USAC Stock Car

Auto racing sanctioning body vehicle

USAC Stock Car

Norm Nelson-owned USAC Stock Car driven by Roger McCluskey

Category| Stock car racing
Country| United States
Inaugural season| 1956
Folded| 1984
Drivers| Fred Lorenzen, Norm Nelson, Butch Hartman, Roger McCluskey, A. J. Foyt, Paul Goldsmith, Tom Krill

The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC).[1] The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently competed in races and won championships. Several NASCAR drivers raced in USAC Stock Cars at various points in their careers.

In the late 1950s, USAC Stock Cars rivaled NASCAR stock cars with races throughout the Midwestern and Northeastern United States.[2] NASCAR owners Holman-Moody found racing in USAC Stock Cars to be appealing because of USAC's ties to the Indianapolis 500.[2]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Tracks
* 3 Drivers
* 3.1 Champions
* 3.1.1 AAA
* 3.1.2 USAC
* 3.2 Rookies of the Year
* 4 References

## History[edit]

The stock car class began as a division of the AAA Contest Board. AAA decided to stop sanctioning all racing classes after Bill Vukovich's death at the 1955 Indianapolis 500 was followed closely by the 1955 Le Mans disaster.[1] USAC took over sanction in all of their classes starting in 1956.

USAC continued to sanction the Stock Car division until 1984 but the series had lost some luster as the events were frequently co-sanctioned with ARCA.[1] The final championship in 1984 was scheduled for three races but only two were run (Springfield and DuQuoin).[1] The third event, part of the 4 Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, was rained out and not rescheduled.[1]

After the division ended, many of the drivers moved to other Midwestern series such as the American Speed Association (ASA), ARCA, and ARTGO.[1]

## Tracks[edit]

USAC Stock Cars raced on dirt tracks, asphalt ovals and road courses. The Milwaukee Mile was regularly on the schedule.[3] The variety of tracks included the dirt at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack's oval, Indianapolis Raceway Park's asphalt oval, and the asphalt circle at Langhorne Speedway. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was even a stop on the schedule during some seasons.[4]

## Drivers[edit]

### Champions[edit]

#### AAA[edit]

* 1950 Jay Frank
* 1951 Rodger Ward (National)[5]
* 1952 Marshall Teague (National)[6]
* 1953
* 1954 Marshall Teague (National)[6]
* 1955 Frank Mundy[7]

#### USAC[edit]

* 1956 Johnny Mantz (National)[1]
* 1956 Sam Hanks (Pacific Coast)
* 1956 Troy Ruttman (Short Track)
* 1957 Jerry Unser
* 1958 Fred Lorenzen
* 1959 Fred Lorenzen
* 1960 Norm Nelson
* 1961 Paul Goldsmith
* 1962 Paul Goldsmith
* 1963 Don White
* 1964 Parnelli Jones
* 1965 Norm Nelson
* 1966 Norm Nelson
* 1967 Don White
* 1968 A. J. Foyt
* 1969 Roger McCluskey
* 1970 Roger McCluskey
* 1971 Butch Hartman
* 1972 Butch Hartman
* 1973 Butch Hartman
* 1974 Butch Hartman
* 1975 Ramo Stott
* 1976 Butch Hartman
* 1977 Paul Feldner
* 1978 A. J. Foyt
* 1979 A. J. Foyt
* 1980 Joe Ruttman
* 1981 Dean Roper
* 1982 Dean Roper
* 1983 Dean Roper
* 1984 David Goldsberry

### Rookies of the Year[edit]

Dave Watson's 1977 Rookie of the Year Buick

Several notable drivers won the USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year award. Indy car champions Al Unser (1967) and Joe Leonard (1964) were named the Rookie of the Year.[1] Leonard had moved to stock cars after winning several AMA motorcycle championships.[8] Future NASCAR drivers Dick Trickle (1968), Dave Watson (1977), Joe Ruttman (1978), Rusty Wallace (1979), and Ken Schrader (1980) plus USAC Stock Car champion Butch Hartman (1967) received the award.[1]

## References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USAC Stock cars.

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The USAC Stock Car Series". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
2. ^ a b Edsall, Larry; Teske, Mike (2003). Ford Racing Century: A Photographic History of Ford Motorsports. MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. p. 33\. ISBN 0-7603-1621-X. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
3. ^ "Track History". Milwaukee Mile. Retrieved March 18, 2010.[dead link]
4. ^ Allen, Phil. "VIR – April 1, 1962 Stock Car Race". Virginia International Raceway. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
5. ^ Kennedy, Tim. "Racing Scene". scrafan.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
6. ^ a b "Marshall Teague". Legends of NASCAR. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
7. ^ Romano, Chris (December 24, 2009). "For Auld Lang Syne, 2009". Speed Style magazine. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
8. ^ "Joe Leonard". American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2010.

* v
* t
* e

USAC

Chairmen and presidents|

* Jeff Stoops
* Kevin Miller

Current series|

| National circle track series|

* USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series
* USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship
* USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Championship

|

Road racing|

* Pirelli World Challenge
* Atlantic Championship
* F2000 Championship Series
* F1600 Championship Series

Off-Road / Rally racing|

* American Rally Association
* International Snowmobile Racing
* Nitro Rallycross
* Stadium Super Trucks
* Ultra4 Racing

Regional circle track series|

* USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Car Series
* USAC Light Up The World Beverages Western States Midgets
* USAC Eastern Midgets presented by ARDC
* USAC East Coast Sprint Cars
* USAC Sands Chevrolet Southwest Sprint Cars
* USAC West Coast Sprint Cars
* USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma
* USAC Speed2 DMA Midgets
* USAC Speed2 Eastern Midgets
* USAC Speed2 IMRA Midgets
* USAC Speed2 Midwest Thunder Midgets
* USAC Speed2 Western Dirt Midgets
* USAC Speed2 Western Pavement Midgets
* Action Track USA
* USAC Lightning Sprint National Championship
* USAC Micro Sprint National Championship
* USAC .25 Midgets

Former series|

* USAC Championship Car Series
* USAC Gold Crown Series
* USAC Stock Car
* USAC Road Racing Championship
* Americas Rallycross Championship
* TORC: The Off-Road Championship

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