The 2013 Society of Automotive Historians' Bradley Award goes to the International Motor Racing Research Center, Watkins Glen, NY.

Ed Garten presenting the Society of Automotive Historians’ Bradley Distinguished Service Award to the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, NY, at the Society’s Annual Meeting held at the Hershey County Club,  Hershey, PA, in early October.  Receiving the award on behalf of the Center was Mr. J. C. Argetsinger, Center President.

The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) was founded in 1998 with a vision to be the world-class leader in the collection of materials representing the documentary heritage of amateur and professional motor racing, highlighting Sports Car, Formula 1, NASCAR, and vintage and historic racing.  In just fifteen years of existence, it has met that goal.  It has garnered a well-deserved reputation for providing excellent reference service.  Its website is a model—it is easy to use and navigate and provides a wealth of information.  The IMRRC has also partnered with the Southern Tier Library System (of New York State) to make its book catalog available through STARcat, its online catalog.  In-person reference service is equally benchmark.  One writer described the IMRRC as a “people’s research center” that treats everyone with respect.  The IMRRC is an important community resource for both the racing and local Watkins Glen community.  The IMRRC hosts “Center Conversations,” a free series of talks that “take listeners behind the scenes of motorsports.”  The website provides audio downloads of some of the talks.  The IMRRC has done an excellent job in gaining the support of the racecar community.  Some of the members of its Drivers Council include Mario Andretti, Hurley Haywood, Sir Jackie Stewart, and Rusty Wallace.  The IMRRC has a devoted following and from the beginning, it has been enthusiastically supported by racecar drivers, racing fans, journalists, and authors. 

The Society of Automotive Historians was founded in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1969. The Society is an international organization with nearly 1,000 members around the globe. The Society is an eclectic but serious community of historians that includes academic scholars, automotive journalists, publishers, museum and library professionals, educational and cultural organizations, automotive collectors, automotive restorers and other enthusiasts who may not be automotive professionals.

The membership of the Society encourages research into any aspect of automotive history. The Society actively supports the compilation and preservation of papers, organizational records, print, ephemera and images to safeguard, broaden and deepen the understanding of motorized, wheeled land transportation through the modern age and into the future. The Society promotes and supports the publishing of research findings to reveal automotive history in books, journals and conference papers. The Society supports the efforts of educators to teach college level academic courses and of those who introduce K-12 students to the panorama of automotive history.