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From Opening Weekend to NASCAR, breaking down Watkins Glen International's 2023 schedule

andrew legare, elmira star-gazette
·4 min read
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Watkins Glen International's annual fan-focused Opening Weekend represents the green flag for a 2023 schedule that will include seven high-profile spectator events.

A glance at The Glen's 2023 schedule. Tickets are available through theglen.com.

Opening Weekend

When: April 15-16.

At a glance: The weekend offers fans an opportunity to drive a vehicle around the 3.45-mile road course. Cost of a ticket is $28 per vehicle.

Proceeds from the weekend benefit the track's Racing and Community Enrichment (RACE) Foundation, which is part of the NASCAR Foundation. The RACE Foundation benefits underserved populations in the region, with a focus on youth support.

Watkins Glen's Drive The Glen program runs from April 17 to Oct. 30, at a cost of $30. Tickets and dates in which the track is not available can be found at theglen.com.

SCCA Majors Super Tour

When: June 2-4.

At a glance: Sports Car Club of America has been affiliated with racing in Watkins Glen since Frank Griswold won the original Watkins Glen Grand Prix on a 6.6-mile circuit through village streets in front of an estimated 10,000 fans in October of 1948.

The U.S. Majors Tour is the top championship series for SCCA, with WGI one of six Northeast Conference events on the 2023 calendar.

Historic Sportscar Racing Classic

When: June 8-11.

At a glance: Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) is scheduled for two appearances this year at Watkins Glen, with the second featuring stock cars in support of the NASCAR Cup Series in August. HSR's showcase weekend in June will include full days of racing from Friday through Sunday that follow Thursday's test day.

HSR features some of the top cars in sports-car history, including winners of events such as 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona. Classes include pre-1978, 1978 to 1993 and 1994 to 2018.

Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen

When: June 23-25.

At a glance: Watkins Glen's history of six-hour endurance races dates back to 1968, with multiple sanctioning bodies along the way. It has been part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series since 2014 following the merger of the Americans Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

Since 2003, the race has been sponsored by Buffalo-based Sahlen Packing Company.

The driving duo of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor won last year's race in an Acura ARX-05 for Wayne Taylor Racing.

Finger Lakes Wine Festival

When: July 8 and 9.

At a glance: The event traditionally includes more than 90 wine and food vendors from across New York state.

Cayuga Health System was recently named presenting sponsor of the event, whose official title this year is the Finger Lakes Wine Festival presented by Cayuga Health System.

Go Bowling at The Glen

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) races to the finish line on the final lap of the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in 2021.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) races to the finish line on the final lap of the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in 2021.

When: Aug. 18-20.

At a glance: This is the biggest weekend of the year for Watkins Glen, which has hosted its NASCAR Cup Series race annually since 1986, with the exception of the 2020 COVID-impacted event that was moved to the road course at Daytona International Speedway.

Race weekend will include the ARCA Menards Series' General Tire 100 at The Glen on Friday, a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday and the Cup Series' Go Bowling at The Glen shortly after 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Kyle Larson was a repeat winner last year after a controversial last-lap overtake of teammate Chase Elliott, the race winner in 2018 and 2019.

Hilliard U.S. Vintage Grand Prix

When: Sept. 7-10.

At a glance: The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association is another longtime partner of the track, as is title sponsor Hilliard Corporation of Elmira. The Hilliard U.S. Vintage Grand Prix is among the largest vintage racing events in the United States and Corvette will be the featured marque this year. Al Unser Jr. was grand marshal of last year's race weekend.

The race is held at the same time as the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival presented by Chemung Canal Trust Company, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 8. Last year's festival brought in an estimated 25,000 spectators.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: NASCAR highlights Watkins Glen International 2023 spectator schedule