussion, which will start at 1 p.m. at the Center. Admission is free and open to all.

Participating regional artists will be Bob Gillespie, Robert Tarlach, Doug Wilkins, Greg Davis, Steve Osterling and Craig Booth.
They will discuss what inspires them, how they decide on creating a particular piece and what type of research they undertake to create their distinctive artwork.

Their work includes paintings, photographs and sculpture.

The art show and panel discussion are part of the Racing Research Center’s year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race at Watkins Glen.

Center Celebrating Watkins Glen F1 Anniversary on Oct. 8 with Authors, Art & Other Activities

Two award-winning motorsports authors will be the featured speakers at the International Motor Racing Research Center’s Oct. 8 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race at Watkins Glen.

Authors Michael T. Lynch and Gordon Kirby will discuss America’s World Champions, Phil Hill and Mario Andretti.

Lynch, co-author of “American Sports Car Racing in the 1950s,” will focus on Hill, World Champion in 1961.

Kirby will speak about 1978 champion Andretti, subject of his “Mario Andretti: A Driving Passion.”

The 1 p.m. talk is one of several activities during the day, all of which are free and open to everyone.

The Oct. 8 festivities will be the peak of a year of events recognizing the 20-year history of the United States Grand Prix at the Glen, a run that started on Oct. 8, 1961.

The grand celebration will begin at 10 a.m. with the opening of the Center and the start of the fall clearance sale of duplicate materials from the archives, including books and race programs.

Films of early racing at the Glen will be playing throughout the day in the Media Room.
Author Michael Argetsinger will be on hand throughout the day, as well, discussing and signing his new book, “Formula One at Watkins Glen: 20 Years of the United States Grand Prix, 1961-1980.”

Lynch, Kirby and special guest William Sadler, who raced in the Formula Libre series, will begin their program at 1 p.m.
At 5 p.m., the art show, “The Art of Formula One,” will formally open. The show will feature the works of several artists working in different formats, including watercolors, photography and sculpture.

A reception honoring the artists and the speakers will be from 4-6 p.m.

To add to the day’s fun, the Center staff is inviting all fans of F1 at the Glen to dig out their credentials, pins, jackets or whatnot from the F1 days at the Glen. Wear with pride – and maybe win a prize. Other giveaways are planned, too.

The long-anticipated afternoon program will present a look at America’s World Champions by two respected experts.

Lynch’s “American Sports Car Racing in the 1950s,” co-authored with William Edgar and Ron Parravano, is known as the definitive work on the era. The book has won numerous awards, including the Dean Batchelor Award.

Lynch is noted for his work on the history of Ferrari race cars and is a contributing editor to Cavallino and a regular contributor to Forza, both Ferrari-specific publications. He has written for many other motorsports magazines and motorsports event programs. Online, his work is often seen on VeloceToday.com, a site specializing in Italian and French collector cars.

Kirby, too, is a winner of the Dean Batchelor Award, for his Andretti biography. The book also won the Independent Publishers Book Award in the sports/recreation division.

Other drivers about whom Kirby has written books include Bobby Rahal, Rick Mears, Greg Moore and the Unser family. With Emerson Fittipaldi, he wrote “The Art of Motor Racing.”

Kirby is the U.S. editor of Motor Sport and a contributing editor to Road & Track. He is the American editor of Autocourse and former American editor of Autosport.

The Art of Formula One Comes to Watkins Glen

Several regional artists have been gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race in Watkins Glen at the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC). On October 8th an art exhibit titled ‘The Art of Formula One’, will commemorate this occasion featuring the beauty and power of Formula One racing. The exhibit will spotlight images created by artists who have a unique personal history of attending the racing events at the Glen. They will share that unique perspective and unwavering devotion by creating artistic tributes to the legacy of Formula One. The images in the exhibit portray some of the history of Formula One told in color, line, and form. They bring to life to the stories and beauty that were part of this era of world class racing in Watkins Glen.

Robert Gillespie, a Watkins Glen native will show ‘The Duel’, featuring Graham Hill and Jim Clark as both cars go head to head for the 1962 US Grand Prix in Watkins Glen. Motor racing circuit photographer, Robert Tarlach’s ‘Formula One Reunion at Watkins Glen’, shows a car from the first year and the last year of Formula One racing at Watkins Glen. Also on display, will be sculptures by Craig Booth, new paintings made specifically for this exhibit by Greg Davis, Doug Wilkins and Steve Oosterling; along with the digitally enhanced photographs by Jim Schwabel.

The ‘Art of Formula One’ will open with an artist’s reception on October 8th from 4:00PM to 6:00PM. The show will close with a panel discussion of all the artists on November 19th at 1:00PM. Moderated by Ginnie Lupi, Executive Director of the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, the talk will include discussion what inspires the artists, how they decide on creating a particular piece and what type of research the undertake to create their distinctive artwork.

The Racing Research Center is open to the public at no charge, Monday through Friday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM and on Saturdays from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. The opening reception and artist talk are also open to the public. The Art of Formula One exhibit is made possible, in part, by the QuickARTS mini-grant program administered by the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and the International Motor Racing Research Center

Mario Andretti Honorary Chairman of Center’s Year-long Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen

The green flag waved high Tuesday for the International Motor Racing Research Center’s year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race at Watkins Glen.
Center officials announced a year of exciting events and activities that will salute this important history of the local community and international racing.

At the helm of the year-long celebration is honorary chairman Mario Andretti, America’s Formula One World Champion in 1978. Andretti, long a member of the Center’s Drivers Council, also will be serving as chairman of the Center’s 2011 Sponsorship Team campaign.
The first U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was on Oct. 8, 1961. Innes Ireland won that race, the first-ever World Championship Grand Prix for Team Lotus. Twelve additional different drivers would earn the checkered flag over the ensuing 19 years.

“My first Formula One race at Watkins Glen – in fact, it was the first time I ever saw the circuit – lives in my memory,” Andretti recalls. “Colin Chapman asked me to join Team Lotus for the 1968 United States Grand Prix in the team’s third Lotus 49-Ford. I was able to capture pole position and the experience helped influence my eventual move to a full-time commitment to Formula One and my World Championship in 1978.”

He describes the USGP years at Watkins Glen as “encompassing many of the great moments in American racing history.”

The Center will be recapturing those moments through displays and exhibits of materials including every race poster for the full run of the race series, the original paintings by English artist Michael Turner used for program covers from 1969-80, photographs and film of drivers and races, and popular memorabilia such as tickets, passes, buttons, stickers, clothing, trophies and plaques.

“Formula One put Watkins Glen on the international racing map, a place of respect it holds to this day,” Center President J.C. Argetsinger said. “The local community is proud of this rich and exciting history, and visitors to the Center prove time and time again that the Watkins Glen years are important to their racing memories, too.”

A series of Formula One cars will be in the spotlight at the Center through the year, starting with the Cooper Climax T51 soon to be on display. Sir Jack Brabham pushed this car over the finish line at Sebring in 1959 to clinch his first of three World Championships. The car is owned by racing author Joel Finn, a good friend of the Center.

The Racing Research Center is noted for the quality of its monthly speaker series, Center Conversations, and the 2011 list promises Formula One fans some fascinating sessions.

The talks will kick off on Feb. 26 with Center historian Bill Green and motorsports author Michael Argetsinger. They will set the stage for Formula One in Watkins Glen with a look at Formula Libre, the precursor races, and then focus on Oct. 8, 1961, through film and slides.

Celebrated motorsports writer Pete Lyons will speak on April 16, discussing his years working in Europe covering Formula One.

On May 7, racing great Bobby Rahal will talk about his racing experiences in Formula One and at the Indy 500, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

In July, the Center pays homage to the American drivers who competed at Watkins Glen, with a talk by Kevin Hughey, a Watkins Glen native and race historian in his own right.

Tributes to Mario Andretti and Phil Hill, America’s World Champions, will be among other programs during the year. Details will be announced as they are confirmed.

On Sept. 9, Watkins Glen will shut down its main streets for a daylong party honoring the village’s racing history. The Grand Prix Festival is a much-anticipated event, and Racing Research Center always has a big role.

The highlight this year for the Center will be the launch of a new motorsports book by Michael Argetsinger. This book, “Formula One at Watkins Glen: 20 Years of the United States Grand Prix 1961-1980,” is a venture between David Bull Publishing, the Center and Argetsinger. All profits will go directly to the Center.

The 160-page book, now in development, will include approximately 250 color and black and white photographs with detailed captions and connecting narrative that will illustrate the Watkins Glen Formula One story.

“In preparing the book we are considering photographs from a great variety of sources and welcome all submissions,” Argetsinger said. “The greatest contribution has been from the Research Center where, with the assistance of archivist Mark Steigerwald and historian Bill Green, I have reviewed 37,000 images specific to the context of the new book.” 

“Formula One at Watkins Glen” will be on sale at the Center, at the downtown Grand Prix Festival and at Watkins Glen International during that weekend’s Sportscar Vintage Racing Association’s Glenora Wine Cellars U.S. Vintage Grand Prix.

The Argetsinger book project and all the entertaining and educating components of the Center’s year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race at Watkins Glen are emblematic of the International Motor Racing Research Center’s mission to be the world-class leader in the collection of materials representing the documentary heritage of amateur and professional motor racing worldwide.

1961 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Oct. 8, 1961

1 - Innes Ireland has time with his fans after winning the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen on Oct. 8, 1961.

2 - Innes Ireland is in front of Graham Hill, left, and Jack Brabham as they enter the 90 during the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Ireland would take the checkered flag. Ron Nelson Photo.

3 - A sudden spin on hot asphalt sends Olivier Gendebien (#21) of Belgium in the wrong direction during the 1961 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Finding room to pursue the leaders are Lloyd Ruby of Texas in a Lotus (#26) and Walt Hansgen of New Jersey in a Cooper (#60).  

Renowned motorsports author Joel Finn to speak at the International Motor Racing Research Center

(Watkins Glen) October 22, 2010 – The International Motor Racing Research Center is proud to welcome Joel Finn, to its upcoming “Center Conversation” on November 13, at 1:00 pm. Finn will discuss his new book: Caribbean Capers: The Cuban Grand Prix Races of 1957, 1958 & 1960. This remarkable volume captures the dramatic story of Cuba’s famous sports car races, with all the international finance, political intrigue and competitive action that characterized the island nation at that turbulent time. Admission to the event is free and copies of the book will be available for purchase.

Havana was truly the sin city of the 1950’s; the gambling capital of the world, with profits that surpassed Las Vegas. If one had money and connections, just about anything could be gotten in Cuba. Against this backdrop, powerful Ferraris, Maseratis, and Porsches roared through the streets of Havana with the world’s best drivers at the wheel. Stirling Moss, Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, Jack Brabham and, of course, the five-time world champion, Juan Manuel Fangio, were among those who competed is these now-legendary events . A kidnapping that captured headlines around the world, when pole-sitter Fangio was taken at gunpoint from his Havana hotel the night before the race in 1958, illustrates the challenges faced by the organizers and competitors.

“I was one of the timing officials at the races in 1958, and gathered as much original information, firsthand accounts, and rare, official records from organizers as possible, with the intention of creating this book on the events in Cuba during the Golden Age of sports car racing,” Finn said. “It’s a story that needs to be told, of a time in racing history like no other, set amidst the gaiety and glamour of the clubs, beaches, beautiful women and Hollywood stars.”

With more than 500 historic images of the cars, drivers and events – many never -before published – and numerous meticulously compiled charts of the race entries and results, Caribbean Capers: The Cuban Grand Prix Races of 1957, 1958 and 1960, is certain to become the authoritative account of this era of Cuban motor racing.

About the author:
Joel Finn has been a competitive driver in road racing for more than 50 years. Beginning in the middle of the 20th century, he was also a participant in significant events in American racing, working with pit crews, flagging stations and timing and scoring officials at tracks that included Sebring, Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, and Havana. As a long-time competitor, he has raced many of the cars that attained legendary status in the early years of sports car racing and has known the drivers, owners and mechanics who competed in these challenging events.

Finn has written a number of highly-regarded histories of road racing including American Road Racing: The 1930s; Bridgehampton Racing: From the Streets to the Bridge; Sunshine Speed and a Surprise: The 1959 Grand Prix of the United Sates; and American Road Racing: 1948-1950 The Sport Revived. His earlier books focused on the Ferrari V-12 Testa Rossa, Maserati Birdcages and the Maserati Sports Racing cars.

Car Collector Dr. Fred Simeone to Lead Center?s
Tribute to Racing Legend John Fitch

Dr. Fred Simeone, whose passion for racing sports cars inspired him to establish the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, will be the keynote speaker at the International Motor Racing Research Center on Saturday, Dec. 4. His talk will, in part, pay tribute to legendary American racing driver John Fitch.

His talk is presented as part of the monthly series, Center Conversations. It will begin at 1 p.m. and is free and open to all. The Center is located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen.

Simeone, a renowned neurosurgeon, has spent the past 50 years putting together a unique collection that is considered to be one of the most extensive in the world. Opened in the summer of 2008, the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, with its diorama approach to displaying the cars and telling their stories, includes some of the rarest and most significant racing sports cars ever built.

Among the more than 60 cars are a 1950 Allard J2 and a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing" that raced at Watkins Glen, a 1912 National Speed Car, a 1958 Aston Martin DBR1 and a 1970 Plymouth Superbird NASCAR car.

Simeone studied neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania and the Mayo Clinic, and taught at Harvard Medical School. He returned to Penn for decades of research and practice. Simeone is the editor of eight textbooks, including "The Spine" which is used in medical schools all over the world.

John Fitch was the Center?s 2010 Sponsorship Team campaign chairman. He has been one of the Center's greatest supporters since the facility opened in 1999.

Fitch's racing career has been varied, from amateur racing immediately following World War II to competing as a works driver for Mercedes in the 1950s. Fitch enjoyed great success internationally, including six appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He won the Argentinean Grand Prix in 1951.

After his role as competitor, Fitch went on to serve as general manager of Lime Rock Park and was a significant figure in racing and road safety, the most well-known example being the Fitch Barriers that can be found on highways from coast to coast.

On Oct. 20, the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, for which Simeone is executive director, is honoring Fitch with its Spirit of Competition Award. Simeone will bring his admiration for Fitch to his December appearance at the Center, recognizing Fitch and his contributions to American road racing.

Dr. Simeone?s talk will also include his views on appropriate restoration and use of vintage race cars.

IMRRC CHARITY AUCTION CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY

The International Motor Racing Research Center’s annual auction celebrates its 10th anniversary this September and plans are well under way to make this year’s event the best ever. Begun in 2000, the auction has become a cornerstone event of the Grand Prix Festival/SVRA U.S. Vintage Grand Prix weekend held the second weekend of September each year. It is one three major fund raising events that the Center conducts each year to support its programs and services.

This year’s event will be held Friday, September 10th and as in the past the program will feature both live and silent auctions, a sumptuous hot and cold buffet, and an open bar featuring a selection of beer and wine. The admission ticket price will remain at $25/person and, as was the case last year, each patron will receive a credit of the $25 admission price towards their first live or silent auction purchase. Doors will open at 6PM and the live auction will begin at 8 PM. The silent auction will close at 8:30 and as this event continues to grow in popularity guests are reminded to arrive early.

In addition to the usual auto racing books, posters, artwork, etc. that have been available in the past, IMRRC has partnered with Third Coast Collectibles of Charlevoix, Michigan to broaden the variety of items offered. Third Coast has over 30 years experience in the sports and entertainment collectible business and has been involved with major fund raising events throughout the United States, including the annual charity auction at the Amelia Island (FL) Concours. They specialize in providing unique, one-of-a-kind collectibles and all autographed items come with a certificate of authenticity. The involvement of Third Coast Collectibles is sure to help make this year’s auction the best ever. Additionally, special items from the Andretti Autosport, Rahal-Letterman, and Patron/Highcroft race teams will be available in both the live and silent auctions.
The Center reminds its friends and supporters to search their homes, garages, and race trailers for special items that could be donated to this year’s auction. In order to insure proper cataloging and pricing of all items the IMRRC staff asks that all donations be received no later than September 1st. Please address packages to Jon McKnight-2010 AUCTION, IMRRC, 610 S. Decatur Street, Watkins Glen, NY, 14891. Remember that as a 501,c 3 organization, all donations to the International Motor Racing Research Center are deductible to extent as allowed by IRS codes.

Make your plans now and help make our 10th anniversary auction the best ever by Biding early, often, and high.

Michael Argetsinger to Speak
about Mark Donohue and the Ferrari 512M

Award-winning motorsports author Michael Argetsinger will present an in-depth look at the legendary Penske Racing Ferrari 512M, as raced by Mark Donohue, at the International Motor Racing Research Center on Saturday, Sept. 4.

His talk "accompanied by many rare photographs" is presented as part of the monthly series, Center Conversations. It will begin at 1 p.m. and is free and open to all.

The Center is located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen.

No less a figure than Ferrari Chief Engineer Mauro Forghieri called this car ?the finest prepared Ferrari I have ever seen, says Argetsinger. How the car also remembered as the Kirk White Ferrari ? was built, and its dramatic racing history, is one of motorsports greatest stories.

Argetsinger is well-qualified to discuss Mark Donohue and his race cars. His 2009 book, Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed, swept the International Automotive Media Competition, winning Best Biography, Best Book and Best of Media for 2009.

The book was the first complete biography of Donohue, who redefined what it meant to be a successful driver in the 1960s and 1970s. Argetsinger has followed up that endeavor with his newest book, ?Mark Donohue: His Life in Photographs, released in July. The 160-page, full color compilation recreates Donohue's life through hundreds of photographs.

Many of the pictures were provided by the people who were closest to Donohue: his family, friends, and Penske Racing teammates. The book also offers some of the best work by the top motorsports photographers of the era.

Published by David Bull Publishing, both books will be available for sale at Argetsinger's talk.

IMRRC announces a Second Raffle Car….for Kids

Through the generosity of Oscar Kovaleski and Autosports Associates, the International Motor Racing Research Center is happy to announce the addition of a second raffle car for the 2010 race season, and this one is for kids. The vehicle, a battery powered Kid Racer, is a replica of the Target-Chip Ganassi Racing Indy car driven to victory by Dario Franchitti at this year’s Indianapolis 500 and is signed by Franchitti.

Tickets for this raffle are only $5 each or 11 for $50 and went on sale August 1st. Only 1000 tickets will be sold and the winning ticket will be drawn at the annual IMRRC Auction on September 10th at 7PM. Like its full-sized counterpart, the Cobra replica, tickets for the Kid Racer can be purchased at the Center, by phone at 607.535.9044, on line at www.racingarchives.org or at the IMRRC display during the NASCAR Nextel Cup weekend or the Grand Prix Festival events.

The Kid Racer car, developed by former CanAm racer Oscar Koveleski , is designed for children 3 to 7 years old , is completely assembled including a rechargeable battery pack and has a top speed of 5 MPH. Other features include a 2 speed transmission with racing gear shift, adjustable racing side mirrors, a one piece injection molded plastic body and chassis with a maximum driver weight of 90 lbs.
The one-of-a-kind Target-Chip Ganassi Kid Racer offers IMRRC members and supporters the opportunity to win a one-of- a- kind memento for their child or grandchild while supporting the Center at the same time. So don’t miss out, order your tickets now!
See Flier and Registration Form

ART SHOW HONORING AJ FOYT ON DISPLAY
JULY 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 14TH

Artwork by Neola Pennsylvania resident Douslass Wilkins will be on display in the Media Room of the Center from July 1st through August 14th. The show features original paintings and prints that honor significant events in the career of racing legend A.J. Foyt. Most of the works will be available for purchase and a portion of each sale will benefit the International Motor Racing Research Center.

A reception will be held for Wilkins on Saturday July 3rd, from 5PM till 7PM in the Main Lobby of the Center and the public is invited. A.J. Foyt who will be in Watkins Glen for the Camping World Grand Prix, IndyCar race with his race team is expected to attend the reception, schedule permitting. The dedication of a Walk of Fame stone honoring Foyt will also be part of the event

Wilkins, a self taught artist, did his first painting of Foyt in early 1979. It depicted A.J. winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 in 1976. Even as a child Doug considered Foyt his hero and decided to present this work to Foyt as a gift. Later that year he was able to sneak into the pits at the at the Pocono International Speedway Indy car and was able to meet Foyt face-to-face. He presented Foyt the painting. The two talked for over an hour with A.J. offering him his race team hat as a small token of his appreciation. The hat is still part of a collection of Foyt memorabilia that Wilkins steadily accumulated since that day. Foyt subsequently commissioned Wilkins to do several more works for him which adorn his home, ranch and race shop. The artist considers his visit to the Foyt ranch in 1995 as a the most memorable moment of his career, and was emotionally moved when he viewed that first painting on display in the living room of the ranch.

Wilkins’ work has also been featured in Indy Car Racing and Circle Track magazines, as well as Charlotte Motor Speedway race programs. Additionally the artist has done paintings for Rick Mears, Richard Petty, and A.J.’s long time sponsor and friend, the late, Jim Gilmore. While racing related art is Wilkins first love, he also does portraits and landscapes and works in acrylics, water colors, and charcoal.

A “427”COBRA REPLICA IS IMRRC’S 2010 RAFFLE CAR - see details

The International Motor Racing Research Center
to Receive a NASCAR Nextel Cup Car from Penske Racing
and RRDC archive collection from Bobby Rahal

WHAT: The International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen will accept a Penske Racing NASCAR Nextel Cup car from Penske Corporation Executive Vice President Walter Czarnecki as a donation to its permanent collections. At the end of its racing life, the car was prepared by Penske Racing as a tribute car to retired driver Rusty Wallace for presentation to the Racing Research Center, where Rusty serves on the Drivers Advisory Council. It is identical to the short track car Rusty raced in 2005 prior to his retirement at the end of that season. In its racing history, the car was driven by Kurt Busch who most notably placed it on pole position for the Martinsville NASCAR Cup race on October 26, 2006.

At the same donation ceremony, Bobby Rahal, president of the prestigious Road Racing Drivers Club, will present the archives of the club to the Center. The collection includes photographs, records, and member biographical information dating back to the club’s founding in the early 1950s. Rahal, who is the 1986 Indy 500 winner, is a member of the Racing Research Center’s Governing Council. To be part of the donation ceremony, Rahal will be taking a break from his responsibilities at the inaugural Legends of Motorsports, a Bobby Rahal Signature Event, at Watkins Glen International, June 11-13 and will arrive in style driving one his vintage race cars along with a police escort.

WHEN: Thursday, June 10, 2010
12:30 PM at the International Motor Racing Research Center

WHERE: The Center is located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen. It is one block east of Pizza Hut, at the corner of 15th Street and Decatur Street. This special event is open to the public and races fan, friends and supporters of the Research Center are cordially invited

The History of IMRRC

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