1972 USAC Championship Car season

1972 USAC Championship Car season

USAC National Championship Trail
Season
Races	10
Start date	March 18
End date	November 4
Awards
National champion	Joe Leonard
Indianapolis 500 winner	Mark Donohue

Chronology
Previous season	Next season
1971	1973

The 1972 USAC Championship Car season consisted of ten races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 18 and concluding at the same location on November 4. The USAC National Champion was Joe Leonard and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Mark Donohue.

1 Schedule and results
2 Leading National Championship standings
3 References
4 See also

Schedule and results

Rnd	Date	Length	Race Name	Track	Location	Pole Position	Winning Driver
1	March 18	Jimmy Bryan 150	150 mi (240 km)	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
2	April 23	Trentonian 200	201 mi (323 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Bobby Unser	Gary Bettenhausen
3	May 27	International 500 Mile Sweepstakes	500 mi (800 km)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Bobby Unser	Mark Donohue
4	June 4	Rex Mays Classic	150 mi (240 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
5	July 16	Michigan 200	200 mi (320 km)	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	Bobby Unser	Joe Leonard
6	July 29	Schaefer 500	500 mi (800 km)	Pocono International Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania	Bobby Unser	Joe Leonard
7	August 13	Tony Bettenhausen 200	200 mi (320 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Mario Andretti	Joe Leonard
8	September 3	California 500	500 mi (800 km)	Ontario Motor Speedway	Ontario, California	Jerry Grant	Roger McCluskey
9	September 24	Trenton 300	300 mi (480 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
10	November 4	Best Western 150	150 mi (240 km)	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	Mark Donohue	Bobby Unser

Leading National Championship standings

#	Driver	Team	Points
1	Joe Leonard	Samsonite	3460
2	Bill Vukovich II		2200
3	Roger McCluskey	American Marine	1970
4	Al Unser	Viceroy	1800
5	Mark Donohue	Team Penske	1720

References

Åberg, Andreas. "USAC National Championship 1972". Driver Database. Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. http://www.driverdb.com/standings/980-1972/. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
Harms, Phil; Ferner, Michael; Measures, Gerry; Brown, Allen. "Indy 500 and USAC racing (1971-1978)". OldRacingCars.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. http://www.oldracingcars.com/indy/. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
"1972 USAC National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1972.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
Harms, Phil. "1972 Championship Driver Summary". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-03. http://old.motorsport.com/stats/champ/data/1972sum.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-03.

American Championship car racing (IndyCar) 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

NASCAR	1952 1953

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

CART / CCWS	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 2004 2005 2006 2007 ~~2008~~

IRL / INDYCAR	1996 1996–97 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Years marked in italics are not official championship years.

USAC Championship Cars (1971-1995)

Seasons	1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84

Indianapolis 500s	1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995

National Champions	Emerson Fittipaldi (twice) • A. J. Foyt (twice) • Gordon Johncock • Joe Leonard (twice) • Arie Luyendyk • Roger McCluskey • Rick Mears (three times) • Bobby Rahal • Johnny Rutherford • Tom Sneva (three times) • George Snider • Danny Sullivan • Al Unser • Al Unser, Jr. (twice) • Bobby Unser • Jacques Villeneuve

Tracks	Atlanta • Brands Hatch • DuQuoin State Fair • Illinois State Fair • Indianapolis • Indiana State Fair • Michigan • Mid-Ohio • Milwaukee • Mosport • Nazareth • Ontario • Phoenix • Pocono • Rafaela • Silverstone • Texas World • Trenton

The Indianapolis 500 was the only race in the USAC National Championship from 1984-85 onwards

1972 USAC Championship Car season

Contents

Schedule and results

Leading National Championship standings

References

See also