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36-453: Under founder Marvin Drucker, Nelson Ledges Road Course became a pioneering facility in amateur racing, starting programs that quickly became standard at racetracks around the country including tire barriers, a wide use of driver schools, member days, and showroom stock endurance racing. Much of this programming was spearheaded by General Overall Director John McGill, who took over management of

72-549: A car left the circuit in the village. This led organizers to move the course to a hillside southwest of Watkins Glen for 1953. Drivers complained of poor visibility and run-off, prompting the construction of a permanent circuit, today called Watkins Glen International , in 1956. In 1963, the race switched to the SCCA 's new series, the United States Road Racing Championship . In 1968, the race

108-455: A program that doesn't take over the entrants entire weekend. TNiA goes to well known tracks like Road America, VIR, even Sebring and Lime Rock. There are also smaller club tracks like CMP, AMP and Pitt Race. TNiA puts on about 150 events a year, totaling nearly 10,000 entrants each year, and as of 2024 has been running for 10 years. In recent years, the SCCA has expanded and re-organized some of

144-504: A regional or a national racing license. Both modified production cars (ranging from lightly modified cars with only extra safety equipment to heavily modified cars that retain only the basic shape of the original vehicle) and designed-from-scratch " formula " and " sports racer " cars can be used in Club Racing. Most of the participants in the Club Racing program are unpaid amateurs, but some go on to professional racing careers. The club

180-441: Is Jerry Hansen , (former owner of Brainerd International Raceway ), with twenty-seven national championships. The fivve national classes of the formula group are Formula Atlantic (FA), Formula Continental (FC), Formula Enterprises 2 (FE2), Formula F (FF), and Formula Vee (FV). The SCCA dropped its amateur only policy in 1962 and began sanctioning professional racing. In 1963, the United States Road Racing Championship

216-578: Is a relatively recent split. The Great Lakes Division was split from the Central Division at the end of 2006. Watkins Glen Grand Prix The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen ) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York . The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of

252-617: Is also the source for race workers in all specialties. The annual national championship for Club Racing is called the SCCA National Championship Runoffs and has been held at Riverside International Raceway (1964, 1966, 1968), Daytona International Speedway (1965, 1967, 1969, 2015), Road Atlanta (1970–1993), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (1994–2005, 2016), Heartland Park Topeka (2006–2008), Road America (2009-2013, 2020), Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (2014), and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2017). In 2018,

288-494: Is branded as "Solo". Up to four cars at a time run on a course laid out with traffic cones on a large paved surface, such as a parking lot or airport runway, without interfering with one another. Competitions are held at the regional, divisional, and national levels. A national champion in each class is determined at the national championship (usually referred to as "Nationals") held in September. In 2009, Solo Nationals moved to

324-704: The 1976 SCCA/USAC Formula 5000 Championship . Current SCCA-sanctioned series include Trans Am , the GT World Challenge America for GT and touring cars , the Global MX-5 Cup , and the F1600 Championship Series , F2000 Championship Series , and Atlantic Championship Series for open-wheel racing. SCCA Pro Racing has also sanctioned professional series for some amateur classes such as Spec Racer Ford Pro and Formula Enterprises Pro. SCCA Pro Racing also sanctioned

360-582: The Lincoln Airpark in Lincoln, Nebraska . Individual national-level events called "Championship Tours" and "Match Tours" are held throughout the racing season. The SCCA also holds national-level events in an alternate format called "ProSolo". In ProSolo, two cars compete at the same time on mirror-image courses with drag racing -style starts, complete with reaction and 60-foot times. Class winners and other qualifiers (based on time differential against

396-640: The SCCA National Sports Car Championship , United States Road Racing Championship , World Sportscar Championship , IMSA GT Championship , Rolex Sports Car Series and currently the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . The first Watkins Glen Grand Prix was held in 1948 on a 6.6-mile course around Watkins Glen State Park and the village of Watkins Glen . Cameron Argetsinger , a Cornell law student and SCCA member, organized

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432-667: The United States Road Racing Championship series for Group 7 sports cars to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing Championship . Bishop was also instrumental in founding the SCCA Trans-Am Series and the SCCA/ CASC Can-Am series. In 1969, tension and infighting over Pro Racing's autonomy caused Bishop to resign and help form the International Motor Sports Association . The autocross program

468-561: The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup during its time. The SCCA is organized into six conferences, nine divisions and 115 regions, each organizing events in that area to make the events more accessible to people throughout the country. The number of divisions has increased since the SCCA's foundation. Northern Pacific and Southern Pacific started as a single Pacific Coast Division until dividing in 1966. Rocky Mountain Division

504-476: The World Rally Championship . At the end of the 2004 season SCCA dropped ProRally and ClubRally. A new organization, Rally America , picked up both series starting in 2005. Road rallies are run on open, public roads. These are not races in the sense of speed, but of precision and navigation. The object is to drive on time, arriving at checkpoints with the proper amount of elapsed time from

540-589: The Automobile Racing Club of America (not to be confused with the current stock car series of the same name ). ARCA was founded in 1933 by brothers Miles and Sam Collier , and dissolved in 1941 at the outbreak of World War II . The SCCA was formed in 1944 as an enthusiast group. The SCCA began sanctioning road racing in 1948 with the inaugural Watkins Glen Grand Prix . Cameron Argetsinger , an SCCA member and local enthusiast who would later become Director of Pro Racing and Executive Director of

576-599: The Longest Day of Nelson in 2021 as an SCCA sanctioned event, but the race was postponed to 2022. Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America ( SCCA ) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross , Rallycross , HPDE , Time Trial , Road Racing , and Hill Climbs in the United States . Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers. The SCCA traces its roots to

612-490: The Nelson Ledges Road Course hosted the first Longest Day of Nelson , a 24-hour automobile race in which a team of two or more drivers race a showroom stock car continuously. The race essentially invented showroom stock endurance racing. In the mid-90s, the track fell under neglect and the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges, held continuously since 1968, was discontinued. In 1997, track manager John McGill called

648-484: The Runoffs will go back west to Sonoma Raceway . In 2019, the race will be held at Virginia International Raceway a track where the race has never been held. It was announced on 15 June 2018 that the Runoffs would go back to Road America in the year 2020. On 25 May 2019, the weekend of the 2019 Indianapolis 500 , SCCA announced they will be returning to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2021. The current SCCA record holder

684-477: The SCCA's use; the SCCA relied heavily on these venues during the early and mid-1950s during the transition from street racing to permanent circuits. By 1962, the SCCA was tasked with managing the U.S. World Sportscar Championship rounds at Daytona , Sebring , Bridgehampton and Watkins Glen . The club was also involved in the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix . SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create

720-455: The SCCA, helped organize the event for the SCCA. In 1951, the SCCA National Sports Car Championship was formed from existing marquee events around the nation, including Watkins Glen, Pebble Beach , and Elkhart Lake . Many early SCCA events were held on disused air force bases, organized with the help of Air Force General Curtis LeMay , a renowned enthusiast of sports car racing. LeMay loaned out facilities of Strategic Air Command bases for

756-528: The class winner) then compete in a handicapped elimination round called the "Challenge". Points are awarded in both class and Challenge competition, and an annual champion is crowned each September at the ProSolo Finale event in Lincoln, Nebraska. The SCCA sanctions "RallyCross" events, similar to autocross, but on a non-paved course. SCCA ProRally was a national performance rally series similar to

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792-596: The death of Drucker in 2015, the track was purchased by real estate investors Brian Ross and Brian Ross Jr. In 2018, ChampCar Endurance Series returned to Nelson Ledges for the Start of the ChampCar Summer of 24s. The track was repaved and the pit lane upgraded to handle the around the clock race. The SCCA recertified the course in 2020 and sanctioned two races including the Nelson 24. Plans were announced to revive

828-464: The event along with the local Chamber of Commerce. The 8-lap, 52.8-mile race was won by Frank Griswold in a pre-war Alfa Romeo 8C . In 1950, three spectators were injured during a support race, and driver Sam Collier was killed during the Grand Prix. The 1951 event became a part of the new SCCA National Sports Car Championship series. In 1952, twelve spectators were injured and one killed when

864-542: The first track in the United States to be completely covered by tire walls, a safety feature which involves stacking tires outside of turns to dampen crashes. Drucker, looking to improve safety standards on the track, realized that the close proximity to Goodyear's Akron manufacturing facility meant tires were cheap and plentiful. From 1975 to 1977, the track was a stop for the Trans-Am Series . In 1980,

900-539: The higher-speed events under the Time Trials banner. These include Performance Driving Experience ("PDX"), Club Trials, Track Trials, and Hill Climb events. PDX events are non-competition HPDE -type events and consist of driver-education and car control classroom learning combined with on-track instruction. The Club Racing program is a road racing division where drivers race on either dedicated race tracks or on temporary street circuits. Competitors require either

936-461: The previous checkpoint. Competitors do not know where the checkpoints are. Track Night in America is a track experience program sanctioned by the SCCA. The program is designed to be low barrier to entry, and accepting to all skill levels. Events happen all over the country, on week evenings usually between Tuesday and Thursday. SCCA planned week night track events to keep costs down, as well as build

972-691: The summer, and the 500 km New York 500 for grand tourers in autumn. IMSA chose to drop the New York 500 in 1992 , retaining the Continental as an event just for prototypes until 1995 . In 1996, IMSA restored the Watkins Glen event to its historic format, combining prototypes and grand tourers once again. By 1998 , Watkins Glen chose to schedule the Six Hours as part of the new United States Road Racing Championship . This championship change

1008-443: The surface "too trashed" to host the Longest Day of Nelson, and that too was discontinued. In the late 90s, the track lost its SCCA certification. In 2003, track management was handed over by John McGill to his son and daughter, Scott and Kerrie Lane and numerous upgrades were done to upgrade the derelict track. In 2014 track management was replaced and events were temporarily suspended while immediate issues were addressed. Following

1044-406: The track also holds car control and safety clinics. The track was constructed in 1958 on a small rural potato farm owned by attorney Marvin Drucker. After hosting dirt track races in the 1950s and early 1960s, the course was paved in 1962. At the time the track was just over 1 mile (2 km) in length. In 1968, the track hosted its first 24 hour race, the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges. At the time it

1080-551: The track that was considered "ghost-track status" by the end of the 1960s. In 1975, the Sports Car Club of America created the John McGill Award in honor of these contributions, an award that is still given annually to recognize significant contributions to its Club Racing Program. The track has seen major investments by its current owner, Brian Ross Jr., who purchased the track in 2015. In addition to races,

1116-648: Was expanded to six hours, and joined the World Sportscar Championship . Along with the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring , the Six Hours of Watkins Glen served as an American round of the WSC from 1968 until 1981 , traditionally held during the summer. With the track's bankruptcy and the FIA 's decision not to return the World Championship to the United States in 1982, the event

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1152-611: Was formed. In 1966 the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) was created for Group 7 open-top sportscars. The Trans-Am Series for pony cars also began in 1966. Today, Trans-Am uses GT-1 class regulations, giving amateur drivers a chance to race professionally. A professional series for open-wheel racing cars was introduced in 1967 as the SCCA Grand Prix Championship . This series was then held under various names through to

1188-483: Was known as the New York 500 . The Continental was modified once more in 1985 , this time running sports prototypes in one three-hour event, and grand tourer cars in a second three-hour event. By 1986 , the event was shortened altogether, and became a single 500 mile race, then shortened once more in 1987 to just 500 km. For several years IMSA kept the Continental as a 500 km race for prototypes in

1224-595: Was not held again until 1984. It returned as an event for the IMSA Camel GT Championship . Under the control of IMSA, the event was radically altered and shortened. In the 1984 running, a break was held after three hours before the race began again and completed the next three hours. This event became known as the Camel Continental . A second event later in the year was also held lasting for just three hours or 500 kilometers, and

1260-632: Was short lived, as the USSRC folded during the 1999 season prior to their second running at Watkins Glen, leaving an FIA GT Championship event as the year's sportscar headliner. In the wake of USRRC's collapse, the Grand American Road Racing Championship took control of the event, and retained the Six Hours since 2000 as part of the Rolex Sports Car Series . In 2014 after the merger of Grand-AM and

1296-456: Was the only continuous 24-hour motorcycle race in the United States. Despite this, the track was considered "ghost-track status" before its revival began in 1970 by track manager John McGill. McGill formed Mahoning Valley Motorsports to take over the track and in 1970, funded by sponsorship of the Gulf Oil company, the track's length was nearly doubled to 2 miles (3 km). The track became

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