Graham Hill padded his tenuous lead in the 1964 Drivers' Championship over John Surtees and Jim Clark by bringing his BRM home first at The Glen for the second straight year.

The Ferrari team brought four cars for Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini, but they were not in the usual "flaming red" that the race program advertised.

The Watkins Glen Grand Prix Corporation was so pleased with the new track surface that had been laid down that they believed a 120 mph (about 193 km/h) lap (1:08.9) was possible, and they had 120 bottles of champagne ready for the first one to do it.

While the three remaining Championship contenders, along with American Dan Gurney, waged a stirring battle for the pole and broke Hill's record from the previous year, they did not come close to claiming the prize.

Clark led off the line, but Surtees and Spence quickly went past, dropping the defending Champion to third before they reached the top of the hill.

The Scot surged past the BRM of Hill and set off after Surtees, taking the lead from the Ferrari on lap 13 as they exited the right-hander before the pits.

Jo Siffert was third in the Rob Walker-entered Brabham, ahead of Americans Richie Ginther and Walt Hansgen, with Trevor Taylor in sixth, scoring his only point of the season.