Update AAA National Championship

[Corktree]

Not very certain that many here are all that concerned with the US National Championship, but there has been some interesting developments that have surfaced lately that now give us a better idea concerning several of the problem areas. Several here are aware of all this activity, so with their forebearance....

In 1905, the AAA Racing Board sanctioned a series of events for the "National Motor Car Championship." The events were held on tracks at horse racing venues and either ended somewhat inconclusively or we simply don't have the final documentation that may have been in the AAA records. Barney Oldfield emerges as the champion, but the dominant driver early on was Louis Chevrolet. Initially raised by Ken McMaken and then recently by Mark Dill, the existence of this championship is now confirmed.

The references to AAA champions for the years 1902-1915 and 1917-1919 are definitely incorrect, especially those for the 1909-1915 and 1917-1919 seasons for which events have been given. John Glenn Printz has convincingly refuted any validity for these "championships" which were created by Arthur Means and perhaps Val Haresnape in the mid-20's and revived by Russ Catlin in the early-50s. The inclusion of the 1902-1908 years are the work of Catlin as well. Due to the Great War, there was no championship for the years 1917-1919.

The 1920 National Champion, as declared in 1920, was Gaston Chevrolet. Once more, credit to John Glenn Printz who in a refutation to an article by Bob Russo in Indy Car Racing proves the case for Chevrolet beyond a shadow of doubt.

While most records show only six events comprised the 1946 championship season, in reality the Championship included all the Big Car events of the season (save one, the first one held at Lakewood on 31 March), a total of 77 events, the "usual" six plus 71 additonal events. Credit Michael Ferner for making the case for this being the situation. Still digging on this one, but contemporary evidence supports this being the case. I overcame my original reluctance once I saw the evidence and realized my error in not examining the original source material.

Given the huge amount of incorrect, erroreous, simply mistaken, and outright wrong information that is out there concerng these issues, revising the "revisonists" will take some doing.

Thank you for your consideration.

Don Capps


Case History

[Corktree]

Official Bulletin AAA Contest Board, 18 December 1946, p. 3.

POINT SYSTEM
In view of the fact that the payment of appearance deals according to point standing was discontinued in 1946, it was the consensus of opinion that the combined point standing is no longer necessary nor desirable. The Board, therefore, voted to revert to the point system used prior to the war which provides for Sectional Championship as well as National Championship. Points earned in all National Championship programs appear in the National Championship point standing only, etc.

Don - nice to see you here. Yes, spread the news by the good historians.

[Corktree]

Thanks to Buzz Rose, The Eastern Bull Rings: The History of the Eastern Big Car Championships 1945-1960, Glendale, Arizona: Rose Racing Publications, 2005, pp. 34-35, an updated listing for the 1946 season.

(Date / Venue) = events either cancelled or no information available.

31 March / Lakewood (invitational/non-championship event)
14 April / Williams Grove
28 April / Williams Grove
5 May / Trenton
(5 May / Dayton – rained out)
(12 May / Winchester – rained out)
19 May / Williams Grove
26 May / Reading
26 May / Winchester
30 May / Indianapolis
30 May / Trenton
30 May / Altamont
2 June / Lakewood
(2 June / Thompson)
9 June / Williams Grove
9 June / Thompson
16 June / Flemington
23 June / Greensboro
23 June / Thompson
30 June / Langhorne
30 June / Thompson
30 June / Powell
4 July / Lakewood
(4 July / Allentown)
7 July / Williams Grove
7 July / Lakewood
14 July / Reading
(14 July / Thompson)
20 July / Selinsgrove
20 July / DuBois
21 July / Langhorne
(21 July / Thompson)
22 July / Selinsgrove
27 July / Harrington
28 July / Williams Grove
3 August / Washington
(4 August / Powell)
6 August / Milwaukee
10 August / Bedford
10 August / Batavia
11 August / Langhorne
(17 August / Batavia)
18 August / Williams Grove
18 August / Skowhegan
(18 August / Uniontown)
24 August / Hamburg
25 August / Uniontown
(25 August / Dayton)
30 August / Essex Junction
31 August / Flemington
31 August / Altamont
31 August / Hamburg
1 September / Flemington
(1 September / Richmond)
2 September / Lakewood
2 September / Flemington
(2 September / Richmond)
6 September / Rutland
7 September / Port Royal
8 September / Williams Grove
15 September / Reading
15 September / Indianapolis
21 September / Allentown
22 September / Milwaukee
22 September / Great Barrington
(22 September / Trenton)
(22 September / Powell)
28 September / Bloomsburg
28 September / Shelby
28 September / Lakewood
29 September / Trenton
(4 October / Frederick)
5 October / Winston-Salem
5 October / Lakewood
5 October / Richmond
6 October / Goshen
6 October / Williams Grove
6 October / Greensboro
(6 October / Dayton)
12 October / Richmond)
12 October / Charlotte
(12 October / Spartanburg)
13 October / Greensboro
19 October / Raleigh
26 October / Charlotte
27 October / Williams Grove
(27 October / Greensboro)
9 November / Shelby
10 November / Richmond

[Corktree]

Thanks to Mark Dill for this bit of information from the 24 May 1905, Vol. 15 No. 21, issue of "The Horseless Age," page 594:

National Racing Circuit Established
The racing board of the A.A.A. has decided that there shall be a national circuit to determine the American championhip at large, and probably amateur and open championships at all distances under the standard weight classifications. The track motor car championship of 1905 will be decided by a point score. In order to become eligible for this championship series an entrant must obligate himself to compete at all circuit meets as long as his point score places him in first or second position in the championship table. There will be added to the cost of a regular sanction $25, and the entire amount obtained in this manner will be expended in the form of a special trophy, to go to the owner of the car scoring the greatest number of points during the circuit. The free for all championship race will be open to cars of all recognized types and weights, with the first prize not less than $150, in cash or plate, at the option of the winner. The distance of the race will not be less than 5 nor more than 10 miles. The winning car will be credited in the point scoring with four points, the seconds with two points and the third with one point.

The circuit dates as at present arranged as follows:
June 10, Morris Park, Now York city; June 16, 17, Hartford, Conn., Hartford Autombile Club; June 21, Baltimore, Md., Automobile Club of Maryland; June 24, Philadelphia, Automobile Club of Philadelphia; June 28, 29, Pittsburg, Pittsburg Automobile Club; July 3, 4, American Automobile Association Meet, Morris Park, N.Y.; July 22, Empire City Track, Yonkers, N.Y.; August 1, 2, Grand Rapids, Mich.; August 4, 5, Detroit, Mich., Motor Club of Detroit; August 11, 12, Cleveland, Cleveland Automobile Club; August 18, 19, Buffalo, Buffalo Automobile Club; September 4, Boston, Mass., Automobile Club; September 9, Providence, R.I., Automobile Club; September 23, Morris Park, New York city; September 29, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Spetember 30, Empire City Track, Yonkers, N.Y.

[Corktree]

A close second or third re-reading of an article, "National Racing Circuit Established," on page 594 in the 24 May 1905 issue of The Horseless Age, caused several alarm bells to go off in my head. This is an article provided by Mark Dill on his Web site, The First Super Speedway, found at http://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/index.html

Initially, I could not put my finger on what bothered me. However, it soon became evident that it was this sentence that was bothering me:

"In order to become eligible for this for this championship an entrant must obligate himself to compete at all circuit meets as long as his point score places him in the first or second position in the championship table."

At first, I thought it was the stipulation to compete in all the events if in the first ot second position in the championship. Then it slowly dawned on me that the word that kept registering was "entrant." This is bacause later in the same paragraph there appears this very revealing sentence:

"The winning car will be credited in the point scoring with four points, the second with two points and the third with one point."

It seems quite possible -- and logical -- that the "track motor car championship" was exactly as stated -- for the car and its entrant, not the driver. Considering this championship from that perspective place an entirely new set of factors in place as well as helping to explain any lack of mention of Barney Oldfield as the first national champion. The first AAA national champion was an entrant, it would seem, and not a driver.

Given the general loathing that the AAA Racing Board and Oldfield had for each other, that Oldfield would not have trumpeted such an achievement has long baffled a several of us kicking over the rocks and peering under them trying to make some sense of this championship. Given that he was, perhaps, never the champion for that season it now makes sense. In turn, this now seems to validate any claims for 1916 as being the first season for a championship for drivers.

This is being presented as a theory at the moment since I have not yet had the time to go back and pore through the other articles I have available. It just occurred to me, in other words.