1916 American Grand Prize

  1916 American Grand Prize

Race details
Date	November 18, 1916
Official name	VII American Grand Prize
Location	Santa Monica, United States
Course	Public roads
Course length	13.519 km (8.402 mi)
Distance	48 laps, 648.934 km (403.312 mi)
Fastest lap
Driver	Ed Ruckstell	Mercer
Time
Podium
First	Howdy Wilcox Johnny Aitken	Peugeot
Second	Earl Cooper	Stutz
Third	Art Patterson	Hudson

The 1916 American Grand Prize was a Grand Prix auto race that took place at Santa Monica, California, on November 18, 1916.

Summary

The race was included on the 1916 AAA National Championship Trail. The race carried championship implications for Dario Resta and Johnny Aitken. Aitken led Resta by 240 points before the Vanderbilt Cup, held two days before the Grand Prize, with a 150-mile event at Ascot Park two weeks after.^[1] Resta won the Cup and earned 900 points, while Aitken was forced out on lap 19 with a broken valve.^[2] Resta held a 660-point lead entering the Grand Prize, with 1000 available to the winner. As World War I was waged in Europe, the cars were all American-entered, including two Peugeots entered by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Aitken and Howdy Wilcox.

Aitken's race ended on lap 1, with a broken piston, while Resta raced into the lead. The IMS team attempted to flag Wilcox into the pits for Aitken to take over the car, but the AAA officials denied them the change. By lap 9, Resta led from Ed Ruckstell's Mercer, the Stutz of Earl Cooper, and Eddie Rickenbacker's Duesenberg. On lap 13, Lewis Jackson's Marmon went through a barrier, killing Jackson and three spectators.

On lap 16, Resta experienced a misfire, and retired soon after. On lap 20, Aitken replaced Wilcox in an attempt to gain as many championship points as he could. (The AAA, however, had set a precedent at Indianapolis by not awarding points to Eddie Rickenbacker in his relief drive.) Aitken led the final 22 laps and took the victory, but Resta had all but secured the championship.

With the United States' entrance to World War I in April 1917, and board track racing taking the national spotlight, road racing in the U.S. became largely dormant. Grand Prix racing did not return until 1936, and did not become a fixture until 1959.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/Retired	Points
1	26	Howdy Wilcox Johnny Aitken	Peugeot EX5	48	4:42:47	438[lower-alpha 1] —
2	8	Earl Cooper	Stutz	48	+ 6.12	520
3	20	Art Patterson	Hudson	48	+ 26:52	270
4	6	Clyde Rhoades	Hudson	48	+ 1:11:18	140
5	21	Bill Weightman Eddie Rickenbacker	Duesenberg	45	Flagged
Ret	3	Ed Ruckstell	Mercer	39	Valve
Ret	23	William Cody	National-Cody Special	33	Engine
Ret	18	George Buzane	Duesenberg	27	Piston
Ret	17	Eddie Rickenbacker	Duesenberg	27	Stripped gears
Ret	1	Dario Resta	Peugeot EX5	19	Ignition
Ret	9	Cliff Durant	Stutz	17	Valve
Ret	24	Lewis Jackson	Marmon	13	Crash
Ret	14	Sterling Price	Duesenberg	12	Clutch
Ret	27	Omar Toft	Duesenberg	10	Clutch
Ret	19	Ira Vail	Hudson	9	Piston
Ret	4	Eddie Pullen	Mercer	8	Crash, fire
Ret	22	William Carlton	Ono-Owl Special	6	Pump
Ret	11	Mike Moosie	Duesenberg	5	Clutch
Ret	25	Dave Anderson	Kissell	5	Valve
Ret	10	Emil Agraz	Hercules	2	Conrod
Ret	16	Johnny Aitken	Peugeot EX5	1	Piston

References

• Nye, Doug (1978). The United States Grand Prix and Grand Prize Races, 1908-1977. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-0-385-14203-8. 
• Galpin, Darrin. "1910 Grands Prix". GEL Motorsports Information Page. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
• Etzrodt, Hans. "Grand Prix Winners 1895-1949". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
• "1916 American Grand Prize". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.