1911 AAA Championship Car season

1911 AAA Championship Car season
AAA National Championship Trail
Season
Races21
Start dateFebruary 22
End dateNovember 30
Awards
National championnone declared
Indianapolis 500 winnerUnited States Ray Harroun
← 1910
1912 →
Cars line up on the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1911
Starting line-up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 30, 1911

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. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1911 season, and did not declare a National Champion.[1] Ray Harroun was the winner of the inaugural Indianapolis 500.

The de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age, was Harvey Herrick. Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1911 season. Herrick was named the champion by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based upon merit and on track performance. A points table was created retroactively in 1927, naming Ralph Mulford as champion. At a later point, it was recognized by historians that these 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
St. Francis Hotel Trophy Race (153) Open to cars 301–600 cu in displacement Charles Merz
Panama-Pacific Race (164) Free-for-all, Stopped after 15 of 19 laps for darkness Jack Fleming Bert Dingley
March 28 Jacksonville Race (100) Pablo Beach Course 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[2] Lewis Strang Ray Harroun
July 4 Tevis Cup Race (145) Bakersfield Road Race Course Bakersfield, California 11.15 Mile Road Course Harvey Herrick
August 25 Kane County Trophy Race* (169) Elgin Road Race Course Elgin, Illinois 8.47 Mile Road Course Entrants limited to cars 231–300 in3; Ralph Ireland fatally injured in practice[3] Hughie Hughes
Illinois Trophy Race* (203) Entrants limited to cars 301 to 450 in3 Don Herr
August 26 Elgin National Trophy Race (305) <600 ci, Grandstand collapse on lap 2, restarted 35 minutes later; Dave Buck and his riding mechanic Sam Jacobs fatally injured[4] Len Zengel
September 9 Hamilton County Trophy Race* (150) Cincinnati Road Race Course Cincinnati, Ohio 7.9 Mile Road Course Stock chassis, 300 cu in and under. John Jenkins
Cincinnati Trophy Race* (200) 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 600–750 ci Erwin Bergdoll
Philadelphia Race 2* (200) limited to cars with 451–600 ci Ralph Mulford
Philadelphia Race 3* (200) limited to cars with 301–450 ci Louis Disbrow
Philadelphia Race 4* (200) limited to cars with 231–300 ci Hughie Hughes
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. Charles Soules Louis Nikrent
Jepsen Trophy Race (150) 231–300 ci, Run Concurrently with 301–450 ci Bruce Keen
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 Harvey Herrick
November 27 William K. Vanderbilt Cup (290) Savannah-Effingham Raceway Savannah, Georgia 17.1-mile road course Jay McNay and his riding mechanic Henry Maxwell fatally injured in practice[5][6] Harry Grant Ralph Mulford
November 30 American Grand Prize (410) 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.

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems
 #  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

  1. ^ Capps, H. Donald (February–March 2010). "John Glenn Printz and the Struggle for the Past: The A.A.A. Catastrophe - Arthur Means, Val Haresnape, Russ Catlin, and Bob Russo" (PDF). Rear View Mirror. 7 (6): 21–38.
  2. ^ "One man killed at Indianapolis". The Norwalk Hour. May 31, 1911.
  3. ^ "Elgin auto racer somersaults to death on track". The Chicago Daily Tribune. August 22, 1911.
  4. ^ "Two are killed in Elgin race; Zengel winner". The Chicago Sunday Tribune. August 27, 1911.
  5. ^ "Crash into tree kills motorist". The Chicago Daily Tribune. November 21, 1911.
  6. ^ "Maxwell dies of injuries". The Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. December 4, 1911.

General references