The 1946 AAA Championship Car season was the first season of American Championship car racing following World War II. After four years without automobile racing in the United States, the AAA Contest Board was initially concerned about having enough races, enough entrants, and suitable equipment, to contest season on such short notice for 1946. Even the Indianapolis 500 was in doubt, as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had fallen into a terrible state of neglect during the war years.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Eddie Rickenbacker sold the track to Tony Hulman in November 1945, by which time it had fallen into a dilapidated state of disrepair. As the season progressed, it proved to be a success, and marked a triumphant return of the National Championship. Hulman's swift and herculean efforts to renovate Indianapolis in just six months allowed for the 1946 Indianapolis 500 to be run as scheduled on May 30, and it was won by George Robson.

George Robson and George Barringer were killed at Atlanta during the race. Al Putnam died at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway during qualifying.

Background Previously, only races of over 100 miles (160 km) in length on tracks that were one mile (1.6 km) or longer were permitted to host National Championship events. Due to the concerns about the car counts and participation, the AAA Contest Board included a substantial number of "Big Car" races (today known as Sprint Cars) as part of the championship. The season officially consisted of 77 races (6 Championship Car races and 71 Big Car races), beginning at Mechanicsburg on April 14 and concluding at Richmond on November 10. Two non-points, exhibition races were also part of the calendar season.

After car counts and participation was better than expected, some confusion arose over as to whether the 71 Big Car events still counted towards the National Championship. Some news publications of the time erroneously reported the points totals from only the six Champ Car events, implying - or incorrectly assuming - that the Big Car races had been, or would be, dropped. Nevertheless, despite all of the second-guessing and speculation, a full 77-race season was completed.

The Contest Board met after the season, and it was not until then which they declared the Big Car races would be dropped from the National Championship - effective for 1947. The ruling cemented the notion that the 71 Big Car races were indeed recognized as part of the official 1946 season. Furthermore, the prize money and 1947 car number assignments are consistent with the final points standings reflecting the full 77-race schedule.

Despite later publications suggesting the season was only six races (including official statistical publications released by the league decades later), historians firmly contend that the 1946 season should be recognized as the full 77-race schedule.

The AAA National Champion was Ted Horn, and the Indianapolis 500 winner was George Robson. Incidentally, based on his points totals, Horn would have been declared the champion with or without the 71 "Big Car" races included. This oddity has help contribute to the illusion of a six-race season.

Schedule and results

Rnd Date Race name Length Track Location Type Class Winning driverNC March 31 Mike Benton Sweepstakes Lakewood Speedway Atlanta, Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Jimmy Wilburn 1 April 14 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Walt Ader 2 April 28 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 3 May 5 Eastern Inaugural Trophy Sweepstakes Trenton International Speedway Trenton, New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood 4 May 19 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood 5 May 26 Inaugural Sam Nunis Trophy Sweepstakes Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reading, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Walt Ader 6 May 26 Winchester Race Winchester Speedway Winchester, Indiana Dirt Oval Big Car Bus Wilbert 7 May 30 Altamont Race Altamont Speedway Altamont, New York Dirt Oval Big Car Bumpy Bumpus 8 May 30 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana Paved Oval Champ Car George Robson 9 May 30 Trenton Race Trenton International Speedway Trenton, New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Johnny Shackleford 10 June 2 Lakewood Race Lakewood Speedway Atlanta, Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 11 June 9 Thompson Race Thompson International Speedway Thompson, Connecticut Paved Oval Big Car Oscar Ridlon 12 June 9 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood 13 June 9 Winchester Race Winchester Speedway Winchester, Indiana Dirt Oval Big Car Bus Wilbert 14 June 16 Flemington Race Flemington Speedway Flemington, New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 15 June 23 Dayton Race Dayton Speedway Dayton, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car Elbert Booker 16 June 23 Greensboro Race Greensboro Agricultural Fairgrounds Greensboro, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 17 June 23 Thompson Race Thompson International Speedway Thompson, Connecticut Paved Oval Big Car Oscar Ridlon 18 June 29 Dayton Race Dayton Speedway Dayton, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car Bus Wilbert 19 June 30 Langhorne 100 Langhorne Speedway Langhorne, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Champ Car Rex Mays 20 June 30 Powell Race Powell Motor Speedway Powell, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood 21 June 30 Thompson Race Thompson International Speedway Thompson, Connecticut Paved Oval Big Car Joe Verebly 22 July 4 Lakewood Race Lakewood Speedway Atlanta, Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 23 July 7 Lakewood Race Lakewood Speedway Atlanta, Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 24 July 7 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Johnny Shackleford 25 July 14 Inaugural Nunis Sweepstakes Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reading, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood 26 July 20 DuBois Race DuBois Fairgrounds DuBois, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 27 July 20 Selinsgrove Race Selinsgrove Speedway Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 28 July 21 Dayton Race Dayton Speedway Dayton, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car George Connor 29 July 21 Langhorne Race Langhorne Speedway Langhorne, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car George Robson 30 July 21 Selinsgrove Race Selinsgrove Speedway Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 31 July 27 Harrington Race Delaware State Fairgrounds Harrington, Delaware Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 32 July 28 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 33 August 3 Washington Race Arden Downs Washington, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 34 August 4 Powell Race Powell Motor Speedway Powell, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car George Robson 35 August 10 Batavia Race Batavia Fairgrounds Batavia, New York Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 36 August 11 Bedford Race Bedford Speedway Bedford, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 37 August 11 Langhorne Race Langhorne Speedway Langhorne, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car George Robson 38 August 11 Winchester Race Winchester Speedway Winchester, Indiana Dirt Oval Big Car Elbert Booker 39 August 18 Skowhegan Race Skowhegan Fairgrounds Skowhegan, Maine Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 40 August 18 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car George Robson 41 August 24 Hamburg Race Hamburg Fairgrounds Hamburg, New York Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 42 August 25 Dayton Race Dayton Speedway Dayton, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car George Robson 43 August 25 Uniontown Race Uniontown Speedway Uniontown, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 44 August 30 Essex Junction Race Essex Junction Fairgrounds Essex Junction, Vermont Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 45 August 31 Altamont Race Altamont Speedway Altamont, New York Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 46 August 31 Hamburg Race Hamburg Fairgrounds Hamburg, New York Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 47 September 1 Flemington Race Flemington Speedway Flemington, New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 48 September 1 Winchester Race Winchester Speedway Winchester, Indiana Dirt Oval Big Car Charles Van Acker 49 September 2 Flemington Race Flemington Speedway Flemington, New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 50 September 2 Atlanta 100 Lakewood Speedway Atlanta, Georgia Dirt Oval Champ Car George ConnorNC September 2 Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Pikes Peak Highway Pikes Peak, Colorado Hill Climb Champ Car Louis Unser 51 September 6 Rutland Race Vermont State Fairgrounds Rutland, Vermont Dirt Oval Big Car Lee Wallard 52 September 7 Port Royal Race Port Royal Speedway Port Royal, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 53 September 8 Williams Grove Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 54 September 15 Indianapolis 100 Indiana State Fairgrounds Indianapolis, Indiana Dirt Oval Champ Car Rex Mays 55 September 15 Reading Race Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reading, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 56 September 21 Allentown Fair Race Allentown Fairgrounds Allentown, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 57 September 22 Great Barrington Race Great Barrington Race Track Great Barrington, Massachusetts Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood 58 September 22 Milwaukee 100 Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway West Allis, Wisconsin Dirt Oval Champ Car Rex Mays 59 September 22 Powell Race Powell Motor Speedway Powell, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 60 September 28 Bloomsburg Race Bloomsburg Fairgrounds Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 61 September 28 Lakewood Race Lakewood Speedway Atlanta, Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 62 September 28 Shelby Race Shelby Motor Speedway Shelby, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Walt Ader 63 September 29 Trenton Race Trenton International Speedway Trenton, New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood 64 October 5 Lakewood Race Lakewood Speedway Atlanta, Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 65 October 5 Winston-Salem Race Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Winston-Salem, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Tommy Hinnershitz 66 October 6 Dayton Race Dayton Speedway Dayton, Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car Hal Robson 67 October 6 George Robson Memorial Good Time Park Goshen, New York Dirt Oval Champ Car Tony Bettenhausen 68 October 6 Greensboro Race Greensboro Agricultural Fairgrounds Greensboro, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 69 October 6 George Robson Memorial Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Lucky Lux 70 October 12 Charlotte Race Charlotte Fairgrounds Charlotte, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 71 October 12 Atlantic Rural Exposition Strawberry Hill Raceway Richmond, Virginia Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 72 October 12 Greensboro Race Greensboro Agricultural Fairgrounds Greensboro, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 73 October 19 Raleigh Race State Fair Speedway Raleigh, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Walt Ader 74 October 26 Charlotte Race Charlotte Fairgrounds Charlotte, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Hank Rogers 75 October 26 National Championship Trophy Race Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Bill Holland 76 November 9 Shelby Race Shelby Motor Speedway Shelby, North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn 77 November 10 Richmond Race Strawberry Hill Raceway Richmond, Virginia Dirt Oval Big Car Tommy Hinnershitz

Scheduled for 100 miles, stopped early due to fatal accident involving George Robson and George Barringer. Ted Horn was leading at the time of the accident, but after a protest, was found to have been involved in the accident and had his win stripped.

Note: Bill Holland started on the pole position in the Lakewood Race on July 4 and Ted Horn started on the pole position in the DuBois Race on July 20.

Leading National Championship standings