The International Motor Racing Research Center works with venues across the region to feature archival materials from our vast collection.
Here’s where you can find our exhibits right now:
New York Heritage Digital Collections: “Trackside Stories: Kathie J. Meredith’s Motorsports Photographs, 1968-1972”
Motorsports photographs by local photojournalist Kathie J. Meredith previously on display in the exhibition “Trackside Stories” at the Arnot Art Museum continue to be on view in digital format on the New York Heritage Digital Collections project site. This collaborative project provides a portal for historical collections documenting every aspect of the State’s diverse people and places.
Kathie J. Meredith covered races at Watkins Glen International or “The Glen,” during the most exciting era in the circuit’s history, when it hosted major national racing events as well as top-level international races in the prestigious Formula One series. Her photographs tell a myriad of stories found trackside – of fans, track workers, and internationally-famous racecar drivers. Meredith’s portraits capture the world’s top racers in the cockpit, pit row and victory lane. The photographs also depict fans enjoying the races; the work of mechanics, timers and safety workers; and the beauty and design of racecars. The images celebrate an era when this remote, rural community in the Finger Lakes hosted the most competitive series, the fastest racecars, the most talented international drivers, and fans from all over the globe. Visit “the Glen” of an earlier era through the IMRRC’s digital collection.
IMRRC: “Women of Speed: Legacies in Motorsports”
Thematic banners featuring portraits of women from the IMRRC’s photographic collections, part of a larger project “Women of Speed: Legacies in Motorsports,” undertaken by the IMRRC in 2020-2021 to celebrate the contributions of women to motorsports, remain on display at the Center. The banners feature pioneering and current women drivers “behind the wheel” as well as women working “behind the scenes” organizing races, overseeing timing and scoring, and managing race teams.
You can enjoy stories about the women drivers featured in our “Women of Speed” banners here.
Watkins Glen International Media Center: “Scribes and Shooters at the International Motor Racing Research Center”
The stories of race drivers, race series, and race cars from all over the world are captured on the shelves and walls of the Center. Words and images created by generations of motorsports journalists and photographers form the core of the our collection. This display features work from four significant racing writers and cameramen represented in the Center’s holdings: Randy Barnett, Robert D. Fischer, Art Eastman, and Chris Economaki.
Southern Tier Welcome Center: “Racing in Watkins Glen”
In collaboration with (I ♥ NY) Empire State Development, the Center contributed to a gallery of regional artifacts at the Southern Tier Welcome Center at the Broome Gateway on northbound I-81 near the Pennsylvania border. Designed to connect the region’s history with contemporary tourist attractions, the Center loaned materials related to early racing history in Watkins Glen. The accompanying text describes the artifacts and promotes the Center’s research collection, racing at Watkins Glen International, and the Vintage Festival in Watkins Glen.
Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel: “Racing Reflections: 20 Years of Collecting at the International Motor Racing Research Center”
This highlights show in the bar of the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel illustrates the broad range of research material available at the Center. Intended to serve as an outreach tool to educate visitors to the area about the Center’s collection, it features examples of photographs, race programs and results, trophies, plaques, model cars and children’s toys from the archives.