1911 AAA Championship Car season

1911 AAA Championship Car season
AAA National Championship Trail
Season
Races 21
Start date February 22
End date November 30
Awards
National champion United StatesRalph Mulford (unofficial)
Indianapolis 500 winner United StatesRay Harroun
Chronology
Previous season Next season
1910 1912

The 1911 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 21 races, beginning in Oakland, California on February 22 and concluding in Savannah, Georgia on November 30. The de facto National Champion as poled by the American automobile journal Motor Age was Ralph Mulford and the winner of the inaugural Indianapolis 500 was Ray Harroun. Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1911 season. Champions of the day were decided by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based on merit and on track performance. The points table was created retroactively in 1927 – all championship results should be considered unofficial.

Schedule and results

Date Race Name
Distance (miles)
Track Location Type Notes Pole position Winning driver
February 22 Oakland Trophy (98) Portola Road Race Course Oakland, California 10.923-mile road course Open to cars under 300 cu in displacement. Charles Bigelow
Panama-Pacific Race 1 (153) Open to cars 301–600 cu in displacement Charles Merz
Panama-Pacific Race 2 (164) Free-for-all, Stopped after 15 of 19 laps for darkness Jack Fleming Bert Dingley
March 28 Jacksonville Beach Race (100) Pablo Beach Course Jacksonville Beach, Florida 5 mile beach oval 600 cu in or less and 2300 pounds minimum weight. Louis Disbrow
May 30 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 2.5 mile brick oval Qualifications based upon demonstrated 75 mph main stretch speed, 40-car field; Sam Dickson, riding mechanic for Arthur Greiner, fatally injured[1] Lewis Strang Ray Harroun
July 4 Bakersfield Race (145) Bakersfield Road Race Course Bakersfield, California 11.15 Mile Road Course Harvey Herrick
August 25 Illinois Trophy Race* (203) Elgin Road Race Course Elgin, Illinois 8.47 Mile Road Course Entrants limited to cars 301 to 450 in³ Don Herr
Kane County Trophy Race* (169) Entrants limited to cars 231–300 in³; Ralph Ireland fatally injured in practice[2] Hughie Hughes
August 26 Elgin National Trophy Race (305) <600 ci, Grandstand collapse on lap 2, restarted 35 minutes later; Dave Buck and his riding mechanic Sam Jacobs fatally injured[3] Len Zengel
September 9 Hamilton County Trophy Race* (150) Cincinnati Road Race Course Cincinnati, Ohio 7.9 Mile Road Course Stock chassis, 300 cu in and under. John Jenkins
Cincinnati Trophy Race* (200) Free-for-all class, 600 ci and under Eddie Hearne
October 9 Philadelphia Race 1* (200) Fairmount Park Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 8.1 Mile Road Course limited to cars with 231–300 ci Hughie Hughes
Philadelphia Race 2* (200) limited to cars with 301–450 ci Louis Disbrow
Philadelphia Race 3* (200) limited to cars with 451–600 ci Ralph Mulford
Philadelphia Race 4* (200) limited to cars with 600–750 ci Erwin Bergdoll
October 14 Chanslor & Lyon Trophy Race (100) Santa Monica Road Race Course Santa Monica, California 8.417 Mile Road Course Stock chassis, 230 cu in. Charles Soules Louis Nikrent
Jepsen Trophy Race (150) 231–300 ci, Run Concurrently with 301–450 ci Bruce Keene
Leon Shettler Cup Race (150) 301–450 ci, Run Concurrently with 231–300 ci Bert Dingley Charles Merz
Dick Ferris Trophy Race (200) Free-For-All Howdy Wilcox Harvey Herrick
November 27 Vanderbilt Cup Race (290) Savannah-Effingham Raceway Savannah, Georgia 17.1-mile road course Jay McNay and his riding mechanic Henry Maxwell fatally injured in practice[4][5] Harry Grant Ralph Mulford
November 30 American Grand Prize (410) ACA sanction David Bruce-Brown

* Events on same date were run simultaneously.

Leading National Championship standings

 #  Driver Sponsor Points
1 Ralph Mulford Lozier 1520
2 Charles Merz National 1080
3 David Bruce-Brown Fiat 1070
4 Ray Harroun Marmon 1000
5 Hughie Hughes Mercer 870

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. Points were awarded as follows:

Miles/ Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
40 80 45 25 15 10 X X X X x
50 100 55 30 20 10 5 X X X X
60 120 65 35 25 15 X X X X X
80 160 80 45 30 20 X X X X X
100 200 110 60 35 20 15 10 5 X X
150 300 160 90 50 30 20 15 10 X X
200 400 210 110 60 40 25 15 10 X X
250 500 260 140 80 50 35 25 15 10 5
300 600 420 220 120 70 45 35 25 15 10
400 800 420 220 120 70 45 35 25 15 10
500 1000 520 270 140 90 60 50 40 35 30

References

  1. "One man killed at Indianapolis". The Norwalk Hour. May 31, 1911. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015.
  2. "Elgin auto racer somersaults to death on track". The Chicago Daily Tribune. August 22, 1911. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015.
  3. "Two are killed in Elgin race; Zengel winner". The Chicago Sunday Tribune. August 27, 1911. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015.
  4. "Crash into tree kills motorist". The Chicago Daily Tribune. November 21, 1911. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015.
  5. "Maxwell dies of injuries". The Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia). December 4, 1911.

General references

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