Editing Watkins Glen, New York (section)

=== Auto racing at Watkins Glen ===
[[File:Cars drive through the Esses during the 2014 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.jpg|thumb|right|The Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International]]

Watkins Glen is noted for its role in [[auto racing]], being the home of a street course used in [[road racing]], a famous racetrack, [[Watkins Glen International]], one of the premier automobile road racing tracks in the United States, which has hosted the [[NASCAR Cup Series]] [[NASCAR Cup races at Watkins Glen|Go Bowling at The Glen]], [[IndyCar Series]] [[Grand Prix at The Glen]], and the [[IMSA SportsCar Championship]] [[6 Hours of Watkins Glen]]. The first Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix was held in 1948 on public streets in and near the village. Organized by resident [[Cameron Argetsinger]], it was the first post-[[World War II|WWII]] road race held in the United States and it marked the revival of American road racing.

The original course ran for {{convert|6.6|mi|km}} and passed through the center of the village. The streets used for the original course remain intact today and a checkered flag marks the original start-finish line on the village's main street. During the 1952 race, driver Fred Wacker struck onlookers sitting on a curb on a corner coming down West 4th St. (State Route 409), killing a 7-year-old boy and injuring 10 others. The tragedy caused the end of street racing at the Glen and elsewhere in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Defechereux |first=Philippe|title= Watkins Glen 1948-1952: The Definitive Illustrated History|year=1998 |publisher=Beeman Jorgensen |isbn=0-929758-17-X }}</ref>

A permanent racing facility, the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course opened in 1956. It has hosted nearly every type of road racing, from the Sahlen's [[6 Hours of Watkins Glen]] (1948-current), the [[Formula One]] [[United States Grand Prix]] (1961–1980), and the [[I Love New York 355 at The Glen]] (1957-current), which was one of the few races on the [[Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series]] schedule not conducted on an oval speedway, the other being [[Sonoma Raceway]] until NASCAR added more road courses to the Cup Series schedule.