Sports season
The 1961 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 12 races, beginning in Trenton , New Jersey on April 9 and concluding in Phoenix , Arizona on November 19. There was also one non-championship event at Pikes Peak , Colorado . The USAC National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was A. J. Foyt . The season was marred by the deaths of 1951 and 1958 season champion Tony Bettenhausen at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Al Keller at Phoenix .
Schedule and results
Rnd
Date
Race Name
Track
Location
Type
Pole Position
Winning Driver
1
April 9
Trenton 100
Trenton International Speedway
Trenton , New Jersey
Paved
Tony Bettenhausen
Eddie Sachs
2
May 30
International 500 Mile Sweepstakes
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Speedway , Indiana
Paved
Eddie Sachs
A. J. Foyt
3
June 4
Rex Mays Classic
Milwaukee Mile
West Allis , Wisconsin
Paved
Dick Rathmann
Rodger Ward
4
June 18
Langhorne 100
Langhorne Speedway
Langhorne , Pennsylvania
Dirt
Al Keller
A. J. Foyt
NC
July 4
Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb
Pikes Peak Highway
Pikes Peak , Colorado
Hill
Bobby Unser A
Bobby Unser
5
August 20
Tony Bettenhausen 200
Milwaukee Mile
West Allis , Wisconsin
Paved
Don Branson
Lloyd Ruby
6
August 21
Tony Bettenhausen Memorial
Illinois State Fairgrounds
Springfield , Illinois
Dirt
Parnelli Jones
Jim Hurtubise
7
September 4
Ted Horn Memorial
DuQuoin State Fairgrounds
Du Quoin , Illinois
Dirt
Jim Hurtubise
A. J. Foyt
8
September 9
Syracuse 100
New York State Fairgrounds
Syracuse , New York
Dirt
Rodger Ward
Rodger Ward
9
September 16
Hoosier Hundred
Indiana State Fairgrounds
Indianapolis , Indiana
Dirt
A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
10
September 24
Trenton 100
Trenton International Speedway
Trenton , New Jersey
Paved
Eddie Sachs
Eddie Sachs
11
October 29
Golden State 100
California State Fairgrounds
Sacramento , California
Dirt
Shorty Templeman
Rodger Ward
12
November 19
Bobby Ball Memorial
Arizona State Fairgrounds
Phoenix , Arizona
Dirt
Al Keller
Parnelli Jones
Paved/Dirt Oval
Road Course/Hill Climb
Non-championship race
^A No pole is awarded for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, in this schedule on the pole is the driver who started first. No lap led was awarded for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, however, a lap was awarded to the drivers that completed the climb.
Final points standings
Color
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
4th & 5th place
Light Blue
6th-10th place
Dark Blue
Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple
Did not finish (Ret)
Red
Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown
Withdrawn (Wth)
Black
Disqualified (DSQ)
White
Did not start (DNS)
Blank
Did not participate (DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold
Pole position
Italics
Ran fastest race lap
*
Led most race laps
RY Rookie of the Year
R Rookie
References
See also
Seasons Indianapolis 500s National Champions Tracks