1974 Can-Am season

Last updated
1974 Can-Am season
Previous: 1973 Next: 1977

The 1974 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the ninth and final season of the original Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running half hour Sprint races followed by hour-long Cup races. It began June 16, 1974, and was cancelled after the fifth round on August 25, 1974.

Can-Am sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987

The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987.

Auto racing motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition

Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.

Group 7 was a set of regulations for automobile racing created by the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI), a division of the modern Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.

Contents

Following the cancellation of the series, many teams turned to the new Camel GT Challenge, although the cars were not of the same type as had been used in Can-Am. The Can-Am name would return in 1977, although the formula used would vary greatly from the original series, concentrating instead on open-wheel-based chassis.

IMSA GT Championship auto racing championship in the United States

IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada.

Schedule

All rounds had a Sprint qualifying heat first to determine the starting order for the Cup event. The results of the Sprint and Cup were not combined.

RndRaceCircuitDate
1 Labatt's Blue Trophy Mosport Park June 16
2 WQXI Can-Am Road Atlanta July 7
3Watkins Glen Can-Am Watkins Glen International July 14
4Buckeye Cup Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course August 11
5Road America Can-Am Road America August 25

Season results

RndCircuitWinning TeamResults
Winning Driver
1 Mosport Flag of the United States.svg #101 Phoenix Racing Organizations Results
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Oliver
2 Road Atlanta Flag of the United States.svg #101 Phoenix Racing Organizations Results
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Oliver
3 Watkins Glen Flag of the United States.svg #101 Phoenix Racing Organisations Results
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Oliver
4 Mid-Ohio Flag of the United States.svg #101 Phoenix Racing Organisations Results
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Oliver
5 Road America Flag of the United States.svg #8 U.S. Racing Results
Flag of the United States.svg Scooter Patrick

Drivers Championship

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers in the order of 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1.

PosDriverTeamCarEngineRnd 1Rnd 2Rnd 3Rnd 4Rnd 5Total
1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Oliver Flag of the United States.svg Phoenix Racing Organisations Shadow DN4 Chevrolet 8.1L V820202020282
2 Flag of the United States.svg George Follmer Flag of the United States.svg Phoenix Racing Organisations Shadow DN4 Chevrolet 8.1L V815151545
3 Flag of the United States.svg Scooter Patrick Flag of the United States.svg U.S. Racing McLaren M20 Chevrolet 8.1L V812122044
4 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Nagel Flag of the United States.svg Nagel Racing Lola T260 Chevrolet 7.6L V81010101040
5 Flag of the United States.svg John Gunn Flag of the United States.svg Racing Specialties Lola T260 Chevrolet 7.0L V88211223
6 Flag of the United States.svg Lothar Motschenbacher Flag of the United States.svg Motschenbacher Racing McLaren M8F Chevrolet 8.1L V8812121
7 Flag of the United States.svg Dick Durant Flag of the United States.svg Burmester Racing McLaren M8R Chevrolet 7.6L V846818
8 Flag of the United States.svg Dennis Aase Flag of the United States.svg Dennis Aase Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-8464317
9 Flag of Switzerland.svg Herbert Müller Flag of Switzerland.svg Herbert Müller Racing Ferrari 512M Ferrari 5.7L V1210616
10= Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Brian Redman Flag of the United States.svg North American Racing Team
Flag of the United States.svg Penske Racing
Ferrari 512M
Porsche 917/30
Ferrari5.7L V12
Porsche 5.4L Turbo Flat-12
 
15
15
10= Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg John Cordts Flag of the United States.svg Performance Engineering McLaren M8F Chevrolet 8.1L V81515
12 Flag of the United States.svg Hurley Haywood Flag of the United States.svg Brumos Racing Porsche 917/10 Porsche 5.4L Turbo Flat-121212
13= Flag of the United States.svg Monte Shelton Flag of the United States.svg Monte Shelton McLaren M8F Chevrolet 7.6L V888
13= Flag of the United States.svg Gary Wilson Flag of the United States.svg Sting Racing TeamSting GW1 Chevrolet 7.0L V888
15 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg David Saville-Peck Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ennerdale RacingCostello SP8 Oldsmobile V82327
16= Flag of the United States.svg Gene Fisher Flag of the United States.svg Bailey Speed Shop Lola T222 Chevrolet 7.0L V866
16= Flag of the United States.svg Roy Woods Flag of the United States.svg William Overhauser Racing McLaren M8D Chevrolet 7.6L V866
18 Flag of the United States.svg Bill Cuddy Flag of the United States.svg Bill Cuddy McLaren M8F Chevrolet 7.6L V8145
19 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Horst Petermann Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Horst Petermann Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-844
20= Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Harry Bytzek Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Rainer Brezinka Porsche 908/02 Porsche 3.0L Flat-833
20= Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Flag of Italy.svg Autodelta Alfa Romeo 33TT12 Alfa Romeo 4.0L V833
20= Flag of the United States.svg Bob Lazier Flag of the United States.svg Page Racing McLaren M8E Chevrolet 7.6L V833
23 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Brockman Flag of the United States.svg Jim Butcher Racing McLaren M8C Chevrolet 7.2L V822
24= Flag of the United States.svg Tom Butz Flag of the United States.svg Lodestar Enterprises McLaren M8FP Chevrolet 7.6L V811
24= Flag of the United States.svg William Morrow Flag of the United States.svg Bill Morrow Lola T163 Chevrolet V811

Related Research Articles

Sports car racing auto racing on circuits with two seat cars and enclosed wheels

Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilizes sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built (Prototype) or related to road-going models.

Denny Hulme New Zealander racing driver

Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the 1967 Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his final race in the 1974 US Grand Prix, he started 112 Grand Prix, resulting eight victories and 33 trips to the podium. He also finished third in the overall standing in 1968 and 1972.

American Le Mans Series auto racing championship in the United States

The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American various auto racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr. of NASCAR. Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.

Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. It sanctioned five auto racing series. The series announced in September 2012 that it would be merging with the American Le Mans Series, which had been Grand-Am's main US competitor since its inception. The two series fully merged in 2014 under the banner of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, with the International Motor Sports Association.

Blancpain GT World Challenge America

The Blancpain GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It is managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and is sanctioned by the United States Auto Club since 2017.

Scott Pruett American racecar driver

Scott Donald Pruett is a former American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, CART, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am. He and his wife Judy have three children, and are children's book authors.

Guy Smith is a semi-retired British professional racing driver who has competed in various levels of motorsport, most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won in 2003, and the American Le Mans Series, which he won in 2011.

Rolex Sports Car Series

The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship. Rolex took over as series sponsor in 2002.

Circuit Trois-Rivières race track

The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada and has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières since 1967. The circuit is located on the Terrain de l'Exposition (fairgrounds) and is unusual in that it passes through Porte Duplessis, the narrow concrete gateway of the grounds at turn 3.

The 1966 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the inaugural season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It was for FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began September 11, 1966, and ended November 13, 1966, after six rounds.

The 1967 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the second season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It involved FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began September 3, 1967, and ended November 12, 1967, after six rounds.

The 1968 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the third season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began September 1, 1968, and ended November 10, 1968, after six rounds.

The 1969 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the fourth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 1, 1969, and ended November 9, 1969, after eleven rounds.

The 1970 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the fifth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 14, 1970, and ended November 1, 1970, after ten rounds.

The 1971 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the sixth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 13, 1971, and ended October 31, 1971, after ten rounds.

The 1972 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the seventh season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 11, 1972, and ended October 29, 1972, after nine rounds.

The 1973 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the eighth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 10, 1973, and ended October 28, 1973, after eight rounds. The season came amid the Oil Crisis, which ended interest in performance cars after an already-declining market over a several-year period. The golden age of the Trans Am Series ended after the 1972 season, leaving Can Am and Formula 5000 as the frontrunners of the SCCA. The season was also the penultimate season of the series, which would fold after 1974 before being revived in an entirely reworked series based on F5000 a few years later. 1973 was also the penultimate season of the SCCA's golden age.

McLaren M20

The McLaren M20 was a sports prototype developed by McLaren for the 1972 season of the Canadian-American Challenge Cup. It served as a replacement for the team's M8Fs, but it later became the final Can-Am design created by McLaren before the team left the series after failing to secure the 1972 championship title. M20s continued to be entered by private teams until the Can-Am championship was canceled at the conclusion of the 1974 season. McLaren driver Denny Hulme won two races during the 1972 season while Scooter Patrick won a single event in 1974 with a privately entered M20.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is a result of a merger between two existing North American sports car racing series, the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series. At its inception, the name was United SportsCar Championship, which subsequently changed to the Tudor United SportsCar Championship when Rolex SA signed their Tudor brand to a title sponsorship deal. WeatherTech later signed a deal to take over title sponsorship of the series starting in 2016, rebranding the series.

References