United States Automobile Club

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USAC
Sport governing body


Category Auto racing
Area of jurisdiction United States
Formation date 1955[1]
Headquarters Speedway, Indiana
Website www.usacracing.com

The United States Automobile Club (USAC) is an open-wheel auto racing sanctioning body. From 1956 to 1979 the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 it sanctioned the Indianapolis 500.

Contents

[edit] 2008 USAC National Schedules

Silver Crown Series
Date Location Track Track Type/Winner Distance
2/16 Phoenix, AZ Manzanita Speedway Winner: Jerry Coons Jr 50 L
5/8 Darlington, SC Darlington Raceway Canceled 50 L
5/23 Indianapolis, IN Indiana State Fairgrounds Canceled 100 M
6/27-28 Richmond, VA Richmond International Raceway 3/4 P 100 L
7/23 Terre Haute, IN Terre Haute Action Track 1/2 D 100 L
7/24 Indianapolis, IN O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis .686 P 100 L
8/10 Newton, IA Iowa Speedway 7/8 P 100 L
8/16 Springfield, IL Illinois State Fairgrounds 1 D 100 M
8/31 DuQuoin, IL DuQuoin State Fairgrounds 1 D 100 M
9/20 Rossburg, OH Eldora Speedway 1/2 D 50 L
11/6 Phoenix, AZ Phoenix International Raceway 1 P 100 L


Sprint Car Series
Date Location Track Track Type/Winner Distance
4/5 Rossburg, OH Eldora Speedway Postponed to May 10 30 L
4/18 Gas City, IN Gas City I-69 Speedway Winner: Shane Cottle 30 L
4/19 Gas City, IN Gas City I-69 Speedway RAINED OUT 30 L
4/27 Winchester, IN Winchester Speedway Winner: Darren Hagen 30 L
5/3 Brownstown, IN Brownstown Speedway Winner: Levi Jones 30 L
5/9 Bloomington, IN Bloomington Speedway RAINED OUT 30 L
5/10 Rossburg, OH Eldora Speedway Winner: Tracy Hines 30 L
5/21 Anderson, IN Anderson Speedway Winner: Tanner Swanson 100 L
5/22 Terre Haute, IN Terre Haute Action Track Winner: Levi Jones 30 L
5/24 Anderson, IN Anderson Speedway Winner: Shane Cottle Little 500
6/3 Bechtelsville, PA Grandview Speedway RAINED OUT 30 L
6/4 Williams Grove, PA Williams Grove Speedway RAINED OUT 30 L
6/5 Minersville, PA Big Diamond Raceway Winner: Cole Whitt 30 L
6/7 Hagerstown, MD Hagerstown Speedway Winner: Chad Boat 30 L
6/12 Winchester, IN Winchester Speedway 1/2 P 30 L
6/13 DeGraff, OH Shady Bowl Speedway 3/10 P 30 L
6/14 Rossburg, OH Eldora Speedway 1/2 D 30 L
6/27 Richmond, VA Richmond International Raceway 3/4 P 60 L
INDIANA SPRINT WEEK
7/9 Lawrenceburg, IN Lawrenceburg Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
7/10 Lawrenceburg, IN Lawrenceburg Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
7/11 Gas City, IN Gas City I-69 Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
7/12 Gas City, IN Gas City I-69 Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
7/13 Kokomo, IN Kokomo Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
7/17 Boswell, IN Kamp Motor Speedway 3/8 D 30 L
7/18 Bloomington, IN Bloomington Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
7/19 Haubstadt, IN Tri-State Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
END ISW 2008
8/3 Salem, IN Salem Speedway 1/2 P 30 L
8/5 Oskaloosa, IA Southern Iowa Speedway 1/2 D 30 L
9/5 Joliet, IL Route 66 Raceway 1/2 D 30 L
9/20 Rossburg, OH Eldora Speedway 1/2 D 30 L
9/28 Winchester, IN Winchester Speedway 1/2 P 30 L
10/30 Perris, CA Perris Auto Speedway 1/2 D 25 L
10/31 Perris, CA Perris Auto Speedway 1/2 D 25 L
11/1 Perris, CA Perris Auto Speedway 1/2 D 40 L
11/7 Phoenix, AZ Manzanita Speedway 1/2 D 25 L
11/8 Phoenix, AZ Manzanita Speedway 1/2 D 40 L


Midget Car Series
Date Location Track Track Type/Winner Distance
2/16 Phoenix, AZ Manzanita Speedway Winner: Darren Hagen 25 L
3/21 Kyle, TX Thunder Hill Raceway Postponed to later in 2008 100 L
4/6 Anderson, IN Anderson Speedway Winner: Bobby East 50 L
4/12 Kenly, NC Southern National Raceway Park Winner: Kody Swanson 40 L
5/10 Haubstadt, IN Tri-State Speedway Canceled 30 L
5/16 West Salem, WI LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway Winner: Dave Darland 30 L
5/17 Slinger, WI Slinger Super Speedway Winner: Bradley Galedrige 30 L
5/18 Rockford, IL Rockford Speedway Winner: Brian Olson 30 L
5/24 Indianapolis, IN O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis Winner: Bobby East 50 L
5/30 Beaver Dam, WI Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway POSTPONED - Aug 29 25 L
6/20 Knoxville, IA Knoxville Raceway 1/2 D 20 L
6/21 Knoxville, IA Knoxville Raceway 1/2 D 25 L
7/24 Indianapolis, IN O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis .686 P 30 L
8/1 Belleville, KS Belleville High Banks 1/2 D 25 L
8/2 Belleville, KS Belleville High Banks 1/2 D 40 L
INDIANA MIDGET WEEK
8/6 Gas City, IN Gas City I-69 Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
8/7 Liberty, IN Union County Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
8/8 Bloomington, IN Bloomington Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
8/9 Lawrenceburg, IN Lawrenceburg Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
8/10 Kokomo, IN Kokomo Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
END IMW 2008
8/15 Macon, IL Macon Speedway 1/4 D 30 L
8/23 Sun Prairie, WI Angell Park Speedway 1/3 D 30 L
8/24 Sun Prairie, WI Angell Park Speedway 1/3 D 30 L
8/29 Beaver Dam, WI Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway 1/2 D 25 L
9/5 Joliet, IL Route 66 Raceway 1/2 D 30 L
9/12 Indianapolis, IN O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis .686 P 30 L
9/13 Anderson, IN Anderson Speedway 1/4 P 50 L
9/20 Rossburg, OH Eldora Speedway 1/2 D 25 L
10/5 Terre Haute, IN Terre Haute Action Track 1/2 D 100 L
11/1 Columbus, OH State Fairgrounds Expo Center 1/10 P 60 L
11/6 Phoenix, AZ Phoenix International Raceway 1 P 25 M
11/22 Bakersfield, CA TBA 1/2 P 50 L
11/27 Irwindale, CA Toyota Speedway at Irwindale 1/2 P 98 L
12/19 Toledo, OH SeaGate Center 1/10 P 60 L
12/20 Toledo, OH SeaGate Center 1/10 P 60 L
12/26 Fort Wayne, IN Memorial Coliseum Expo Center 1/10 P 60 L
12/27 Fort Wayne, IN Memorial Coliseum Expo Center 1/10 P 60 L

[edit] History

USAC was formed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman when the American Automobile Association (AAA) withdrew from auto racing following the 1955 Le Mans disaster. USAC became the arbiter of rules, car design, and other matters for what it termed Championship automobile racing. This term, which sounds rather generic, in fact became a term of art describing a car built to be used in the highest level of USAC racing. For a while there was a separate series of specifications for Championship cars designed to be run on dirt, rather than paved, tracks.

USAC also became the sanctioning body for many lower levels of motor racing, including sports cars, sprint cars, midget cars, and others. Some of these series were used somewhat as a developmental league for Championship racing. USAC sanctioned stock car racing from 1956 to 1984.[2]

[edit] 1978 Plane Crash

On April 23, 1978, eight key members of USAC, plus the pilot, were killed when their 10-seat Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed during a thunderstorm 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis.[3]

Killed were:

  • Ray Marquette, USAC's vice-president of public affairs and a former sportswriter for the Indianapolis Star
  • Frank Delroy, chairman of the USAC technical committee
  • Shim Malone, starter for USAC races and head of its midget racer division
  • Judy Phillips, graphic artist and publication director of USAC's newsletter
  • Stan Worley, chief registrar
  • Ross Teeguarden, assistant technnical chairman
  • Don Peabody, head of the sprint division
  • Dr. Bruce White, assistant staff doctor
  • Don Mullendore, owner and pilot of the plane.

The effect on USAC, and for open wheel racing in the USA, was devastating, especially since it closely followed the death of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman.

[edit] End of Championship car sanctioning

Unfortunately, the crash came at a time when Indy car owners and drivers were demanding changes from USAC. Aside from the Indy 500, USAC events were not well attended, and the owners felt that USAC poorly negotiated TV rights. The owners also wanted increases in payouts, especially Indy.[4]

Also unpopular were USAC's attempts to keep the aging Offenhauser engine competitive with the newer, and much more expensive, Cosworth DFV engine using boost-limiting "pop off valves" and limiting the amount of fuel that could be used.[5]

Finally, most car owners banded together to form Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1979. USAC tried unsuccessfully to ban all CART owners from the 1979 Indy 500, finally losing in court before the race began. Both USAC and CART ran race schedules in 1979.

IMS Speedway President John Cooper was instrumental in forming a joint body of CART and USAC with the creation of the Championship Racing League in March, 1980. However, in mid 1980, Cooper forced USAC to renounce their agreement with the CRL if they wanted to keep officiating the Indy 500.[6] After USAC's disastrous attempt at a 500-mile races at Pocono -- which was boycotted by the CART teams, forcing USAC to fill the field with sprint cars -- USAC and CART eventually settled into a relatively peaceful co-existence, with the USAC continuing to sanction the Indianapolis 500, and CART including the race in its schedule.

[edit] IRL sanctioning body

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In 1996, when CART and the newly formed Indy Racing League split open-wheel racing into two different series, USAC remained the sanctioning body for the IRL.

In the final moments of the long rain-delayed 1997 Indianapolis 500, a caution flag came out. It was assumed by most competitors that the race would finish under caution. USAC officials had a standard practice of giving a "one-to-go-before-green" signal before returning back to green flag racing. Since there was only one lap remaining in the entire race, the "one-to-go-before-green" signal was omitted, and the starter Bryan Howard was abruptly and unexpectedly instructed to simply display the green and white flag (final lap) as the cars came around.

None of the cars in the race were anticipating the start. With only one lap to go, leader Arie Luyendyk scrambled to accelerate. When the cars arrived in turn one, and until they arrived at the halfway point of the backstrech, the yellow caution lights still flashed despite the green having been displayed by the flagman. Runner-up Scott Goodyear claimed that he had assumed the race would end under caution and was surprised to see the green flag.

At the IRL's next race in Texas Motor Speedway, some of the the scoring antennas in the track were malfunctioning. The malfunctioning antennas were due to the antennas being buried at an improper depth by the Texas Motor Speedway. Overemphasis on building luxury suites and not enough attention on the track itself is evident when the track was resurfaced only a few years after being built. Several cars were incorrectly scored, with laps omitted. Arie Luyendyk was incorrectly scored two laps down from the apparent winner Billy Boat. While Boat and car owner A.J. Foyt celebrated in victory lane, Luyendyk stormed victory lane and confronted the officials. Foyt slapped Luyendyk, and he fell over a flower bed. A day later after review, Luyendyk was scored as the race winner by nearly a lap, and USAC was subsequently removed as the IRL's sanctioning body. Tony George had been looking at going in-house for officiating the IRL races (like NASCAR) for sometime and many feel that this event was used as the scapegoat for dropping USAC and bringing in his own people.

While USAC did not disappear, its influence was greatly lessened. It still continues today as a sanctioning body for some of the medium levels of motor racing, including the USAC Silver Crown series for tube-framed, alcohol-fueled open-wheel cars racing on dirt and paved ovals, as well as national championships for sprint and midget cars.

[edit] USAC Championship Car Series

USAC Championship Car Season Champions: (1956-1979)

[edit] USAC Silver Crown Series

USAC Silver Crown Series Champions

[edit] USAC Sprint Car Series

USAC Sprint Car Series Champions From 1956-1960 the USAC National Sprint Car Championship was divided into two divisions (Midwest and East).

[edit] USAC National Midget Series

USAC National Midget Series Champions

[edit] USAC Stock Cars

The United States Automobile Club featured a Stock Car Series division from 1956-1984.

Past Champions
Year Champion 2nd Place 3rd Place Rookie Of The Year
1956¹ Johnny Mantz Marshall Teague Les Snow None
1957 Jerry Unser Ralph Moody Sam Hanks None
1958 Fred Lorenzen Mike Klapak Norm Nelson None
1959 Fred Lorenzen Mike Klapak Nelson Stacy None
1960 Norm Nelson Paul Goldsmith Tony Bettenhausen None
1961 Paul Goldsmith Norm Nelson Elmer Musgrave None
1962 Paul Goldsmith Don White Norm Nelson None
1963 Don White A.J. Foyt Norm Nelson Sal Tovella
1964 Parnelli Jones Norm Nelson Don White Joe Leonard
1965 Norm Nelson Paul Goldsmith Don White Billy Foster
1966 Norm Nelson Don White Billy Foster Butch Hartman
1967 Don White Parnelli Jones Jack Bowsher Al Unser
1968 A.J. Foyt Roger McCluskey Don White Dick Trickle
1969 Roger McCluskey A.J. Foyt Don White Verlin Eaker
1970 Roger McCluskey Norm Nelson A.J. Foyt Billy Reis
1971 Butch Hartman Jack Bowsher Roger McCluskey J. Booher/B. Schroyer
1972 Butch Hartman Roger McCluskey Paul Feldner Chuck McWilliams
1973 Butch Hartman Ramo Stott Bay Darnell Irv Janey
1974 Butch Hartman Norm Nelson Ramo Stott Ken Rowley
1975 Ramo Stott Butch Hartman Sal Tovella Len Gittemeier
1976 Butch Hartman Ramo Stott Sal Tovella Wayne Watercutter
1977 Paul Feldner Ramo Stott Sal Tovella Dave Watson
1978 A.J. Foyt Terry Ryan Bay Darnell Joe Ruttman
1979 A.J. Foyt Bay Darnell Rusty Wallace Rusty Wallace
1980 Joe Ruttman Rusty Wallace Bay Darnell Ken Schrader
1981 Dean Roper Sal Tovella Ken Schrader Rick Hanley
1982 Dean Roper Bay Darnell Rick O'Brien J. Schwister/J. Lindhorst
1983 Dean Roper Butch Garner Rick O'Brien Roger Drake
1984 David Goldsberry Ken Rowley Jim Hall David Goldsberry

¹ - The inaugural season featured two subtitles: Pacific Coast (won by Sam Hanks) and Short Track (Troy Ruttman).

[edit] References

  1. ^ USAC Information insmkt.com. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.
  2. ^ "USAC Stock Car Championship History", Retrieved September 7, 2007
  3. ^ Indiana plane crashes indystar.com, published May 1, 2002.
  4. ^ The battles wage on and off the tracks automedia.com.
  5. ^ The CART-USAC War: part 1 oreopolis.com. Originally published in NUVO Newsweekly - January 25, 1996.
  6. ^ The CART-USAC War: part 2 oreopolis.com. Originally published in NUVO Newsweekly - January 25, 1996.

[edit] External links

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