WG Distressed Hat with Vintage Watkins Glen Grand Prix Patch

$49.00

1 in stock

100% cotton cap in faded blue. Hand distressed with a vintage Watkins Glen Grand Prix patch. Adjustable with a brass fitting closure. One size fits most.

1 in stock

Description

Each hat is handcrafted and customized with a distressed look. A vintage patch is then personally chosen by Sam Wyatt to be placed on each individual baseball cap. The final product is a one-of-a-kind hat that is made with the love and attention that only a handcrafted item can have.

A little history about the Vintage Watkins Glen Grand Prix . . .

Watkins Glen International was established on the streets of Watkins Glen, NY in 1948 and is North America’s premier racing facility. The Glen has a long and storied past from its Formula 1 roots to its position as New York’s only home to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

With its rise from ragged infancy in 1948 to its position as America’s premier racing facility surely qualifies The Glen as an astounding and unlikely success story, which continues to be written over 60 years later.

Law student Cameron Argetsinger dreamed of bringing European style competition to the village where he spent his summer vacations and he drew up a challenging course that encompassed asphalt, cement and dirt roads in and around the village of Watkins Glen. The dream became reality on October 2, 1948, “The Day They Stopped the Trains,” in the first post-World War II road race in the U.S. For five years, the top names in American sports car racing visited the small village and huge crowds came out to watch them race. 1948 Watkins Glen

Competition moved to a temporary course in 1953, and 2.3-mile permanent circuit was built in 1956. The following year, The Glen hosted its first professional race, a NASCAR Grand National Stock Car event won by Buck Baker over Fireball Roberts. True international competition began in 1958 with the running of a Formula Libre race.

The Formula 1 stars all visited The Glen in 1961 for the first Watkins Glen U.S. Grand Prix, which would be a fall tradition at the circuit through 1980. Innes Ireland won the inaugural running, with great drivers such as Clark, Hill, Stewart, Lauda, Fittipaldi and Hunt among the winners of later Grand Prix.

The circuit itself was expanded in 1971, as the seventies brought a wide variety of competition to The Glen, including the Can-Am, Trans-Am, Six Hours, Formula 5000 and CART Indy Car Series. Race winners included many of the top names in international motorsports, including Mark Donohue, Mario Andretti, Jody Scheckter and Bruce McLaren.

Alan Jones’ victory in the 1980 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen marked the close of an era. Financial difficulties led to the Watkins Glen date being dropped from the Formula 1 schedule and as a result, the bankrupt track closed following a CART race in 1981. Over the next two years the track fell into disrepair, hosting only a few non-spectator SCCA weekends. Corning Enterprises, a newly-chartered subsidiary of Corning Glass Works, purchased the track in early 1983 and formed a partnership with International Speedway Corporation forming Watkins Glen International.

The Glen reopened on July 7, 1984, with Al Holbert, Derek Bell and Jim Adams winning the inaugural Camel Continental at the renovated facility. On August 9, 1986, fans witnessed Tim Richmond’s triumph at the return of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The Bud at The Glen grew to become New York State’s largest motorsports event and saw some of NASCAR’s finest take the checkered flag including, Martin, Wallace, and in 1998, Jeff Gordon, won his second consecutive Glen race before a record crowd.

In 1991, Terry Labonte won the first NASCAR Busch Grand National race at the Glen beginning an impressive streak of four wins in six years, including three consecutive wins in ’94 through ’96. His three year win streak ranks him with other Watkins Glen three-time winners: Formula One ace Graham Hill, SportsCar drivers Al Holbert and Derek Bell and Winston Cup driver Mark Martin.

– “Track History.” Watkins Glen International. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2017.

 

Additional information

Weight 1 lbs
Dimensions 6 × 6 × 2 in

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