1912 AAA Championship Car season

Last updated

1912 AAA Championship Car season
AAA National Championship Trail
Season
Races18
Start dateMay 4
End dateNovember 5
Awards
National championnone declared
Indianapolis 500 winner Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg Joe Dawson
←  1911
1913  →

The 1912 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 18 races, beginning in Santa Monica, California on May 4 and concluding in Brooklyn, New York on November 5. There was also one non-championship event at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1912 season, and did not declare a National Champion. [1] Joe Dawson was the winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Contents

The de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age, was Ralph DePalma. Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1912 season. DePalma was named the champion by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based upon merit and on track performance. A points table was created retroactively in 1927. At a later point, it was recognized by historians that these championship results should be considered unofficial.

Schedule and results

DateRace Name
Distance (miles)		TrackLocationTypeNotesPole positionWinning driver
May 4Chanslor & Lyon Trophy Race* (101) Santa Monica Road Race Course Santa Monica, California 8.417 mile road courseStock chassis, 230 cu in. Roscoe Anthony George Joerimann
Jepsen Trophy Race* (152)231–300 cu in. Earl Devore Ralph DePalma
Dick Ferris Trophy Race* (303)Free-for-all Dave Lewis Teddy Tetzlaff
May 30 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 2.5 mile brick ovalQualifications based upon demonstrated 75 mph single-lap speed, 24-car field; Ralph DePalma pushes car across finish line Gil Andersen Joe Dawson
July 5First Montamara Fiesta Race (150) Tacoma Road Race Course Tacoma, Washington 5 mile road course231-300 cu in. Eddie Pullen
Tacoma Race 2 (150)301-450 cu in. Earl Cooper
Tacoma Race 3 (200)Free-for-all Earl Cooper Teddy Tetzlaff
July 6Montamarathon Trophy Race (250)Free-for-all Hughie Hughes Teddy Tetzlaff
August 25Columbus Race (200) Driving Park Columbus, Ohio 1 mile dirt ovalFree-for-all Charles Elliott Spencer Wishart
August 30Aurora Trophy Race (152) Elgin Road Race Course Elgin, Illinois 8.47 mile road course300 cu in. Eddie Pullen Hughie Hughes
Illinois Trophy Race (203)450 cu in. Charles Merz
Jencks Trophy Race (101)600 cu in. Harry Endicott Harry Endicott
August 31Elgin Race 4* (254) Ralph DePalma
Elgin National Trophy Race* (305)Free-for-all Ralph DePalma
October 2 William K. Vanderbilt Cup (299) Wauwatosa Road Race Course Milwaukee, Wisconsin 7.88 mile road course301-600 cu in. Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalma
October 5Wisconsin Challenge Trophy Race* (173)161-230 cu in. Ray Snyder Harry Endicott
Pabst Blue Ribbon Trophy Race* (220)231-300 cu in. Louis Nikrent Mortimer Roberts
American Grand Prize (410)ACA sanction; non-championship event; David Bruce-Brown and his riding mechanic Tony Scudellari fatally injured in practice, [2] [3] Ralph DePalma seriously injured in race [4] [5] Bob Burman Caleb Bragg
November 5Brighton Beach Race (100) Brighton Beach Dirt Track Brooklyn, New York 1 mile dirt ovalFree-for-all Neil Whalen Ralph Mulford

* Events on same date were run simultaneously.

Leading National Championship standings

The points paying system for the 1909–1915 and 1917–1919 season were retroactively applied in 1927 and revised in 1951 using the points system from 1920.

 # DriverSponsorPoints
1 Ralph DePalma Mercedes 2000
2 Teddy Tetzlaff Fiat 1900
3 Joe Dawson National 1000
4 Hughie Hughes Mercer 890
5 Ralph Mulford Knox 870

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References

  1. ↑ Capps, H. Donald (February–March 2010). "John Glenn Printz and the Struggle for the Past: The A.A.A. Catastrophe - Arthur Means, Val Haresnape, Russ Catlin, and Bob Russo" (PDF). Rear View Mirror. 7 (6): 21–38.
  2. ↑ "Auto racer is killed during speed trial". The Gazette Times . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. October 2, 1912.
  3. ↑ "Tony Scudellari yields to death". The Chicago Daily Tribune . October 9, 1912.
  4. ↑ Ward, Harry (October 6, 1912). "Young millionaire racing driver is winner of classic". The Washington Times . Archived from the original on July 31, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Caleb Bragg wins Grand Prize race" (PDF). The New York Times . October 6, 1912. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.

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