Track opens this weekend featuring three events

WATKINS GLEN-Watkins Glen International (WGI) launches its season this weekend with the Toyota Green Grand Prix on Friday April 7and with an opportunity for the public to drive cars on the 3.4-mile Grand Prix track on Saturday and Sunday, April 8 and 9.
The single-day Green Grand Prix will feature a fuel-efficiency competition for pre-registered drivers of alternate-fueled vehicles including plug-in hybrids, full electric vehicles, traditional gasoline-powered and diesel-powered vehicles. Individuals, colleges and universities, car clubs and manufacturers were invited to participate.
"The mission of the Toyota Green Grand Prix is educational, to promote innovation in sustainable transportation technologies," said Bob Gillespie, chairman of the Green Grand Prix Corp., a non-profit organization. "We are proud of our event. We want the Green Grand Prix to be a means of encouraging technology students to stay in the Northeast to help move our region to become a center for clean energy."
The first event of the day will be the Doris Bovee Memorial Road Rally. This is a time-speed-distance event. Drivers and navigators will be scored on their ability to follow the course at precise legal speeds.
The fuel economy event will include the Prius Challenge, with special categories of competition for all generations of Toyota Prius. A class for Exhibition category vehicles will also be included.
A schedule for the day is available at www.greengrandprix.com. No admission is charged for the Green Grand Prix.
Saturday, April 8, the day will start early with The Arc Grand Prix Run, an annual 3.4-mile run, or one-mile walk, on the track, presented by The Arc of Schuyler, a non-profit organization providing support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Hundreds of fans will drive their personal vehicles on the race track behind an official WGI pace car throughout both Saturday and Sunday, April 8 and 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The $25 per car fee will benefit Watkins Glen International's Racing and Community Enrichment (RACE) Foundation, a donor-advised fund of the NASCAR Foundation. For more visit www.theglen.com.