Creating the Trophy for the NASCAR Cheez-It 355 at The Glen

In a partnership with Watkins Glen International that began last year, Museum glassmaker Eric Meek has designed and crafted the unique sculpted glass trophy that will be presented to the winner of the Cheez-It™ 355 at The Glen NASCAR race.

Eric was at The Glen on Monday to share more about the trophy’s design.

Watch how the trophy was made.

It all begins with a clear gob of glass. Once inflated, the glass is blown into a hollow cone of specially matched light blue glass – the same color as The Glen’s raceway rails. To create the outline of the track, Eric uses a one-sided mold, and hand sculpts the glass to match the track turn by turn. From there the glass is covered, or cased, in more clear glass and stretched into the final form.

At last summer’s 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Marcos Ambrose took home the prize.

“The trophy made by the Corning Museum of Glass is very unique to the Sprint Cup Series and I’m proud to own it,” said Ambrose. “There is not anything else like it and it’s something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

The modern form of the trophy references both The Glen’s and the Finger Lakes region. The encased blue glass matches the color of the raceway’s rails, while also calling to mind the region’s many waterfalls.

The Cheez-It™ 355 at The Glen is Sunday, August 11. Stay tuned to see who will win this uniquely crafted trophy!