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.
| 1972 USAC Championship Car season | |
|---|---|
| USAC National Championship Trail | |
| Season | |
| Races | 10 |
| Start date | March 18 |
| End date | November 4 |
| Awards | |
| National champion |  Joe Leonard |
| Indianapolis 500 winner | Mark Donohue |
After sponsoring the USAC Championship Trail in 1970–1971, Marlboro dropped out of the sport for 1972. After only two seasons as title sponsor, the company became angered when rival Viceroy was signed on to sponsor Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, at the time dubbed the "super team" of the series. Without any exclusivity clause, managers at Marlboro deemed the situation "impractical and untenable,"[1] and abruptly quit. Marlboro would not return to Indy car racing until 1986.
Schedule and results
editAll races running on Oval/Speedway.
- ^A Originally scheduled for July 2, postponed because of rain.
In the fall of 1971, a tentative schedule held the possibility of returning road courses to the championship schedule. Races at Colorado, Brainerd, Bridgehampton, Road Atlanta, Mosport, as well as a return to Rafaela, Argentina, and a new "Florida 500" at the proposed "Florida International Raceway", were all part of an early press release.[2] However, all road courses were ultimately left off, the Argentina race was discontinued, and the Florida race course was never built.
Final points standings
editNote: Peter Revson is not eligible for points.
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References
edit- ^ "Marlboro Bowing Out As Auto Racing Angel". The Indianapolis Star. December 17, 1971. p. 54. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "USAC Lines Up 17-Event Slate". The Indianapolis Star. September 15, 1971. p. 37. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Åberg, Andreas. "USAC National Championship 1972". Driver Database. Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- Harms, Phil; Ferner, Michael; Measures, Gerry; Brown, Allen. "Indy 500 and USAC racing (1971-1978)". OldRacingCars.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- "1972 USAC National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- Harms, Phil. "1972 Championship Driver Summary" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (p. 228–229)