The 1909 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 24 races, beginning in Portland, Oregon on June 12 and concluding with a point-to-point race from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona on November 6. There were three events sanctioned by the Automobile Club of America in Lowell, Massachusetts. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1909 season, and did not declare a National Champion.
Schedule and results
Date Race nameDistance (miles) Track Location Type Notes Pole position Winning driverJune 12 Portland Race 1 (43.8)Portland Road Race CoursePortland, Oregon14.6 mile road course Stock class, costing $1600 or under Howard Covey Portland Race 2 (43.8) Limited to stock chassis of less than $3000 Charlie Arnold June 12 Wemme Cup Race (102.2) Free-For-All class. Bert Dingley June 18 Indiana Trophy Race (232.74)Crown Point Road Race CircuitCrown Point, Indiana23.27 mile road course Limited to stock chassis of maximum of 300 ci Joe Matson June 19 Cobe Trophy Race (395.65) Limited to stock chassis of over 300 ci Louis Chevrolet July 5 Denver Trophy Race (290) Brighton Road Race Course Denver, Colorado 14.5 mile road course Limited to stock chassis, Open engine Eaton McMillan July 10 Dick Ferris Trophy Race (202.42)Santa Monica Road Race CourseSanta Monica, California8.417 mile road course Limited to stock chassis, light cars Harris Hanshue Harris Hanshue July 10 Leon Shettler Trophy Race (202.42) Limited to stock chassis, heavy cars Bert Dingley August 19 Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race (250)Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana2.5 mile dirt oval Stock chassis, 301–450 ci; William Bourque and his riding mechanic Harry Holcomb fatally injured Bob Burman August 20 G & J Trophy Race (100) Stock chassis. Lewis Strang August 21 Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race* (245) Limited to stock chassis; Charles Merz broke through the outer fence, crashed into a crowd, and rolled over; his mechanician Claude Kellum was thrown out and died along with two spectators, Howard Jolliff and James West; others were injured Leigh LynchSeptember 6 Vesper Club Trophy Race** (212)Merrimack Valley CourseLowell, Massachusetts10.6 mile road course Limited to stock chassis, 301–450 ci Lee Lorimer Bob Burman Yorick Club Trophy Race** (159) Limited to stock chassis, 231–300 ci, John Coffey Louis Chevrolet Merrimack Valley Trophy Race** (127.2) Limited to stock chassis, 161–230 ci; Arthur Otis, a passer-by, who had entered the foggy race track, fatally struck by Joe Matson's car in practice Joseph Grinnon Billy Knipper September 8 Lowell Trophy Race** (318) Limited to stock chassis, 451–600 ci George RobertsonSeptember 29 Long Island Stock Car Derby A*** (227.5)Riverhead Road Race CourseRiverhead, New York22.75 mile road course $4001 and over; James Bates, riding mechanic for Herbert Lytle, fatally injured Ralph DePalma Long Island Stock Car Derby Class B*** (182) $3001–4000 Frank Lescault Long Island Stock Car Derby Class C*** (136.5) $2001–3000 William Sharp Long Island Stock Car Derby Class D*** (113.75) $1251–2000 Louis Chevrolet Long Island Stock Car Derby Class E*** (91) $851–1250 Arthur See October 9 Founder's Week Trophy Race (202.5) Fairmount Park Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 8 mile road course Stock Chassis George Robertson October 23 Portola Festival Race (258.16) Portola Road Race Circuit San Leandro, California 21.18 mile road course A tire which had flown off Howard Hall's car knocked down a spectator, Peter McKiterick, who later succumbed to his injuries. Jack Fleming October 30 William K. Vanderbilt Cup (278) Long Island Motor Parkway Long Island, New York 12.64 mile road course Limited to stock chassis, 301–600 ci Lewis Strang Harry Grant November 6 Cactus Derby (480) Los Angeles to Phoenix California to Phoenix Point to Point Limited to stock chassis Joe NikrentLouis Nikrent
* Race halted at 235 miles due to track breaking up. AAA report states that race was halted at 245 miles.
** Event sanctioned by Automobile Club of America, 301–450, 231–300 & 161–230 run simultaneously.
*** All classes run simultaneously.
Unofficial, retroactive, and revisionist champions
The contemporary de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age, was Bert Dingley. Dingley was named the champion by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based upon merit and on track performance.
In 1927, the AAA Contest Board retroactively applied the 1920 points table to the 1909 through 1915 and 1917 through 1919 seasons, scoring Dingley as champion. In 1951, well-published sportswriter Russ Catlin decided to revise these retroactive standings. Catlin attempted to strip Dingley of the title, awarding it instead to George Robertson. In the 1980s, it was recognized by historians that these retroactive championship revisions should not be considered official.
See also American Championship car racing
References
General references http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1909.htm accessed September 16, 2010 accessed September 16, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20111226011449/http://www.motorsport.com/stats/champ/byyear.asp?Y=1909 accessed September 16, 2010