Lucas Oil Raceway is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about 10 miles west of Downtown Indianapolis. It includes a 0.686-mile (1.104 km) oval track, a 2.5-mile (4.0 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 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, Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, TORC: The Off-Road Championship, and Pirelli World Challenge.
American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional-level automobile racing in the United States and North America. As of 2019, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.
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. Shelby American 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 1972 USAC Championship Car season consisted of ten races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 18 and concluding at the same location on November 4. The USAC National Champion was Joe Leonard and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Mark Donohue. Jim Malloy was killed at Indianapolis in practice; he was 40 years old.
The 1977 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 14 races, beginning in Ontario, California on March 6 and concluding in Avondale, Arizona on October 29. The USAC National Champion was Tom Sneva and the Indianapolis 500 winner was A. J. Foyt. The schedule included a road course for the first time since 1970.
The 1978 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 18 races, beginning at Phoenix on March 18 and concluding at the same location on October 28. The USAC National Champion was Tom Sneva and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Al Unser. This was the last year before the first USAC/CART "Split". By winning the Indianapolis 500, Pocono 500, and California 500, Al Unser swept the Indy car "Triple Crown", the only driver in history to do so.
The 1980 USAC Championship Car season consisted of five races, beginning in Ontario, California on April 13 and concluding in Lexington, Ohio on July 13. The USAC National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Johnny Rutherford.
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 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.
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 23, 1960, after five races. Carroll Shelby 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.
The SCCA National Sports Car Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Sports Car Club of America from 1951 until 1964. It was the first post-World War II sports car series organized in the United States. An amateur championship, it was eventually replaced by the professional United States Road Racing Championship and the amateur American Road Race of Champions.
The Hoosier Grand Prix was a sports car, Formula Libre, and Champ Car race held at Indianapolis Raceway Park between 1961 and 1994. The race began as a round of the USAC Road Racing Championship. After being run for sports cars in its first year, the race switched to Formula Libre for the next two. After not being held in 1964, the race shifted to the USAC National Championship Trail for Champ Cars in 1965, running until 1970. The IMSA GT Championship revived the race in 1973, and again in 1994.
The 1961 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 12 races, beginning in Trenton, New Jersey on April 9 and concluding in Phoenix, Arizona on November 19. There was also one non-championship event at Pikes Peak, Colorado. The USAC National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was A. J. Foyt. The season was marred by the deaths of 1951 and 1958 season champion Tony Bettenhausen at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Al Keller at Phoenix.
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.
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.
Gerald Jon 'Jerry' Hansen is a former racing driver. Hansen has won a record of 27 SCCA National Championships. Hansen has also competed in Can-Am, the Atlantic Championship, USAC ChampCar among other series.
