1946 AAA Championship Car season

1946 AAA Championship Car season
1946 AAA Championship Car season
AAA National Championship Trail
Season
Races	77
Start date	April 14
End date	November 10
Awards
National champion	Ted Horn
Indianapolis 500 winner	George Robson
	← 1941 1947 →

The 1946 AAA Championship Car season was the first season of American Championship car racing following World War II. After four years without automobile racing in the United States, the AAA Contest Board was initially concerned about having enough races, enough entrants, and suitable equipment, to contest season on such short notice for 1946. Even the Indianapolis 500 was in doubt, as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had been fallen into a terrible state of neglect during the war years.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Eddie Rickenbacker sold the track to Tony Hulman in November 1945, by which time it had fallen into a dilapidated state of disrepair.^[1] As the season progressed, it proved to be a success, and marked a triumphant return of the National Championship. Hulman's swift and herculean efforts to renovate Indianapolis in just six months allowed for the 1946 Indianapolis 500 to be run as scheduled on May 30, and it was won by George Robson.

George Robson and George Barringer were killed at Atlanta during the race. Al Putnam died at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway during qualifying.

Background

Previously, only races of over 100 miles (160 km) in length on tracks that were one mile (1.6 km) or longer were permitted to host 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 Sprint Cars) as part of the championship. The season officially consisted of 77 races (6 Championship Car races and 71 Big Car races), beginning at Mechanicsburg on April 14 and concluding at Richmond on November 10.^[2] Two non-points, exhibition races were also part of the calendar season.

After car counts and participation was better than expected, some confusion arose over as to 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 incorrectly assuming - that the Big Car races had been, or would be, dropped.^[3] 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.^[2]^[4] 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.^[2]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Despite later publications suggesting the season was only six races (including official statistical publications released by the league decades later), historians firmly contend that the 1946 season should be recognized as the full 77-race schedule.

The AAA National Champion was Ted Horn, and the Indianapolis 500 winner was George Robson. Incidentally, based on his points totals, Horn would have been declared the champion with or without the 71 "Big Car" races included. This oddity has help contribute to the illusion of a six-race season.

Schedule and results

Non-championship race

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Length	Track	Location	Type	Class	Winning Driver
NC	March 31	Mike Benton Sweepstakes	20 mi (32 km)	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Jimmy Wilburn
1	April 14	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Walt Ader
2	April 28	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
3	May 5	Eastern Inaugural Trophy Sweepstakes	20 mi (32 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Joie Chitwood
4	May 19	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Joie Chitwood
5	May 26	Inaugural Sam Nunis Trophy Sweepstakes	12.5 mi (20.1 km)	Reading Fairgrounds Speedway	Reading, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Walt Ader
6	May 26	Winchester Race	15 mi (24 km)	Winchester Speedway	Winchester, Indiana	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bus Wilbert
7	May 30	Altamont Race	15 mi (24 km)	Altamont Speedway	Altamont, New York	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bumpy Bumpus
8	May 30	International 500 Mile Sweepstakes	500 mi (800 km)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Paved Oval	Champ Car	George Robson
9	May 30	Trenton Race	20 mi (32 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Johnny Shackleford
10	June 2	Lakewood Race	25 mi (40 km)	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
11	June 9	Thompson Race	15 mi (24 km)	Thompson International Speedway	Thompson, Connecticut	Paved Oval	Big Car	Oscar Ridlon
12	June 9	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Joie Chitwood
13	June 9	Winchester Race	15 mi (24 km)	Winchester Speedway	Winchester, Indiana	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bus Wilbert
14	June 16	Flemington Race	12.5 mi (20.1 km)	Flemington Speedway	Flemington, New Jersey	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
15	June 23	Dayton Race	15 mi (24 km)	Dayton Speedway	Dayton, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Elbert Booker
16	June 23	Greensboro Race	12.5 mi (20.1 km)	Greensboro Agricultural Fairgrounds	Greensboro, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
17	June 23	Thompson Race	15 mi (24 km)	Thompson International Speedway	Thompson, Connecticut	Paved Oval	Big Car	Oscar Ridlon
18	June 29	Dayton Race	10 mi (16 km)	Dayton Speedway	Dayton, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bus Wilbert
19	June 30	Langhorne 100	100 mi (160 km)	Langhorne Speedway	Langhorne, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Champ Car	Rex Mays
20	June 30	Powell Race	7.5 mi (12.1 km)	Powell Motor Speedway	Powell, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Joie Chitwood
21	June 30	Thompson Race	12.5 mi (20.1 km)	Thompson International Speedway	Thompson, Connecticut	Paved Oval	Big Car	Joe Verebly
22	July 4	Lakewood Race	20 mi (32 km)	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
23	July 7	Lakewood Race	50 mi (80 km)	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
24	July 7	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Johnny Shackleford
25	July 14	Inaugural Nunis Sweepstakes	17.5 mi (28.2 km)	Reading Fairgrounds Speedway	Reading, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Joie Chitwood
26	July 20	DuBois Race	10 mi (16 km)	DuBois Fairgrounds	DuBois, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
27	July 20	Selinsgrove Race	10 mi (16 km)	Selinsgrove Speedway	Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
28	July 21	Dayton Race	10 mi (16 km)	Dayton Speedway	Dayton, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	George Connor
29	July 21	Langhorne Race	20 mi (32 km)	Langhorne Speedway	Langhorne, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	George Robson
30	July 21	Selinsgrove Race	10 mi (16 km)	Selinsgrove Speedway	Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
31	July 27	Harrington Race	10 mi (16 km)	Delaware State Fairgrounds	Harrington, Delaware	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
32	July 28	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
33	August 3	Washington Race	10 mi (16 km)	Arden Downs	Washington, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
34	August 4	Powell Race	7.5 mi (12.1 km)	Powell Motor Speedway	Powell, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	George Robson
35	August 10	Batavia Race	10 mi (16 km)	Batavia Fairgrounds	Batavia, New York	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
36	August 11	Bedford Race	10 mi (16 km)	Bedford Speedway	Bedford, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
37	August 11	Langhorne Race	20 mi (32 km)	Langhorne Speedway	Langhorne, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	George Robson
38	August 11	Winchester Race	10 mi (16 km)	Winchester Speedway	Winchester, Indiana	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Elbert Booker
39	August 18	Skowhegan Race	10 mi (16 km)	Skowhegan Fairgrounds	Skowhegan, Maine	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
40	August 18	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	George Robson
41	August 24	Hamburg Race	10 mi (16 km)	Hamburg Fairgrounds	Hamburg, New York	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
42	August 25	Dayton Race	10 mi (16 km)	Dayton Speedway	Dayton, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	George Robson
43	August 25	Uniontown Race	10 mi (16 km)	Uniontown Speedway	Uniontown, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
44	August 30	Essex Junction Race	10 mi (16 km)	Essex Junction Fairgrounds	Essex Junction, Vermont	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
45	August 31	Altamont Race	10 mi (16 km)	Altamont Speedway	Altamont, New York	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
46	August 31	Hamburg Race	10 mi (16 km)	Hamburg Fairgrounds	Hamburg, New York	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
47	September 1	Flemington Race	10 mi (16 km)	Flemington Speedway	Flemington, New Jersey	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
48	September 1	Winchester Race	10 mi (16 km)	Winchester Speedway	Winchester, Indiana	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Charles Van Acker
49	September 2	Flemington Race	10 mi (16 km)	Flemington Speedway	Flemington, New Jersey	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
50	September 2	Atlanta 100	98 mi (158 km)^A	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt Oval	Champ Car	George Connor
NC	September 2	Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb	12.42 mi (19.99 km)	Pikes Peak Highway	Pikes Peak, Colorado	Hill Climb	Champ Car	Louis Unser
51	September 6	Rutland Race	10 mi (16 km)	Vermont State Fairgrounds	Rutland, Vermont	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Lee Wallard
52	September 7	Port Royal Race	8 mi (13 km)	Port Royal Speedway	Port Royal, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
53	September 8	Williams Grove Race	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
54	September 15	Indianapolis 100	100 mi (160 km)	Indiana State Fairgrounds	Indianapolis, Indiana	Dirt Oval	Champ Car	Rex Mays
55	September 15	Reading Race	12.5 mi (20.1 km)	Reading Fairgrounds Speedway	Reading, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
56	September 21	Allentown Fair Race	10 mi (16 km)	Allentown Fairgrounds	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
57	September 22	Great Barrington Race	4 mi (6.4 km)	Great Barrington Race Track	Great Barrington, Massachusetts	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Joie Chitwood
58	September 22	Milwaukee 100	100 mi (160 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Dirt Oval	Champ Car	Rex Mays
59	September 22	Powell Race	5 mi (8.0 km)	Powell Motor Speedway	Powell, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
60	September 28	Bloomsburg Race	10 mi (16 km)	Bloomsburg Fairgrounds	Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
61	September 28	Lakewood Race	20 mi (32 km)	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
62	September 28	Shelby Race	10 mi (16 km)	Shelby Motor Speedway	Shelby, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Walt Ader
63	September 29	Trenton Race	20 mi (32 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Joie Chitwood
64	October 5	Lakewood Race	20 mi (32 km)	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
65	October 5	Winston-Salem Race	10 mi (16 km)	Winston-Salem Fairgrounds	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Tommy Hinnershitz
66	October 6	Dayton Race	10 mi (16 km)	Dayton Speedway	Dayton, Ohio	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Hal Robson
67	October 6	George Robson Memorial	100 mi (160 km)	Good Time Park	Goshen, New York	Dirt Oval	Champ Car	Tony Bettenhausen
68	October 6	Greensboro Race	10 mi (16 km)	Greensboro Agricultural Fairgrounds	Greensboro, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
69	October 6	George Robson Memorial	15 mi (24 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Lucky Lux
70	October 12	Charlotte Race	10 mi (16 km)	Charlotte Fairgrounds	Charlotte, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
71	October 12	Atlantic Rural Exposition	10 mi (16 km)	Strawberry Hill Raceway	Richmond, Virginia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
72	October 12	Greensboro Race	7.5 mi (12.1 km)	Greensboro Agricultural Fairgrounds	Greensboro, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
73	October 19	Raleigh Race	10 mi (16 km)	State Fair Speedway	Raleigh, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Walt Ader
74	October 26	Charlotte Race	10 mi (16 km)	Charlotte Fairgrounds	Charlotte, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Hank Rogers
75	October 26	National Championship Trophy Race	25 mi (40 km)	Williams Grove Speedway	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Bill Holland
76	November 9	Shelby Race	15 mi (24 km)	Shelby Motor Speedway	Shelby, North Carolina	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Ted Horn
77	November 10	Richmond Race	12.5 mi (20.1 km)	Strawberry Hill Raceway	Richmond, Virginia	Dirt Oval	Big Car	Tommy Hinnershitz

^A Scheduled for 100 miles, stopped early due to fatal accident involving George Robson and George Barringer. 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

#	Driver	Team	Points
1	Ted Horn	Ted Horn Engineering, Boyle, Peters	2448
2	George Robson†	Thorne Engineering, Christie, Weirick	1544
3	Emil Andres	Elgin Piston Pin, Riverside Tire, Nyquist	1348
4	Bill Holland	Malamud	1280
5	Tommy Hinnershitz	Ted Horn Engineering	896.8

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

Points system

Position/ Miles	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
4	8	6	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	10	8	6	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
7.5	15	12	9	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	16	13	10	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	20	16	12	8	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
12.5	25	20	15	10	5	2.5	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	30	24	18	12	6	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
17.5	35	28	21	14	9	5.5	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	40	32	24	16	12	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	50	40	30	25	20	10	5	—	—	—	—	—
50	100	80	70	60	50	40	30	20	10	5	—	—
100	200	160	140	120	100	80	60	50	40	30	20	10
500	1000	800	700	600	500	400	300	250	200	150	100	50

Alternate schedule and results

The official IndyCar Series Historical Record Book (2011) listed only the six "Champ Car" in the schedule. (page 72)

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Length	Track	Location	Type	Pole Position	Winning Driver
1	May 30	International 500 Mile Sweepstakes	500 mi (800 km)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Paved	Cliff Bergere	George Robson
2	June 30	Langhorne 100	100 mi (160 km)	Langhorne Speedway	Langhorne, Pennsylvania	Dirt	Ted Horn	Rex Mays
3	September 2	Atlanta 100	98 mi (158 km)^A	Lakewood Speedway	Atlanta, Georgia	Dirt	Rex Mays	George Connor
NC	September 2	Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb	12.42 mi (19.99 km)	Pikes Peak Highway	Pikes Peak, Colorado	Hill	Louis Unser^B	Louis Unser
4	September 15	Indianapolis 100	100 mi (160 km)	Indiana State Fairgrounds	Indianapolis, Indiana	Dirt	Rex Mays	Rex Mays
5	September 22	Milwaukee 100	100 mi (160 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Dirt	Rex Mays	Rex Mays
6	October 6	George Robson Memorial	100 mi (160 km)	Good Time Park	Goshen, New York	Dirt	Emil Andres	Tony Bettenhausen

Paved/Dirt Oval

Road Course/Hill Climb

Non-championship race

^A Scheduled for 100 miles, stopped early due to fatal accident involving George Robson and George Barringer. 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.

^B 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

Pos	Driver	INDY	LAN	ATL	ISF	MIL	GOS	Pts
1	Ted Horn	3	3	6	4	2	2	1360
2	Emil Andres	4	4	3	3	3	4	1260
3	George Robson	1	2	7				1220
4	Jimmy Jackson RY	2						800
5	Rex Mays	30	1	11	1	1	DNQ	620
6	Louis Durant	6	DNS					400
7	Joie Chitwood	5	DNP					372
8	George Connor	24	9	1	7	10	9	370
9	Tony Bettenhausen	20	DNP		5	9	1	340
10	Duke Dinsmore R	17		10	11	4	3	310
11	Luigi Villoresi R	7						300
12	Billy Devore	10	5	9				290
13	Frank Wearne	8						250
14	Mauri Rose	23	12		2	6	DNP	240
15	Steve Truchan R	DNQ	DNP	2	9			200
16	Charlie Rogers R				DNS	5	5	200
17	Bill Sheffler R	9	DNP					200
18	Bud Bardowski R	DNS		4	13	12	10	160
19	Joe Langley R	DNQ		5	14			100
20	Mel Hansen	11	DNP					100
21	Buddy Rusch R	DNQ	6					80
22	Floyd Davis				6			80
23	Eddie Casterline						6	80
24	Spider Webb				10	8	DNP	80
25	Elbert Booker R		DNP		12	7	DNP	70
26	George Metzler R					11	8	70
27	Walt Brown		7					60
28	Fred Carpenter R						7	60
29	Al Miller	DNQ			8	14	DNP	50
30	Hal Robson	25	8					50
31	George Barringer	29	DNP	8				50
32	Russ Snowberger	12	DNP		DNS		DNP	39
33	Danny Goss R		10					30
-	Lee Wallard		11					0
-	Harry McQuinn	13						0
-	Walt Ader R					13		0
-	Ralph Hepburn	14						0
-	Al Putnam	15			DNQ			0
-	Cliff Bergere	16						0
-	Chet Miller	18						0
-	Jimmy Wilburn R	19						0
-	Danny Kladis R	21						0
-	Duke Nalon	22	DNP					0
-	Louis Tomei	26						0
-	Henry Banks	27	DNS					0
-	Shorty Cantlon	28						0
-	Sam Hanks	31						0
-	Hal Cole R	32						0
-	Paul Russo	33						0
-	Eddie Zalucki R	DNS						0
-	Zora Arkus-Duntov	DNQ					DNQ	0
-	Charles Van Acker	DNQ	DNP					0
-	Robert Arbuthnot	DNQ						0
-	Harold Bailey	DNQ						0
-	Gerald Brisko	DNQ						0
-	Jim Brubaker	DNQ						0
-	Arvol Brunmeier	DNQ						0
-	Rudolf Caracciola	DNQ						0
-	Bruce Denslow	DNQ						0
-	Louis Gérard	DNQ						0
-	Tommy Hinnershitz	DNQ						0
-	Wally Mitchell	DNQ						0
-	Frank McGurk	DNQ						0
-	Ray Richards	DNQ						0
-	Bud Rose	DNQ						0
-	Harry Schell	DNQ						0
-	Joel Thorne	DNQ						0
-	Achille Varzi	DNQ						0
-	Bus Wilbert	DNQ						0
-	Doc Williams	DNQ						0
-	Freddie Winnai	DNQ						0
-	Charles Crawford	DNP						0
-	Dioscoride Lanza	DNP						0
-	Joe Silvia	DNP						0
-	Raphaël Bethenod	DNP						0
Pos	Driver	INDY	LAN	ATL	ISF	MIL	GOS	Pts

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th-10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps
RY Rookie of the Year
R Rookie

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

Åberg, Andreas. "AAA National Championship 1946". Driver Database. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
"1946 AAA National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
Harms, Phil. "1946 Championship Driver Summary" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (p. 72, 315–316)

Notes

^ Printz, John G.; Ken M. McMaken. The 1946 AAA National Championship.
^ ^a ^b ^c Capps, H. Donald (October 2009). "The Curious Case of the 1946 Season: An Inconvenient Championship" (PDF). Rear View Mirror. 8W / FORIX. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
^ "14 Auto Racing Stars Meet at Goshen Today". The New York Times. October 6, 1946.
^ "Official Bulletin AAA Contest Board". December 18, 1946. p. 3.
^ "Distribution of National Prize Fund for 1946 to the Drivers and Car Owners Holding Ten Highest Places in the National Point Standing". AAA Records Resume.
^ "By Their Numbers You Shall Know Them". Speed Age. 1 (1): 30. May 1947.
^ National Speed Sport News: 112 & 163. January 1947.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)

v t e American Championship car racing (Indy car) seasons
AAA	1905 1906–1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
USAC	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
CART	1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
CCWS	2004 2005 2006 2007 ~~2008~~
IRL	1996 1996–97 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
IndyCar	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Years marked in italics are not official championship years or upcoming seasons.

v t e AAA Championship Cars (1905–1955)
Seasons	1905 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
Indianapolis 500s	1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 ~~1942~~ 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
National Champions	Billy Arnold Henry Banks Tony Bettenhausen Jimmy Bryan Bob Carey Gaston Chevrolet Bill Cummings Pete DePaolo (twice) Sam Hanks Harry Hartz Eddie Hearne Ted Horn (three times) Rex Mays (twice) Louis Meyer (three times) Tommy Milton Jimmy Murphy (twice) Barney Oldfield Johnnie Parsons Kelly Petillo Dario Resta Floyd Roberts Mauri Rose Louis Schneider Wilbur Shaw (twice) Chuck Stevenson Bob Sweikert
AAA Contest Board Years marked in italics are not official championship years.