Cameron Argetsinger

Cameron Argetsinger
Born	March 1, 1921 Youngstown, Ohio
Died	April 22, 2008 Watkins Glen, New York
Occupation	Lawyer, Auto racing executive
Spouse(s)	Jean Argetsinger

Cameron Argetsinger (March 1, 1921 in Youngstown, Ohio, United States – April 22, 2008) was a sports car enthusiast, lawyer and auto racing executive best known for creating the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York and making it the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix from 1961 through 1980. In 2005, Watkins Glen International honored Argetsinger's legacy by titling the winner's trophy the "Cameron R. Argetsinger Trophy," a prestigious sterling-silver cup. Each year the Indy Racing League race champion at The Glen will be added to the nameplate at the base of the trophy. A sterling-silver replica will be awarded to each race winner.

Argetsinger grew up in Youngstown, where his father, James Cameron Argetsinger, was general counsel and secretary of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. He spent the summers of his boyhood in Schuyler County, New York visiting his grandparents and, later, his family's summer home. He inherited a love of fast cars from his father and in 1947 bought a sports car so he could become a member of the nascent Sports Car Club of America.

Before long, Argetsinger began to dream of organizing a sports car race in and around the town of Watkins Glen. "It's been said, and it's not entirely wrong, that I did it because I had an MG-TC and didn't have a place to race it," he told The New York Times in 1998. From 1948 through 1952, the Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix was held on a circuit that followed public roads through the village and around the nearby gorge. While the event was hugely popular, safety issues, namely the deaths of both drivers and spectators in crashes, forced it to move off the public roads after eight years.

...
Wikipedia