Editor’s Note: There’s a six hour endurance race this weekend–Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen–at Watkins Glen, the upstate New York racetrack that is one of America’s most famous. The race is part of the IMSA series and features many American teams that just finished racing at Le Mans, like our friends at Risi Competizione, who took a second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year; the race also features the Ford GT team that took a contested first place ahead of Risi Comp at Le Mans. The battle between these longtime rivals–Ford vs. Ferrari–will be renewed at one of the world’s classic tracks. Here’s a short history of Watkins Glen for background (originally posted on the Risi Comp site in 2015).
Paying Attention: Watkins Glen (also known as “the Glen”) is one of America’s most famous and storied race tracks. It’s tucked away in the Adirondacks region of New York, by the town of Watkins Glen, New York. For years, it was the site of the U.S. Grand Prix (1961-1980) and it was F1 that gave the Glen it’s rather legendary status in the U.S.
Formula 1 Racing, however, has never been the mainstay at Watkins Glen. Since it’s start in the late 40s, the town and it’s race courses have hosted a wide variety of road racing events: NASCAR (yes, the big NASCAR stock cars run on the tight course); the long-gone Trans-Am and Can-Am series; Indy Car; and various SCCA and club racing outings.
Originally, the track was created by using the public roads around the village of Watkins Glen as a circuit, a very European style approach which is both charming and inherently dangerous. Cameron Argetsinger, a summer home resident of the area, started the first races at Watkins Glen which took place in 1948 on a 6.6 mile course over public roads. Things soon got out of hand as spectators lined the streets to watch the races and in 1952, a car left the road and killed one spectator and injured many others. Another important name in the early history of Watkins Glen was William F. Milliken, Jr. “Bill” Milliken was an aerospace engineer, automotive engineer, and race car driver and was a founding member of the Watkins Glen Road Races and also served as the head of the Rules Committee. He competed in the very first event and “Milliken’s Corner” on the original street course is named after him. Among other things, he developed the six-belt tire testing machine which remains one of the most advanced tire testing machines in the world some 40 years after its invention.
Because racing was good for the city (it provided an additional revenue stream for local businesses when race weekends were held), it was decided to continue racing activities but move the events to a new track outside outside of town, and so a purpose-built circuit was constructed in 1956.
The same basic track layout that will be used for Sahlen’s 6 Hours at the Glen race this coming weekend has been in existence since 1971. The course that will be raced on the weekend of June 26-June 28th is known as the “1971 Six Hours Course”; there is another (longer) course called “the Boot”. The “Six Hours” course is the shorter of the two layouts at 2.454 miles.
One notable addition to the original circuit design was a chicane, installed in 1975 to slow down the cars as they went through the uphill Esses. The chicane was put in as a result of the death of Francois Cevert, the charismatic French F1 driver who was Jackie Stewart’s teammate on the Tyrell team; Cevert died in a very heavy crash during practice for the 1973 USGP. One year later, another F1 driver (Helmuth Koinigg) died at Watkins Glen.
The Tyrell team did not run after Cevert’s accident and Stewart—who had made plans to retire at the end of the 1973 season—failed to start what would have been his 100th Grand Prix. Jackie Stewart had already amassed enough points to win the 1973 Driver’s Championship without racing at the Glen, but after winning his last F1 Driver’s Championship, in perhaps an even greater career accomplishment, he went on to become the major advocate of car and track safety for F1 as it entered another growth era. There are many drivers alive today who would not have survived a racing accident without the pressure to make racing and racing circuits safer that was imposed by Jackie Stewart on race organizers and track owners.
A chicane was installed in 1975, removed in 1985, and then replaced with another chicane called the “Inner Loop”. The Inner Loop increased the length of the long course to 3.4 miles and turned Watkins Glen into America’s fastest road course; Davy Jones once won the pole for the Camel Continental IX at 150.334 MPH on the 2.45 mile short course.
The Watkins Glen track has had an adventurous life. Despite being home to the US GP and hosting every type of racing imaginable, the track went into bankruptcy in 1981 when it lost the Formula 1 race because it failed to pay a rather large ($800,000) debt owed to F1 teams and the IASF removed it from the F1 schedule.
The track was purchased in,1983 by International Speedway Corporation, a division of NASCAR and Corning Enterprises, a subsidiary of the world-famous Corning glass company. Corning Glass, ( now Corning, Inc.) ,is a legendary American company which once made the glass for Thomas Edison’s lightbulbs and also created the Corningware and Pyrex glass brands. It has its headquarters in Corning, NY, close to Watkins Glen.
The Fine Print: Lead Photo (C) Doug Kerr 2015. Used under Creative Commons License. The photo has not been altered.
Einstein on Genius
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it’s ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s whole life believing that it is stupid…”
Newe Summer Playlist, Courtesy of Spotify
How To Sort The Categories
Editor’s Notes: This blog has 10 different categories (more or less) for posts and content. Some pieces fall into more than one category, but, since transparency is the name of the game today, here’s a brief overview of what content goes into what category:
Artists
News, information, background, and visuals on art and artists, local, national, and international. Art in all its forms, from photography to sculpture to architecture, is a major portion of our life; in this category, the goal is to expose new art and artists that you may not be aware of and to provide appreciation for those artists you have heard about before.
Daytona 24
A single topic category, soon to go away. It’s about the 24 Hours of Daytona race, a rather brutal endurance event staged every January at Daytona International Speedway, which is much more famous for the Daytona 500 stock car race than this 24 hour event. The 24 Hours of Daytona has a long, interesting, and sometimes controversial history; the only thing it shares with the classic 24 hour race staged at Le Mans, in France, is the length of the race. Some of the material in this section was originally published on the Risi Competizione site. This category can/will be switched out throughout the year to showcase events at major races. Coverage via The Racing Bunker.
Music
Music we like, that you should know about, that we can all appreciate. The songs, the lyrics, the performances (we try to post a new concert on the weekend ), the people and the trends in music.
This category has sub-categories: albums, blues, musicians, playlists (selections of music for specific events or times) and The Hunt for New Music, which is the ongoing search for great new music (and great new sources for music) that maybe you have not heard before. Also, Playlists are produced for certain times of the year (Christmas, Valentines, Summer, New Years) and they are always very good.
Paying Attention
A section of the blog devoted to trends, news, developments, companies, events that have or will impact our lives. The key here is timeliness. What goes on around us matters. The focus is to Pay Attention to people, events, and trends of significance.
Press Clippings
News events, stories, photos, gathered and captured from the news outlets (TV, newspaper, magazine, internet) of the world. There are plans to launch a site that is all news, gathered from around the world and created by a network of Foreign Correspondents. When this editorial concept is fully developed, it’ll be announced here and on Twitter and Instagram. Currently, almost every day, the site starts with the Nightwatch post (“The News While You Slept”) which is a link-based editorial that points you to the great newspapers around the globe. Click through to see the events of the day from a variety of different perspectives. It’s very fascinating and takes only a few minutes to get an overview of what’s going on around the world. We try to get this post up early but sometimes…..it’s updated later in the day.
Quotes
Thoughts to break up the day or the text or the running stream of stories and videos. The author (unless anonymous) is always cited.
Sportscars
A big category about the type of automobile we love best. The sub-categories are Ferrari and racing, which are pretty self-explanatory. I spent the past 14 years working with Ferrari and with a racing team, so there are some deep sources here. However, going forward there will be a series of archived articles on sportscars, racing (provided by The Racing Bunker), and Ferrari and then less coverage as it’s time to move on. It was a part of life, but not the only part; other topics now need and deserve attention.
Rants
Editorials with an edge. Have not published many of these to date. These posts may be written by me or by someone else, but they will always make a point and always be inequivocabile in their positions. P.C. has no home in this category..in sports terms, P.C. is just too “soft” for the way the world actually works.
The Latest Word
This category is carried over from the Risi Competizione site that I created, edited, and produced for over a decade (www.risicompetizione.com ). Posts in this category were previously either posted on that site under the same column heading, or written for that site and then withheld due to the massive political considerations present in international racing. There will be no withholding on this site. See above.
Uncategorized
Items, videos, posts, photography, art–the not easily categorized and the miscellaneous and random go in this category. A good example is the very large memorial post produced on Brad Olsen-Ecker, a very close friend who died after an extremely long illness. These tributes to people who’ve made a difference are headlined as Transitions.
Point of Information
Taken from the parliamentary rules of order, this category is fact based, with the goal of providing information on topics of top-of-mind interested in today’s constantly changing rule. Sources are always cited. This is a new category, and it’s going to grow dramatically over the course of the year.
We will be adding other categories as we go, and deleting some categories and sub-categories. It’s part of the natural development and editing of the site, editorial evolution.
Why produce these descriptions?
This site/blog/channel was created as a lab for experimentation in digital media, both in subject matter, form of communication, production, scheduling, design, etc. It’s an experiment. To see what it can become or how it can develop is the goal. The intent is to refresh the site continuously but that’s not always possible due to travel, work, technology, connections, etc.
Noted above is the composition of the site’s main sections at this point in time; the original descriptions were written on January 2nd, 2016, and some new material was added on 25 June 2016. It could be something different tomorrow and almost certainly will be a few weeks from now.
But that is the point. Never static. Always in motion. Like life.
How to Watch Wimbledon
Paying Attention: The world’s most famous tennis tournament is on right now. Here’s a brief guide on where to see it.
The Fine Print: Thanks, always, to our friends at Getty Images for sharing their massive photographic archives. If you’ve got a non-commercial blog (and they don’t come any more non-commercial than this), you need to check out Getty.
The Wimbledon Draw
Choose a size:
Paying Attention: Who’s got the smoothest path to a finals berth at Wimbledon? Judge for yourself. Here’s the official Wimbledon draw.
The Fine Print. Image courtesy of Getty Images (the best source for blogging images). Thanks for sharing guy!
The Wimbledon Dress Code
This article was originally published about a year ago. It seems appropriate to bring it back since the Wimbledon Tournament started yesterday, 27 June 2016.
Paying Attention. One of the many traditions at Wimbledon that tennis audiences have come to love is the dress code. Wimbledon imposes a very conservative, all-white dress code on all the players. What is “all white”? The All England Club is very demanding in what they expect. Here’s the current dress code, in its entirety.
The following refers to all clothing, including tracksuits and sweaters, worn on The Championship courts both for practice and for matches.
1) Competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white and this applies from the point at which the player enters the court surround.
2) White does not include off white or cream.
3) There should be no solid mass or panel of colouring. A single trim of colour around the neckline and around the cuff of the sleeve is acceptable but must be no wider than one centimetre (10mm).
4) Colour contained within patterns will be measured as if it is a solid mass of colour and should be within the one centimetre (10mm) guide. Logos formed by variations of material or patterns are not acceptable.
5) The back of a shirt, dress, tracksuit top or sweater must be totally white.
6) Shorts, skirts and tracksuit bottoms must be totally white except for a single trim of colour down the outside seam no wider than one centimetre (10mm).
7) Caps, headbands, bandanas, wristbands and socks must be totally white except for a single trim of colour no wider than one centimetre (10mm).
8) Shoes must be almost entirely white, including the soles. Large manufacturers’ logos are not encouraged. The grass court shoes must adhere to the Grand Slam rules (see Appendix A below for full details). In particular shoes with pimples around the outside of the toes shall not be permitted. The foxing around the toes must be smooth.
9) Any undergarments that either are or can be visible during play (including due to perspiration) must also be completely white except for a single trim of colour no wider than one centimetre (10mm). In addition, common standards of decency are required at all times.
10) Medical supports and equipment should be white if possible but may be coloured if absolutely necessary.
A more relaxed dress code operates at the Aorangi Park practice courts.
Point of Information: Brexit
Press Clippings: The biggest news of the year is Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. It’s going to be a hot topic of conversation in boardrooms, trading offices, on TV, and at cocktail parties for some time to come. Below please find a ClickPak of links to articles about Brexit and what the vote means in economic, cultural, and strategic terms. No one knows exactly what glory or havoc this major shift could bring about, and the full impact of the move might not be known for years. But still–you need to be informed. So, we’ve made it easy for you with an intelligent group of articles on Brexit and its potential consequences and ramifications. Consider it a reading list for the New World Order.
An Overview and History of Brexit (Wikipedia)
Brexit and What it Means (BBC)
Can Brexit Be Reversed (Bloomberg)
Brexit and the Economy (fivethirtyeight.com )
The Economist on Brexit (The Economist)
Get Out Now; The UE Wants to Speed Up Britain’s Departure (Bloomberg)
Who Will Be The Next Prime Minister of the U.K. (The Telegraph)
The New York Times on Brexit (NY Times)
The Fine Print: Photo, Flying the British Flag, by Sammy Albon, via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license. This photo has not been altered in any way. Check out Flickr and the very fair Creative Commons license for your photography needs. And special thanks to Sammy Albon for sharing.Nice shot, Sammy!
The 24 Hours of Le Mans: An Entire Race Covered in Just 4 Press Releases
Paying Attention: For over a decade, I have worked at/with/for Risi Competizione, the top American Ferrari racing team. This year, they went, again, to race in France, at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, a race they have won three times (1998, 2007, 2008) in two different models of Ferrari race cars (333SP and F430GTC). As a part of the media coverage the team produces, they do a series of press releases, four in total, on race day. These releases are preceded by a series of pre-race releases that cover the race, team expectations, and, most interestingly, a look at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from an Engineer’s perspective. The race was held one week ago, and the team finished second, officially a minute and change behind the winning Ford GT; unofficially 10 seconds behind the winner (the difference between official and unofficial is the difference between end-of-race administrative penalties put on both teams by the ACO, the organizing body of the race, and the official timing of the race). Below, the story of one race team’s 24 hours at the most famous endurance race in the world; told in four press releases, each released at six hour intervals (first 6 hours, 12 hours in, 18 hours into the race and a final report). The reporting for Le Mans was produced by Barbara Burns, who is the season Public Relations Representative for Risi Competizione and by British Press Agent Anne Bradshaw, a legend in racing public relations, who stepped up and in to assist Barbara when a personal situation required Barbara’s presence elsewhere. Most remarkable is the way the PR pros handed off one of the toughest intercontinental assignments in sports seamlessly. The whole story is amazing, and it’s below for your enjoyment and education. One race, four press releases, and a lot of unanticipated drama(isn’t that always the way it is with sports)?
Newe for Summer: The First Playlist
The Hunt For New Music: When it’s summer, it’s time for summer music. Summer music always a different feel and sound to it. It doesn’t have to be about the beach, sand, water or sun to be summer music, although that doesn’t hurt, but it does have to have a certain attitude about life, good times, friends, and being laid back in the most laid back time of the year. Below, a list of some very good songs for the summer. Some of them you’ve certainly heard before, some of them probably not, all of them good. Put ’em on, turn ’em up, and enjoy.
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