| 1914 AAA Championship Car season | |
|---|---|
| AAA National Championship Trail | |
| Season | |
| Races | 15 |
| Start date | February 26 |
| End date | November 26 |
| Awards | |
| National champion | none declared |
| Indianapolis 500 winner |
René Thomas |
The 1914 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 15 races, beginning in Santa Monica, California on February 26 and concluding in Corona, California on November 26. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1914 season, and did not declare a National Champion. [1] René Thomas was the winner of the Indianapolis 500.
The de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age, was Ralph DePalma. Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1914 season. DePalma 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. 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 26 | William K. Vanderbilt Cup (295) | Santa Monica Road Race Course | Santa Monica, California | 8.417 mile road course | In practice, Dave Lewis skidded, crashed into a crowd, and overturned, crushing to death a spectator, Lewis Smith, and seriously hurting himself and four other attendants. [2] | Harry Grant | Ralph DePalma |
| February 28 | American Grand Prize (404) | ACA sanction | Eddie Pullen | Teddy Tetzlaff | |||
| May 30 | International 500 Mile Sweepstakes | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana | 2.5 mile brick oval | 450 cu in., Qualifications based upon demonstrated 75 mph single-lap speed, 30-car field | Arthur Duray | René Thomas |
| July 3 | Golden Potlach Trophy Race (200) | Pacific Coast Speedway | Tacoma, Washington | 2 mile dirt oval | 600 cu in. | Hughie Hughes | |
| July 4 | Montamarathon Trophy Race (250) | Free-for-all | Earl Cooper | ||||
| July 4 | Sioux City Race (300) | Sioux City Speedway | North Sioux City, South Dakota | 2 mile dirt oval | Gil Andersen | Eddie Rickenbacker | |
| July 30 | Galveston Race 1 (50) | Denver Beach Course | Galveston, Texas | 5 mile beach course | Ralph Mulford | ||
| August 1 | Galveston Race 2 (50) | 2.5 mile beach course | Ralph Mulford | ||||
| August 3 | Galveston Race 3 (50) | Ralph Mulford | |||||
| August 21 | Chicago Auto Club Trophy Race (301) | Elgin Road Race Course | Elgin, Illinois | 8.384 mile road course | Frank Dearborn | Ralph DePalma | |
| August 22 | Elgin National Trophy Race (301) | Spencer Wishart and his riding mechanic Jack Jenter fatally injured [3] [4] | Frank Dearborn | Ralph DePalma | |||
| September 26 | Kalamazoo Race (100) | Recreation Park | Kalamazoo, Michigan | 1 mile dirt oval | Free-formula | Bob Burman | |
| October 22 | Galesburg Race (100) | Galesburg District Fairgrounds | Galesburg, Illinois | 1 mile dirt oval | Fritz Walker, riding mechanic for Jack Gable, fatally injured [5] [6] | Ralph Mulford | |
| October 24 | St. Paul Race (100) | Minnesota State Fair Speedway | St. Paul, Minnesota | 1 mile dirt oval | Tom Alley | ||
| November 26 | Corona Race (302) | Grand Boulevard | Corona, California | 2.768 mile road course | Barney Oldfield | Eddie Pullen |
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.
| # | Driver | Sponsor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph DePalma | Mercedes | 2045 |
| 2 | Eddie Pullen | Mercer | 1720 |
| 3 | René Thomas | Delage | 1000 |
| 4 | Barney Oldfield | Stutz | 990 |
| 5 | Ralph Mulford | Peugeot | 780 |
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "One killed and five hurt at practice spin". San Francisco Chronicle. February 17, 1914. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018.
- ^ Parker, Reed L. (August 23, 1914). "Wishart killed at Elgin in race won by DePalma". The Chicago Sunday Tribune.
- ^ "Jenter is dead". The Milwaukee Journal. August 26, 1914.
- ^ Parker, Reed L. (October 23, 1914). "Ralph Mulford victor in 100 mile motor race". The Chicago Daily Tribune.
- ^ "'Mercedes Fritz' dead; motor car race victim". The Milwaukee Sentinel. October 28, 1914.
General references
- http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1914.htm accessed 8/21/15
- http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/indycar/1914.html accessed 8/21/15