Center Conversations
The International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen proudly hosts Center Conversations. This free talk series takes listeners behind the scenes of motorsports. The talks are informal, and everyone is invited. See our News & Events for details of future talks.
Archive - The below talks are available for download (highspeed internet and mp3 player program like Quicktime, is required)
Historian Egloff to Speak aboutCheckered Flag Roots
Fred Egloff, a noted automotive historian and lifelong automotive enthusiast, will discuss at the June Center Conversations his groundbreaking research that led to answers about when, where and why a checkered flag was first used in car racing.
Egloff’s book, “The Origin of the Checker Flag,” was published by the International Motor Racing Research Center in 2006.
Click HERE for an audio download
Bugatti Talk April 28, 2007
The history of Bugatti in racing competition will be presented by Bugatti expert Richard Day Saturday, April 28, at the Racing Research Center.
Click HERE for an audio download part 1 & part 2
Mark Donohue's Eagle in the Spotlight March 31, 2007
The 1972 All-American Racers Eagle #7225 is the centerpiece of a panel discussion Saturday, March 31 2007.
The car is notable as the Eagle that carried Mark Donohue through his final USAC racing season in 1973.
The Eagle is owned by the Dresang family and the Utecht family of Hartford, WI.
The Eagle had a racing life of four seasons before it was ultimately surpassed in technology by the ground-effect cars of the late 1970s. In its time, #7225 was raced by Donohue, Gary Bettenhausen, Bill Simpson, Rick Mears, Steve Krisiloff and Bubby Jones.
Though not a race-winner, #7225 is one of the few public examples of the 1972 generation of AAR Eagles. It has been restored back to its qualifying configuration from Indianapolis in 1973, though the history of its entire career has been respectfully documented as a tribute to the men and women who built and cared for the car during its golden era.
Legendary Bill Milliken - Feb. 24 2006
Bill Milliken returns to Watkins Glen, where his name is part of local history, to celebrate the publication of his autobiography, “Equations of Motion - Adventure, Risk, and Innovation.”
Milliken talks about his extraordinary automotive and aeronautical career.
“How many 95-year-olds drive faster than their age?” asks Bentley Publishers’ notice about the book on its Web site. “William F. ‘Bill’ Milliken, Jr. does, because he practically invented the science of automobile handling. His work has made cars safer, more efficient, and most importantly from his perspective, a lot more fun.”
“Milliken's automotive innovations have earned him the highest engineering honors, and his technical books are required reading for automotive engineers and students. But what really makes Milliken's life special is his lifelong adventure of making rollicking play of challenging work."
Road & Track magazine credits Milliken with being one of the world’s foremost experts in vehicle dynamics. At the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratories he led research developments that fundamentally changed how aircraft were designed.
But for Watkins Glen race fans, Milliken’s place in history is as the driver who rolled his Bugatti on a sharp corner in the village in the first race in 1948. The site has been known ever since as “Milliken’s Corner."
Bill Milliken was chief steward for the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen from 1961-70.
He also competed at Bridgehampton, Pikes Peak, Sebring and many other tracks across North America for 15 years. He was chief steward at Watkins Glen for Formula Libre events from 1958-60 and the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix from 1961-70.
For more information about Milliken’s book, visit Bentley Publishers Web site at www.bentleypublishers.com.
