1973 Can-Am season

The 1973 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the eighth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 10, 1973, and ended October 28, 1973, after eight rounds. The season came amid the Oil Crisis, which ended interest in performance cars after an already-declining market over a several-year period. The golden age of the Trans Am Series ended after the 1972 season, leaving Can Am and Formula 5000 as the frontrunners of the SCCA. The season was also the penultimate season of the series, which would fold after 1974 before being revived in an entirely reworked series based on F5000 a few years later.

Schedule

For 1973, the schedule was altered as the season continued on. The first race ran in a standard, single race format. Rounds two through four ran as two heats, with the results being determined by combined results. Rounds five through eight ran a Sprint qualifying heat first to determine the starting order for the Cup event. The results of the Sprint and Cup were not combined.

Rnd Race Circuit Date
1 Labatt's Blue Trophy Mosport Park June 10
2 Carling Can-Am Road Atlanta July 8
3 Watkins Glen Can-Am Watkins Glen International July 22
4 Buckeye Cup Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course August 12
5 Road America Can-Am Road America August 26
6 Molson Cup Edmonton Speedway Park September 16
7 Monterey Castrol Grand Prix Laguna Seca Raceway October 14
8 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix Riverside International Raceway October 28

Season results

The start of the Molson Cup at Edmonton Speedway Park. Mark Donohue's Sunono Porsche started in pole position.
Rnd Circuit Winning Team Results
Winning Driver
1 Mosport United States #23 Rinzler Motoracing Royal Crown Results
United States Charlie Kemp
2 Road Atlanta United States #16 Rinzler Motoracing Royal Crown Results
United States George Follmer
3 Watkins Glen United States #6 Roger Penske Enterprises Results
United States Mark Donohue
4 Mid-Ohio United States #6 Roger Penske Enterprises Results
United States Mark Donohue
5 Road America United States #6 Roger Penske Enterprises Results
United States Mark Donohue
6 Edmonton United States #6 Sunoco Porsche+Audi Results
United States Mark Donohue
7 Laguna Seca United States #6 Roger Penske Enterprises Results
United States Mark Donohue
8 Riverside United States #6 Roger Penske Enterprises Results
United States Mark Donohue

Drivers Championship

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers in the order of 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1.

Pos Driver MOS Canada ATL United States WGL United States MOH United States ROA United States EDM Canada LAG United States RIV United States Pts
1 United States Mark Donohue 7 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 139
2 United States George Follmer 13 1 20 2 3 2 11 20 62
3 United States Hurley Haywood 15 5 21 3 14 DNS 3 2 47
4 United States Charlie Kemp 1 4 DNS 12 8 13 3 45
5 United States Bob Nagel 3 6 11 13 6 7 6 4 44
6 South Africa Jody Scheckter 16 3 3 20 2 12 16 13 39
7 United Kingdom David Hobbs Wth 4 2 19 Wth 4 9 18 37
8 United States Scooter Patrick 4 18 10 18 4 6 8 10 31
9 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver 20 19 17 8 DNS 3 2 17 30
10 United States Steve Durst 5 7 7 10 DNS 5 10 8 29
11 United States Bobby Brown 16 5 5 11 4 19 26
12 United States Milt Minter 17 5 5 16
13 Germany Hans Wiedmer 2 16 15 23 15
14 United States Tom Dutton 12 11 6 7 15 10 21 7 15
15 Canada John Cannon 6 5 17 15 14
16 United Kingdom Derek Bell 4 DNS 10
17 United States Bob Peckham 11 Wth 7 6 10
18 United States Danny Hopkins 13 13 6 9 15 8
19 United States Tom Heyser 8 8 16 10 7
20 United States Gary Wilson 9 7 DNS 6
21 United States Ed Felter 8 10 18 12 16 20 4
22 Canada John Cordts 9 12 19 14 Wth 9 14 14 4
23 United States Warren Agor 19 14 12 15 8 3
24 United States Pete Sherman 10 9 14 17 3
25 United States Peter Gregg 9 2
25 Germany Hans Müller-Perschl Wth 9 2
United Kingdom Brian Redman 12 11 0
Canada David Saville-Peck 18 21 11 14 22 Wth 0
United States William Wonder 11 0
United States Frank Kahlich Wth 12 0
United States John Gunn 13 23 Wth 0
United States Jigger Sirois 13 0
United States Jim Butcher 14 Wth 0
United Kingdom Vic Elford 15 21 0
Germany Lothar Motschenbacher 15 0
United States Sam Posey 16 0
United States Dick Durant 17 DNS 0
United States Bill Cuddy 18 0
United States Tony Settember 19 Wth 0
United States Gene Fisher 20 0
Germany Willi Kauhsen 22 0
United States Mario Andretti DNS DNS DNS 0
United Kingdom James Hunt DNS 0
United States Dan Kampo DNS 0
United States Dave Causey DNS 0
United States Monte Shelton DNS 0
United States Bob Earl Wth 0
Pos Driver MOS Canada ATL United States WGL United States MOH United States ROA United States EDM Canada LAG United States RIV United States Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th-6th place
Light Blue 7th–10th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Driver
replacement
(Rpl)
Injured
(Inj)
Race not held
(NH)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position

References

  • "Canadian-American Challenge Cup 1973". World Sports Racing Prototypes. 2 October 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  • "Can-Am - final positions and tables". World Sports Racing Prototypes. 2 October 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-05-31. Retrieved 2008-01-19.