The war was won, the Depression was over, and Americans were back on the road. From all across the nation, sports car drivers converged on Watkins Glen to race through the gorges, hills, and village streets of western New York. Over the years, the course has evolved from its humble beginnings on streets lined with hay bales to the modern closed track that plays host to NASCAR today. Through vintage photographs, primarily from the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen Racing chronicles the history of the track with early drivers, like Cameron Argetsinger, Phil Walters, and Dave Garroway, vintage cars, hairpin turns, and death-defying races.

Kirk W. House is the former director of the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport. Charles R. Mitchell, a former photographer, is curator of the Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society in Penn Yan. Together they have authored a dozen books with Arcadia Publishing.