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| Sport | Auto racing |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | United States |
| Abbreviation | USAC |
| Founded | 1955[1] |
| Headquarters | Speedway, Indiana, U.S. |
| President | Kevin Miller |
| Chairman | Jeff Stoops |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500. USAC serves as the sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks, and Pirelli World Challenge. Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones is USAC's Competition Director.[2]
History
When the American Automobile Association (AAA) withdrew from auto racing after the 1955 season, citing the Le Mans disaster and the death of Bill Vukovich at Indianapolis as contributing factors,[3] both the SCCA and NASCAR were mentioned as its potential successor.[3][4] Ultimately, USAC was formed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman.[5] It became the arbiter of rules, car design, and other matters for what it termed championship auto racing, the highest level of USAC racing. For a while there was a separate series of specifications for championship cars designed to be run on dirt, rather than paved, tracks. Today, USAC sanction open-wheel racing series such as the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Car Series, National Midget Series, and Quarter Midgets.
Triple crown
The "triple crown" is earned in USAC racing when a driver claims all three national championships (silver crown, sprint car, and midget car). Only two drivers, Tony Stewart (1995) and J. J. Yeley (2003), have achieved the triple crown in a single season. Five other drivers, Pancho Carter (1972–78), Dave Darland (1997–2001), Jerry Coons Jr. (2006–08), Tracy Hines (2000, 2002, 2015), and Chris Windom (2016, 2017, 2020) have claimed each of the three championships at least once in their careers. In 2012 Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian became the only car owners to win the triple crown by winning all three championships in the same year.[citation needed]
National championship
USAC had awarded a national championship until A. J. Foyt won his seventh title in 1979.[6] It has announced that it will begin awarding a national championship starting in 2010.[6] A driver's best 25 finishes are counted toward the championship and the 2010 winner received $40,000.[6] Points are accumulated in the three national series: sprints, midgets, and silver crown.[6] Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana claimed the inaugural championship, topping runner-up Levi Jones by 14 points.
As of 2013 it has been known as the Mike Curb "Super License" National Championship Award.
USAC national drivers champions
- 2010 – Bryan Clauson; Noblesville, Indiana
- 2011 – Bryan Clauson; Noblesville, Indiana
- 2012 – Bryan Clauson; Noblesville, Indiana
- 2013 - Tracy Hines; New Castle, Indiana
- 2014 - Tracy Hines; New Castle, Indiana
- 2015 - Dave Darland; Kokomo, Indiana
- 2016 - Brady Bacon; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
- 2017 - Justin Grant; Ione, California
- 2018 - Tyler Courtney; Indianapolis, Indiana
- 2019 - Tyler Courtney; Indianapolis, Indiana
- 2020 - Chris Windom; Canton, Illinois
- 2021 - Justin Grant; Ione, California
- 2022 - Justin Grant; Ione, California
1978 plane crash
On April 23, 1978, returning from a race at the Trenton Speedway in New Jersey, eight USAC officials, plus the pilot, were killed when their 10-seat Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed during a thunderstorm 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis.[7][8]
Killed were:[9]
- Ray Marquette, USAC's vice-president of public affairs and a former sportswriter for The Indianapolis Star
- Frank Delroy, chairman of USAC technical committee
- Shim Malone, starter for USAC races and head of its midget racer division
- Judy Phillips, graphic artist and publication director of USAC's newsletter
- Stan Worley, chief registrar
- Ross Teeguarden, assistant technical chairman
- Don Peabody, head of the sprint division
- Dr. Bruce White, assistant staff doctor
- Don Mullendore, owner and pilot of the plane.
The incident closely followed the death of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman.[8]
End of championship car sanctioning
The plane crash came at a time when Indy car owners and drivers were demanding changes from USAC. Aside from the Indianapolis 500, USAC events were not well attended, and the owners felt that USAC poorly negotiated television rights. The owners also wanted increases in payouts, especially at Indy.[10] Though some think the plane crash was used as an opportunistic way to force change in the sport, it was merely an unfortunate coincidence. The seed of dissent had been growing for several years before the accident,[11] and claims the crash was an immediate cause for the 1979 CART/USAC "split" are considered for the most part unfounded.
Also unpopular were the attempts of USAC to keep the aging Offenhauser engine competitive with the newer, and much more expensive, Cosworth DFX engine using boost-limiting "pop off valves" and limiting the amount of fuel that could be used.[12]
Finally, most car owners banded together to form Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1978, with the first race to be run in 1979. USAC tried unsuccessfully to ban all CART owners from the 1979 Indianapolis 500, finally losing in court before the race began. Both the USAC and CART ran multi-race schedules in 1979.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway president John Cooper was instrumental in forming a joint body of CART and USAC with the creation of the Championship Racing League in March 1980. However, in mid-1980, Cooper forced USAC to renounce their agreement with the CRL if they wanted to keep officiating the Indy 500.[13] After USAC's attempt at a 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway – which was boycotted by the CART teams, forcing USAC to fill the field with silver crown cars – USAC and CART eventually settled into a relatively peaceful co-existence, with USAC continuing to sanction the Indianapolis 500 and no other Championship car races, and CART including the race in its schedule between other CART-sanctioned races. USAC continued to sanction the Indy 500 until 1997, when the Indy Racing League (itself product of the second American open-wheel split in 1996) terminated the sanctioning agreement following two consecutive scoring errors that year; subsequent Indy 500s were sanctioned by the IRL itself, which was renamed the IndyCar Series in 2011.
Road Racing Expansion
As of 2022, the United States Auto Club will sanction the three lower rungs of the Road to Indy, the USF Juniors, the USF2000, and Indy Pro 2000, Radical Sportscars North American Championships, Skip Barber Racing School, as well as continued sanctioning of the GT World Challenge America and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America under the newly formed Road Racing Division under the direction of Randy Hembrey.
Active series
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USAC Silver Crown Series
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| Category | Sprint car racing |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| Inaugural season | 1971 |
| Drivers' champion | Logan Seavey |
| Teams' champion | Robbie Rice |
| Official website | USAC Silver Crown Series |
 Current season | |
Beginning in 1971, all dirt races were split from the National Championship. From 1971 to 1980, the series was named "National Dirt Car Championship", then renamed "Silver Crown Series" in 1981.
- Champions
| Season | Car No. | Driver | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Dirt Car Championship | ||||
| 1971 | 4 | George Snider
|
Wilke | |
| 1972 | 3 | A. J. Foyt
|
Foyt | |
| 1973 | 2 | Al Unser
|
Miletich/Jones | |
| 1974 | 2 | Mario Andretti
|
Miletich/Jones | |
| 1975 | 55 | Jimmy Caruthers
|
Middleton | |
| 1976 | 29 | Billy Cassella
|
Seymour | |
| 1977 | 4 | Larry Rice
|
LeFevre | |
| 1978 | 21 | Pancho Carter
|
Capels | |
| 1979 | 30 | Bobby Olivero
|
Kurtz | |
| 1980 | 12 | Gary Bettenhausen
|
Delrose/Holt | |
| Silver Crown Series | ||||
| 1981 | 55 | Larry Rice
|
Knepper | |
| 1982 | 39 | Ken Schrader
|
Fortune | |
| 1983 | 9 | Gary Bettenhausen
|
Delrose/Holt | |
| 1984 | 58 | Dave Blaney
|
DePalma | |
| 1985 | 39 | Rick Hood
|
Fortune | |
| 1986 | 63 | Jack Hewitt
|
Hampshire | |
| 1987 | 63 | Jack Hewitt
|
Hampshire | |
| 1988 | 10 | Steve Butler
|
Jarrett | |
| 1989 | 30 | Chuck Gurney
|
Kurtz | |
| 1990 | 54 | Jimmy Sills
|
Consani | |
| 1991 | 35 | Jeff Gordon
|
Ede | |
| 1992 | 10 | Steve Butler
|
Jarrett | |
| 1993 | 69 | Mike Bliss
|
McClure | |
| 1994 | 75 | Jimmy Sills
|
Stanton | |
| 1995 | 25 | Tony Stewart
|
Boles | |
| 1996 | 75 | Jimmy Sills
|
Stanton | |
| 1997 | 56 | Dave Darland
|
Foxco | |
| 1998 | 9 | Jason Leffler
|
Goetz | |
| 1999 | 14 | Ryan Newman
|
Ede | |
| 2000 | 37 | Tracy Hines
|
Riggs | |
| 2001 | 10 | Paul White
|
Cook | |
| 2002 | 9 | J. J. Yeley
|
Stewart/East | |
| 2003 | 9 | J. J. Yeley
|
Stewart/East | |
| 2004 | 9 | Dave Steele
|
Stewart/East | |
| 2005 | 9 | Dave Steele
|
Stewart/East | |
| 2006 | 29 | Bud Kaeding
|
BK/Leffler | |
| 2007 | 29 | Bud Kaeding
|
BK | |
| 2008 | 27 | Jerry Coons Jr
|
RW | |
| 2009 | 29 | Bud Kaeding
|
BK | |
| 2010 | 10 | Levi Jones
|
Stewart/Curb-Agajanian | |
| 2011 | 10 | Levi Jones
|
Stewart/Curb-Agajanian | |
| 2012 | 22 | Bobby East
|
Stewart/Curb-Agajanian | |
| 2013 | 10 | Bobby East
|
Stewart/Curb-Agajanian | |
| 2014 | 63 | Kody Swanson[14]
|
DePalma Motorsports | |
| 2015 | 63 | Kody Swanson
|
DePalma Motorsports | |
| 2016 | 98 | Chris Windom[15]
|
Fred Gormly/RPM | |
| 2017 | 63 | Kody Swanson
|
DePalma Motorsports | |
| 2018 | 63 | Kody Swanson
|
DePalma Motorsports | |
| 2019 | 20 | Kody Swanson
|
Nolen Racing | |
| 2020 | 91 | Justin Grant[16]
|
Hemelgarn Racing | |
| 2021 | 77, 21, 9 | Kody Swanson[17]
|
Doran Racing, Mark Swanson Racing, Dyson Racing | |
| 2022 | 1 | Kody Swanson[18]
|
Doran-Dyson Racing | |
| 2023 | 22 | Logan Seavey[19]
|
Rice Motorsports/Abacus Racing | |
- Race winners
* As of the end of the 2022 season