The 1946 AAA Championship Car season was the first season of

American Championship car racing American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

following

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. After four years without racing in the United States, the

AAA Contest Board AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

was initially concerned about having enough races, enough entrants, and suitable equipment, for a 1946 season. Even the

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was in doubt, as the

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was neglected during the war. Track owner

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Tony Hulman Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. (February 11, 1901 – October 27, 1977) was an American businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana, who bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and brought racing back to the famous race course after a four-year hiatu ...

in November 1945, by which point it had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. As the season progressed, it proved to be a success, and marked a successful return of the National Championship. Hulman's swift and herculean effort to renovate Indianapolis allowed for the

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to be run as scheduled on May 30, and it was won by George Robson. George Robson and

George Barringer George Barringer (May 2, 1906 – September 2, 1946) was an American racecar driver, active during the 1930s and 1940s. Barringer made 17 Championship Car starts with a best finish of second at Springfield in August 1935 and Milwaukee in August ...

were killed at Atlanta in the

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. Al Putnam died at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway in qualifying.

Background

Previously, only races of over 100 miles (160 km) on tracks one mile (1.6 km) or longer were able to hold National Championship events. Due to the concerns about the car counts and participation, the AAA Contest Board included a substantial number of "Big Car" races (today known as

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) as part of the championship. The season officially consisted of 77 races (6 Champ Car races and 71 Big Car races), beginning at Mechanicsburg on April 14 and concluding at

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on November 10. Two non-points, exhibition races were also part of the calendar season. After car counts were better than expected, some confusion arose over whether the 71 Big Car events still counted towards the National Championship. Some news publications of the time erroneously reported the points totals from only the six Champ Car events, implying - or simply assuming - that the Big Car races had been dropped. Nevertheless, despite all of the second-guessing and speculation, a full 77-race season was completed. The Contest Board met after the season, and it was not until then which they declared the Big Car races would be dropped from the National Championship - effective for 1947. The ruling cemented the notion that the 71 Big Car races were indeed recognized as part of the official 1946 season. Furthermore, the prize money and 1947 car number assignments are consistent with the final points standings reflecting the full 77-race schedule. Despite later publications suggesting the season was only six races (including official statistical publications released by the

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decades later), historians firmly contend that the 1946 season should be recognized as the full 77-race schedule. The

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

National Champion was

Ted Horn Ted Horn (February 27, 1909 – October 10, 1948), born Eylard Theodore Von Horn, was an American racecar driver. He won the AAA National Championship in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and collected 24 wins, 12 second-place finishes and 13 third-place ...

, and the

winner was George Robson. Incidentally, Horn would have been declared the champion with or without the 71 "Big Car" races included, based on his points totals.

Schedule and results

Scheduled for 100 miles, stopped early due to fatal accident involving George Robson and

. Ted Horn was leading at the time of the accident, but after a protest, was found to have been involved in the accident and had his win stripped. Note: Bill Holland started on the pole position in the Lakewood Race on July 4 and Ted Horn started on the pole position in the DuBois Race on July 20.

Leading National Championship standings

† Robson was killed in the race at Lakewood Speedway on September 2

Points system

Alternate schedule and results

The official IndyCar Series Historical Record Book (2011) listed only the six "Champ Car" in the schedule. (page 72) : Scheduled for 100 miles, stopped early due to fatal accident involving George Robson and

was leading at the time of the accident, but after a protest, was found to have been involved in the accident and had his win stripped. : No pole is awarded for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, in this schedule on the pole is the driver who started first. No lap led was awarded for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, however, a lap was awarded to the drivers that completed the climb.

Final points standings

Note: The points became the car, when not only one driver led the car, the relieved driver became small part of the points. Points for driver method: (the points for the finish place) / (number the lap when completed the car) * (number the lap when completed the driver)

References

* * * * http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf (p. 72, 315-316)