Watkins Glen International — Local services in Town of Dix

WGI is an excellent well maintained track with a challenging flow and great rhythm. I do need to clarify my answers to the standard survey questions. I had no wait to get in at 6:30 am on an off weekend meaning no major event scheduled. It was a track weekend for a few clubs and I was there to instruct in the National TRSS program for teen safety which is a program I highly recommend for all teen drivers. The accident rate for those attending the full day class room and driving exercises with individual instructors is far below the national accident rate and should the unavoidable happen the survival rate far higher. Well worth the $95 tuition.

As to my getting in free, that was a result of my function that day and WGI is generous and supportive of the TRSS program in providing class room space, their parking lots for driving exercises, and the opportunity for the students to drive on track in a pace car controlled environment as a reward for completing the program to see the track and learn of WGI history. AND NO the TRSS program is not about racing. It is focused on safety and learning survival skills. Instructors are forbidden to even talk about competition and racing during the entire course albeit they are all qualified competition drivers.

Ok time to dismount my safety soapbox (habit of a Safety Steward) and back to the standard survey questions. Having been at the Glen many times for major and minor events, my advice is buy tickets in advance for discounts and in some cases advanced entry. While the facility has several entry points the big events experience a lot of traffic and even though WGI does a great job of handling large crowds, there can be waits to enter. It's worth the trip and any minor delays because there is good viewing of the competition all around the course. There are also good camping locations. The Village also has a lot to offer in food and history as well as the International Motor Racing Research Center. Bottom line, WGI and the Village make for...

I had a great time at the NASCAR race weekend at The Glen. Having garage access was a blessing and a curse at this track.

I was able to meet a lot of NASCAR drivers, seeing the cars up close and enjoying the HUGE fan zone with all kinds of displays. Free giveaways, tastings, games, and a ton of things to do.

The curse, the track set-up to get into the Xfinity garage area, was terrible. You literally had to walk a mile to gain access, yet there were several gates where you could have entered, but we're locked. You walk over the crossover bridge, walk past the garage area, down about 250+ yards, make a left, walk another 300+ yards past a locked gate, make a left, and walk another 100+ yards behind the garage area, only to make another left, where you finally are searched and electronic wand to only walk even further to finally gain access to the garage area. And when you finally enter the garage area, where are you and what is right in front of you, the crossover gate and fan zone where you originally entered.

To make matters worse, once you exited the Xfinity garage area to go to pit lane, which was about 100 yards away, if you wanted to re-enter the Xfinity garage area, yep you guessed it, they wouldn't let you re enter the gate you walked out of, instead walking about 200+ yards along side the garage area to make a right and walk another 200+ yards along side the garage area, only to make a right, and yes you guessed it, to be searched and wand again to gain access to the garage area once again.

This garage experience is the "WORST" of all the tracks I have been at. I get security and all, but you checked my bag and wand me when I entered from the parking lot, then again getting into the garage, then again, every time I re-enter. Ludicrous!

Hey Watkins Glen.....try being a little more fan friendly to your garage...

Was a good time. People were great. But the place is nowhere near what I expected from a Nascar owned facility. What are they doing with all that $$ they're making? Sure ain't putting it into that track!

Year 2 update. It seems they put a little $ into the facilities since I was here last. There was some updated signage and there may have been some "fresh" paint (at least fresh as in sometime in the past year) but there is still random wires and cables hanging all over the garages, door seals dangling in the breeze when the doors are up, light fixtures that probably haven't seen a cleaning since they were put up Not that you could tell without really looking hard because a third of them are burnt out, and most of the working bulbs are so dim they don't do much to light the garage work areas. What amazes me the most is how worn out the outlets are! You plug something in and the weight of the cord pulls the plug right out of the socket! You literally have to redneck engineer them with duct tape to keep them plugged in! I'm honestly surprised the place hasnt burnt to the ground from an electrical fire because of them!!

I will say the people are very nice and the restrooms were clean and well stocked. The rest of the place and most of their equipment has long since past the point where the saying 'it's seen better days" would still be appropriate. It honestly looks like the only place they have spent money is where the public spends their money and where the rich people hang out. They have left the behind the scenes areas that make it function as a Race Track to decay to the point it's almost not enjoyable to go and put on the show that's bringing in the people to buy the WAY...