1959 USAC Road Racing Championship

Last updated

Contents

The 1959 USAC Road Racing Championship season was the second season of the USAC Road Racing Championship. It began March 8, 1959, and ended October 18, 1959, after eleven races. The series was contested for sports cars at eight rounds, and Formula Libre at three rounds. Augie Pabst won the season championship.

Calendar

RndRaceLengthCircuitLocationDate
1 Los Angeles Examiner International Grand Prix150 mi (240 km) Los Angeles County Fairgrounds Pomona, California March 8
2 Daytona 1000 Kilometres 6 Hours Daytona International Raceway Daytona Beach, Florida April 5
3Meadowdale 505505 km (314 mi) Meadowdale International Raceway Carpentersville, Illinois May 31
4USAC Lime Rock180 km (110 mi) Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut June 6
5Meadowdale Gala 444444 km (276 mi) Meadowdale International Raceway Carpentersville, Illinois July 5
6 Kiwanis Grand Prix150 mi (240 km) Riverside International Raceway Riverside, California July 19
7USAC Formula Libre Race150 mi (240 km) [1] Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut July 25
8Meadowdale Formula Libre 165 mi (266 km) Meadowdale International Raceway Carpentersville, Illinois September 6
9Vaca Valley Sports Car Race100 mi (160 km) Vaca Valley Raceway Vacaville, California September 27
10 United States Grand Prix for Sports Cars 200 mi (320 km) Riverside International Raceway Riverside, California October 11
11International Formula Libre Grand Prix230 km (140 mi) Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York October 18

Season results

RndCircuitWinning TeamResults
Winning Driver(s)
1 Pomona #50 Zipper-Estes Results
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ken Miles
2 Daytona #86 Porsche Results
Flag of Argentina.svg Roberto Mieres
Flag of Argentina.svg Anton von Döry
3 Meadowdale #31 Nickey Racing Team Results
Flag of the United States.svg Jim Jeffords
4 Lime Rock Elisha Walker Results
Flag of the United States.svg George Constantine
5 Meadowdale #10 Nickey Chevrolet Results
Flag of the United States.svg Jim Jeffords
6 Riverside #211 John von Neumann Results
Flag of the United States.svg Richie Ginther
7 Lime Rock Kurtis Kraft Midget/Offenhauser Results
Flag of the United States.svg Rodger Ward
8 Meadowdale #50 Meister Brauser Results
Flag of the United States.svg Augie Pabst
9Vaca Valley#50 Meister Brauser Results
Flag of the United States.svg Augie Pabst
10 Riverside #2 Eleanor von Neumann Results
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Hill
11 Watkins Glen #1 British Racing Partnership Results
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Stirling Moss

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports Car Club of America</span> American automobile club

The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park</span> Motorsport track in the United States

Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It includes a 0.686 mi (1.104 km) oval track, a 2.500 mi (4.023 km) road course, and a 4,400-foot (1,300 m) drag strip which is among the premier drag racing venues in the world. The complex receives about 500,000 visitors annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Auto Club</span> Auto racing sanctioning body in the United States

The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500. Today, USAC serves as the sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks, and Pirelli World Challenge. Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones is USAC's Competition Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodger Ward</span> American racing driver (1921–2004)

Rodger Morris Ward was an American racing driver best known for his open-wheel career. He is generally regarded as one of the finest drivers of his generation, and is best known for winning two National Championships, and two Indianapolis 500s, both in 1959 and 1962. He also won the AAA National Stock Car Championship in 1951.

Paul Edward Goldsmith is a retired American racing driver. During his career he raced motorcycles, stock cars, and Indianapolis cars, achieving success in each discipline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American open-wheel car racing</span> Category of professional-level automobile racing in North America

American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.

MAVTV is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by the automotive lubricant company Lucas Oil, a ubiquitous presence in the motorsports world, which mainly airs programming focused around motorsports and programming for automotive enthusiasts. CJ Olivares serves as the network's president.

The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing Championship, a championship that folded after the 1962 season. For its first three seasons, the series featured both open-topped sports cars and GT cars. Ford and Porsche dominated the Over- and Under-2 Liter classes, respectively. The USRRC ran from 1963 until 1968 when it was abandoned in favor of the more successful Can-Am series, which was also run by the SCCA.

The 1971 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 12 races, beginning in Rafaela, Argentina on February 28 and concluding in Avondale, Arizona on October 23. The USAC National Champion was Joe Leonard and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Al Unser. For 1971 it was decided that there should be three separate points championships, for paved ovals, dirt ovals, and road courses.

<i>ESPN SpeedWorld</i> Television series

ESPN SpeedWorld is a former television series broadcast on ESPN from 1979 to 2006. The program that was based primarily based around NASCAR, CART, IMSA, Formula One, NHRA, and IHRA. The theme music is based on the piano interlude from "18th Avenue " by Cat Stevens.

The 1958 USAC Road Racing Championship season was the inaugural season of the USAC Road Racing Championship. The series was contested for sports cars at three rounds, and Formula Libre at one round. It began September 7, 1958, and ended October 12, 1958, after four races. Dan Gurney won the season championship.

The 1960 USAC Road Racing Championship season was the third season of the USAC Road Racing Championship. It began April 3, 1960, and ended October 23rd, 1960, after five races. Carroll Shelby won the season championship.

The 1961 USAC Road Racing Championship season was the fourth season of the USAC Road Racing Championship. It began June 25, 1961, and ended October 22, 1961, after four races. Ken Miles won the season championship.

The 1962 USAC Road Racing Championship season was the fifth and final season of the USAC Road Racing Championship. It began April 1, 1962, and ended October 21, 1962, after five races. The series was contested for Formula Libre at the first two rounds, and sports cars at the final three rounds. Roger Penske won the season championship.

Bakersfield is home to several minor league sports franchises and collegiate athletic programs at Bakersfield College and California State University, Bakersfield.

SCCA Pro Racing is the pro racing division of the Sports Car Club of America. SCCA Pro Racing was formed in 1963, the company is a fully owned subsidiary of SCCA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zerex Special</span>

The Zerex Special was a sports racing car. Originally a Cooper T53 built for the 1961 United States Grand Prix, it was rebuilt for usage in American sports car racing, and featured open-top bodywork. Initially using a 2.75-litre version of the Coventry Climax FPF straight-four engine, it later used a Traco-Oldsmobile 3.5-litre V8. The car won numerous races throughout its four-year career, being driven by drivers such as McLaren and Roger Penske.

Bruce Feldman is an American racing driver from San Ramon, California. He won the 1988 Barber Saab Pro Series championship. He also competed in the 1992 Indy Lights season.

August Uihlein Pabst Jr. is an American sports car driver from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In ten years of racing, he won two national championships — the 1959 USAC and 1960 SSCA road racing championships. Pabst made one NASCAR start at Riverside International Raceway. He is a former member of the board of directors for Road America.

References

  1. "USAC Road Racing Championship race". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved May 17, 2010.