Research Services
The International Motor Racing Research Center receives many requests for assistance with research inquiries from members of the racing community who are unable to visit the Center in Watkins Glen or want to utilize the services of our skilled and knowledgeable research staff. The Center provides access to our motorsports history collections and to material in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) archives through our research services program.
Inquiries may be submitted via email. Our research staff is assigned inquiries based on their areas of expertise. Please provide as much information as possible about your request in your email. The more our researchers know, the more they are able to assist. Dates, locations, names of car owners and drivers, known race histories, regional memberships, and other clues provide our staff options for using our research resources to fully respond to inquiries. It normally takes 2-5 weeks for our staff to conduct the research, scan materials from the collection (if applicable), and write up our findings. Please feel free to contact us if you have not received a response within this time frame.
Researchers are welcome to visit the Center in person. However, we request advance notice so that our archives staff can gather the requested materials from our various storage facilities.
The Center’s primary research services include in-person (by appointment) and remote research, photocopying and digital conversion. We offer these services to members of the public, non-profit/educational organizations, and for-profit organizations. Fees vary based on the category of patron. For special projects, or for more information, please contact Executive Director Mark Steigerwald at mark@racingarchives.org.
The Center is pleased to offer research services based on the following fee schedule:
Hourly Off-Site Research Fees*
- IMRRC Members: First hour of research free to members
- Non-Members: $30/hour
- Commercial: $75/hour
*Research requests from current members of the SCCA that require access to materials from the SCCA Archives are free of charge.
Rights & Reproductions
The Center provides high resolution digital images of materials in our collection for editorial use only to authors, film makers, journalists, and others. We also provide reproductions of photographs or other material in our collection to race fans for their own personal enjoyment or as gifts for family, friends or fellow racing enthusiasts.
Reproduction Fees
- Photocopies: $0.25/page
- Digital scans (printed materials): $3.00/copy
- Digital photo reproduction: Nonprofit or personal $25.00/image. Commercial use $200/image.
Requests for reproductions and/or publication permission may be submitted by email.
Research Testimonials:
Below are a few excerpts from appreciative thank you notes the research staff have received:
“Thank you so much. I saw the logbook and it blew me away.” – Raul DeCardenas
“Thanks so much for the photo from back in the day. Really appreciate all your help with this article.” – Dow Smith
“Wow! Great work, thanks so much. Your research will be very important as I craft Alex’s nomination [for the SCCA Hall of Fame].” – David Nokes
“Wow that’s fantastic!! Very excited to see what they found [about Ronnie Bucknum].” – Charlie Berch
“You folks are great!! I don’t know how you do this but the information is amazing. Log books, drivers school records. Simply amazing!!” – Jose Franco
“Fantastic, I love the picture of Joan Galloway in the car and the biography of John Timanus says that he did far more than I imagined.” – Peter Morley