There had been a considerable amount of safety work done at Watkins Glen with a new pit complex and an extension to the track. The field was much as it had been in Canada two weeks earlier although Rolf Stommelen was out of action because of a jaw problem. The second Surtees (a third was being run for Mike Hailwood) was entered for Sam Posey and Gijs van Lennep, the faster of the two (Posey) getting into the race. Tyrrell expanded to three cars with Peter Revson returning to F1 after seven years away. BRM continued to run five cars but George Eaton was replaced in the fifth by Formula 5000 driver John Cannon. Mark Donohue was again in the second McLaren but was sharing the car with David Hobbs as he had to fly backwards and forwards to Trenton, where a delayed USAC race was taking place. Mario Andretti decided not to bother and so Ferrari ran only two cars.

Jackie Stewart took pole position for Tyrrell with Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus and Denny Hulme's McLaren alongside. The second row featured Clay Regazzoni in the fastest of the Ferraris and François Cévert in the second Tyrrell. Jo Siffert (BRM), Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) and Chris Amon (Matra) shared the third row.

Stewart took the lead from Hulme at the start with Cévert jumping up to third place, followed by Regazzoni and Siffert. Fittipaldi made a poor start and was eighth. On the seventh lap Cévert was able to pass Hulme for second place and on lap 14 he moved ahead of Stewart, who was suffering from bad oversteer. Hulme was also having handling problems and he began to drop back, being overtaken by Ickx (who had passed Siffert). Stewart also fell victim to the Ferrari and then Siffert as well. Ickx stalked Cévert until lap 40 when the Ferrari began to fall back with an alternator problem which led to the Belgian's retirement. This moved Siffert to second place and Peterson (who had passed Stewart) to take third. Howden Ganley (BRM) was fourth with Stewart fifth.

It was Cévert's first World Championship victory and with the Mexican GP having been canceled it was the last World Championship race of the 1971 season.