Argetsinger grew up in Youngstown, where his father, James Cameron Argetsinger, was general counsel and secretary of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company.[2] He spent the summers of his boyhood in Schuyler County, New York visiting his grandparents and, later, his family's summer home. He inherited a love of fast cars from his father and in 1947 bought a sports car so he could become a member of the nascent Sports Car Club of America.
Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prixedit
Before long, Argetsinger began to dream of organizing a sports car race in and around the town of Watkins Glen. "It's been said, and it's not entirely wrong, that I did it because I had an MG-TC and didn't have a place to race it," he told The New York Times in 1998.[3] From 1948 through 1952, the Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix was held on a circuit that followed public roads through the village and around the nearby gorge. While the event was hugely popular, the deaths of drivers and spectators in crashes forced it to move off the public roads after four years.[4]
Home of the United States Grand Prixedit
In 1953, Argetsinger was named executive director of the new Watkins Glen Grand Prix Corporation. Three years later, the group purchased 550 acres (2.2 km2) of land and built a 2.3-mile permanent racing facility, designed to imitate the winding country roads on which the race had originated. Soon the circuit was attracting some of the world's best road racers, including Stirling Moss, Jo Bonnier, Phil Hill and Dan Gurney, for the Formula Libre races, which ran from 1958 through 1960. These events set the stage for Argetsinger's bid to host the ultimate American road racing event: the Formula One United States Grand Prix. His timing was perfect: the United States Grand Prix saw disappointing crowds at in its first two runnings at Sebring, Florida, and Riverside, California. The race found a home in upstate New York in 1961, and Watkins Glen became the focal point of American road racing for the next two decades.[5][6]
In 1969, Argetsinger attempted to purchase the raceway in order to improve its financial operations. When the Grand Prix Corporation refused to sell, he resigned as executive director and moved to Midland, Texas, where he went to work for Chaparral Cars.
Auto racing executiveedit
Argetsinger moved to Denver in 1972 to become the Director of Professional Racing and then executive director of the Sports Car Club of America. In 1977, he returned to his law practice in Schuyler County, New York. He became president of the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen in 2002.
In 2005, Watkins Glen International renamed its trophy for the Indy Racing League race champion the "Cameron R. Argetsinger Trophy". Each year, the winner receives a sterling-silver replica and their name is added to the nameplate at the base of the sterling-silver cup.
Notesedit
^O'Malley, J.J. and Green, Bill (1997). Watkins Glen, From Griswold to Gordon: Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing.
^ Stewart, John Struthers (1935). History of Northeastern Ohio (In Three Volumes). Indianapolis, IN: Historical Publishing Company. pp. 868–870.
^Siano, Joseph (September 4, 1998). "The Hallowed Ground Of Sports Car Racing". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
^O'Malley, J.J. and Green, Bill (1997). Watkins Glen, From Griswold to Gordon: Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing. Pp. 2-4.
^O'Malley, J.J. and Green, Bill (1997). Watkins Glen, From Griswold to Gordon: Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing. Pp. 15-17.
^Herzog, Brad (2005). Driving Force 2006-06-23 at the Wayback Machine, Cornell Alumni Magazine.
^. Archived from the original on 2006-08-28. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
^. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
First recipient of SCCA Woolf Barnato Trophy (1948) Recipient of Bob Akin Memorial Award (2007) from the Road Racing Driver's Club (RRDC)
O'Malley, J.J. and Bill Green. Watkins Glen, From Griswold to Gordon: Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing. 1998.
Siano, Joseph. "The Hallowed Ground Of Sports Car Racing." The New York Times. 4 Sept. 1998.
Herzog, Brad.
.
NYTimes Obituary
External linksedit
Biography of Cameron Argetsinger
History of Watkins Glen
January 01, 1970
cameron, argetsinger, march, 1921, youngstown, ohio, united, states, april, 2008, sports, enthusiast, lawyer, auto, racing, executive, best, known, creating, watkins, glen, grand, prix, race, course, watkins, glen, york, making, home, formula, united, states, . Cameron Argetsinger March 1 1921 in Youngstown Ohio United States April 22 2008 was a sports car enthusiast lawyer and auto racing executive best known for creating the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen New York and making it the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix from 1961 through 1980 1 Cameron ArgetsingerBornMarch 1 1921Youngstown OhioDiedApril 22 2008Watkins Glen New YorkOccupation s Lawyer Auto racing executiveSpouseJean Argetsinger Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix 1 3 Home of the United States Grand Prix 1 4 Auto racing executive 2 Career Award 3 Notes 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBiography editEarly life edit Argetsinger grew up in Youngstown where his father James Cameron Argetsinger was general counsel and secretary of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company 2 He spent the summers of his boyhood in Schuyler County New York visiting his grandparents and later his family s summer home He inherited a love of fast cars from his father and in 1947 bought a sports car so he could become a member of the nascent Sports Car Club of America Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix edit Before long Argetsinger began to dream of organizing a sports car race in and around the town of Watkins Glen It s been said and it s not entirely wrong that I did it because I had an MG TC and didn t have a place to race it he told The New York Times in 1998 3 From 1948 through 1952 the Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix was held on a circuit that followed public roads through the village and around the nearby gorge While the event was hugely popular the deaths of drivers and spectators in crashes forced it to move off the public roads after four years 4 Home of the United States Grand Prix edit In 1953 Argetsinger was named executive director of the new Watkins Glen Grand Prix Corporation Three years later the group purchased 550 acres 2 2 km2 of land and built a 2 3 mile permanent racing facility designed to imitate the winding country roads on which the race had originated Soon the circuit was attracting some of the world s best road racers including Stirling Moss Jo Bonnier Phil Hill and Dan Gurney for the Formula Libre races which ran from 1958 through 1960 These events set the stage for Argetsinger s bid to host the ultimate American road racing event the Formula One United States Grand Prix His timing was perfect the United States Grand Prix saw disappointing crowds at in its first two runnings at Sebring Florida and Riverside California The race found a home in upstate New York in 1961 and Watkins Glen became the focal point of American road racing for the next two decades 5 6 In 1969 Argetsinger attempted to purchase the raceway in order to improve its financial operations When the Grand Prix Corporation refused to sell he resigned as executive director and moved to Midland Texas where he went to work for Chaparral Cars Auto racing executive edit Argetsinger moved to Denver in 1972 to become the Director of Professional Racing and then executive director of the Sports Car Club of America In 1977 he returned to his law practice in Schuyler County New York He became president of the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen in 2002 Career Award editArgetsinger was a member of the inaugural induction class of the Sports Car Club of America Hall of Fame in 2005 7 8 In 2005 Watkins Glen International renamed its trophy for the Indy Racing League race champion the Cameron R Argetsinger Trophy Each year the winner receives a sterling silver replica and their name is added to the nameplate at the base of the sterling silver cup Notes edit O Malley J J and Green Bill 1997 Watkins Glen From Griswold to Gordon Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing Stewart John Struthers 1935 History of Northeastern Ohio In Three Volumes Indianapolis IN Historical Publishing Company pp 868 870 Siano Joseph September 4 1998 The Hallowed Ground Of Sports Car Racing The New York Times Retrieved 2023 11 13 O Malley J J and Green Bill 1997 Watkins Glen From Griswold to Gordon Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing Pp 2 4 O Malley J J and Green Bill 1997 Watkins Glen From Griswold to Gordon Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing Pp 15 17 Herzog Brad 2005 Driving Force Archived 2006 06 23 at the Wayback Machine Cornell Alumni Magazine Racing Archives Archived from the original on 2006 08 28 Retrieved 2006 08 06 Inaugural SCCA Hall of Fame Class Announced Archived from the original on 2011 09 27 Retrieved 2007 01 12 First recipient of SCCA Woolf Barnato Trophy 1948 Recipient of Bob Akin Memorial Award 2007 from the Road Racing Driver s Club RRDC See also editFormula Libre Formula One Sports Car Club of America United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen Grand Prix Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen New YorkReferences editO Malley J J and Bill Green Watkins Glen From Griswold to Gordon Fifty Years of Competition At the Home of American Road Racing 1998 Siano Joseph The Hallowed Ground Of Sports Car Racing The New York Times 4 Sept 1998 Herzog Brad Driving Force Racing Archives NYTimes ObituaryExternal links editBiography of Cameron Argetsinger History of Watkins Glen Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cameron Argetsinger amp oldid 1202558380, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
