1911 AAA Championship Car season

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	Ralph Mulford (unofficial)
Indianapolis 500 winner	Ray Harroun
	← 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		Bert Dingley
March 28	Jacksonville Beach Race (100)		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, California	11.15 Mile Road Course
August 25	Illinois Trophy Race* (203)		Elgin, Illinois	8.47 Mile Road Course	Entrants limited to cars 301 to 450 in³		Don Herr
August 25	Kane County Trophy Race* (169)				Entrants limited to cars 231–300 in³; 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; and his riding mechanic Sam Jacobs fatally injured^[3]		Len Zengel
September 9	Hamilton County Trophy Race* (150)		Cincinnati, Ohio	7.9 Mile Road Course	Stock chassis, 300 cu in and under.		John Jenkins
September 9	Cincinnati Trophy Race* (200)		Cincinnati, Ohio	7.9 Mile Road Course	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
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.
	Jepsen Trophy Race (150)				231–300 ci, Run Concurrently with 301–450 ci
	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
November 27	Vanderbilt Cup Race (290)		Savannah, Georgia	17.1-mile road course	and his riding mechanic Henry Maxwell fatally injured in practice^[4]^[5]	Harry Grant	Ralph Mulford
November 30	American Grand Prize (410)		Savannah, Georgia	17.1-mile road course	ACA sanction		David Bruce-Brown

* Events on same date were run simultaneously.

Leading National Championship standings[]

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.

#	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

References[]

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

General references[]

http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1911.htm accessed 9/24/10
http://www.rumbledrome.com/10stats.html^{[permanent dead link]} accessed 9/24/10
http://www.motorsport.com/stats/champ/byyear.asp?Y=1911 accessed 9/24/10

[1] "One man killed at Indianapolis". The Norwalk Hour. May 31, 1911.

[2] "Elgin auto racer somersaults to death on track". The Chicago Daily Tribune. August 22, 1911.

[3] "Two are killed in Elgin race; Zengel winner". The Chicago Sunday Tribune. August 27, 1911.

[4] "Crash into tree kills motorist". The Chicago Daily Tribune. November 21, 1911.

[5] "Maxwell dies of injuries". The Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. December 4, 1911.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

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Years marked in italics are not official championship years or upcoming seasons.