Six cars representing different eras of competition at the Syracuse Mile will be on display at the International Motor Racing Research Center this Saturday, November 14, for a daylong program about the famed racetrack that will soon live only in history books. The program is free and open to all, and the Center is located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen, N.Y.
The day will also offer a live radio show broadcast, a morning roundtable featuring stories from drivers who have competed at the Syracuse Mile and an afternoon panel discussion by Syracuse Mile experts. Special displays are also planned.
The day will begin at 9 a.m. with radio personality and track announcer Joe Marotta doing a live broadcast from the Center of his radio show “Around the Tracks.” At 10:30 a.m., drivers from all eras will share their stories in an informal roundtable setting.
The Syracuse Mile is one of the most historic tracks in the nation. Also known as the “Moody Mile,” the dirt track at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse hosted car races starting in 1903, and was part of the AAA National Championship Trail from 1949 to 1962. It is considered to be the second or third oldest racetrack in the country.
State and county officials have unveiled a $50 million plan to build an equestrian complex, a hockey facility and an RV park on the site currently occupied by the dirt track and its main grandstand.
The International Motor Racing Research Center is an archival and research library dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the materials of motorsports history, of all series and all tracks, worldwide. For more information about the Center and its work, visit the website www.racingarchives.org.
