1919 AAA Championship Car season

The 1919 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 21 races, beginning in Santa Monica, California on March 15 and concluding in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 12. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1919 season, and did not declare a National Champion.[1] Howdy Wilcox was the winner of the Indianapolis 500.

1919 AAA Championship Car season
AAA National Championship Trail
Season
Races21
Start dateMarch 15
End dateOctober 12
Awards
National championnone declared
Indianapolis 500 winnerUnited States Howdy Wilcox
← 1918
1920 →

The de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age, was Howdy Wilcox. Wilcox 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

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Date Race Name
Distance (miles)
Track Location Type Notes Pole position Winning driver
March 15 Santa Monica Race (250) Santa Monica Road Race Course Santa Monica, California 7.36 mile road course Walter Melcher fatally injured[2] Cliff Durant Cliff Durant
March 23 All-Star Sweepstakes (150) Ascot Speedway South Los Angeles, California 1 mile dirt oval Eddie Pullen Roscoe Sarles
May 19 Victory Sweepstakes (112.5) Uniontown Speedway Uniontown, Pennsylvania 1.125 mile board oval Tommy Milton
May 31 Liberty 500 Mile Sweepstakes (500) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 2.5 mile brick oval 33-car field; Arthur Thurman, Louis LeCocq, and the latter's riding mechanic Robert Bandini fatally injured[3] René Thomas Howdy Wilcox
June 14 International Sweepstakes Race 1 (10) Sheepshead Bay Speedway Sheepshead Bay, New York 2 mile board oval Tommy Milton
International Sweepstakes Race 2 (10) Ralph Mulford
International Sweepstakes Race 3 (30) Ralph Mulford
International Sweepstakes Race Main (50) Ralph DePalma
July 4 Tacoma Race 1 (40) Pacific Coast Speedway Tacoma, Washington 2 mile board oval Ralph Mulford
Tacoma Race 2 (60) Louis Chevrolet
Tacoma Race 3 (80) Louis Chevrolet
July 4 Independence Auto Derby (100) Sheepshead Bay Speedway Sheepshead Bay, New York 2 mile board oval Emilio Jandelli, riding mechanic for Ray Howard, fatally injured in practice[4] Joe Thomas Gaston Chevrolet
July 19 Uniontown Heat 1 (22.5) Uniontown Speedway Uniontown, Pennsylvania 1.125 mile board oval Tommy Milton
Uniontown Heat 2 (22.5) Dave Lewis
Uniontown Heat 3 (22.5) I. P. Fetterman
Uniontown Heat 4 (22.5) Roscoe Sarles
Uniontown Main (22.5) Tommy Milton
August 23 Elgin National Trophy Race (302) Elgin Road Race Course Elgin, Illinois 8.384 mile road course Ralph Mulford Tommy Milton
September 1 3rd Annual Autumn Classic (225) Uniontown Speedway Uniontown, Pennsylvania 1.125 mile board oval Joe Boyer relieved Gaston Chevrolet on lap 118. Gaston Chevrolet/Joe Boyer
September 20 Sheepshead Bay Race 6 (150) Sheepshead Bay Speedway Sheepshead Bay, New York 2 mile board oval Gaston Chevrolet
October 12 Cincinnati Race (250) Cincinnati Motor Speedway Sharonville, Ohio 2 mile board oval Joe Boyer

Leading National Championship standings

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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.

 #  Driver Sponsor Points
1 Howdy Wilcox Peugeot 1110
2 Eddie Hearne Duesenberg 1070
3 Gaston Chevrolet Frontenac 980
4 Roscoe Sarles Barney Oldfield 950
5 Tommy Milton Duesenberg 905

References

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  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 when car upsets". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. March 16, 1919.
  3. ^ "3 die in auto race at Indianapolis" (PDF). The New York Times. June 1, 1919. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.
  4. ^ "Auto racer killed at Sheepshead Bay" (PDF). The New York Times. July 4, 1919. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.

General references

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