1972 USAC Championship Car season
| 1972 USAC Championship Car season | |
|---|---|
| USAC National Championship Trail | |
| Season | |
| Races | 10 |
| Start date | March 18 |
| End date | November 4 |
| Awards | |
| National champion |  Joe Leonard |
| Indianapolis 500 winner | Mark Donohue |
The 1972 USAC Championship Car season consisted of ten races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 18 and concluding at the same location on November 4. The USAC National Champion was Joe Leonard and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Mark Donohue. Jim Malloy was killed at Indianapolis in practice; he was 40 years old.
After sponsoring the USAC Championship Trail in 1970–1971, Marlboro dropped out of the sport for 1972. After only two seasons as title sponsor, the company became angered when rival Viceroy was signed on to sponsor Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, at the time dubbed the "super team" of the series. Without any exclusivity clause, managers at Marlboro deemed the situation "impractical and untenable,"[1] and abruptly quit. Marlboro would not return to Indy car racing until 1986.
Entrants
(partial list)
| Team | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Foyt Enterprises
|
Coyote | Foyt | A.J. Foyt
|
1, 3, 8–10 |
| Lola (4), Coyote (5, 8) |
Foyt | Sam Sessions
|
4–5, 8 | |
| All American Racers
|
Eagle | Offenhauser | Bobby Unser
|
All |
| Andy Granatelli
|
Lola | Foyt | Wally Dallenbach
|
3–10 |
| Gene White Racing
|
Lola | Foyt | Sam Sessions
|
3 |
| Gerhardt
|
Gerhardt (4, 7), Eagle (5–6, 8–10) |
Offenhauser | Johnny Rutherford
|
4–10 |
| Jerry O'Connell Racing
|
Eagle | Offenhauser | Bill Vukovich II
|
All |
| Leader Card Racing
|
Eagle | Offenhauser | Mike Mosley
|
1–4, 8–10 |
| Lindsey Hopkins Racing
|
Kuzma (1–2, 4, 7, 9) Antares (3) McLaren (5–6, 8, 10) |
Offenhauser | Roger McCluskey
|
All |
| Eagle | Offenhauser | Wally Dallenbach
|
1–2 | |
| Eagle (1, 4–5, 8–10) Kuzma (2) Coyote (3, 6–7) |
Foyt (1–7) Offenhauser (8–10) |
Mel Kenyon
|
All | |
.svg.png){kind=small} McLaren
|
McLaren | Offenhauser | Gordon Johncock
|
2–3, 5–9 |
| Page Racing
|
Eagle (1–6, 9–10) McLaren (8) |
Offenhauser | Mike Hiss
|
1–6, 8–10 |
| Patrick Racing
|
Eagle (1–2) Brabham (3) |
Offenhauser | Johnny Rutherford
|
1–3 |
| Eagle (1–4, 7) Brabham (5–6, 8–10) |
Offenhauser | Swede Savage
|
All | |
| Team Penske
|
McLaren | Offenhauser | Mark Donohue
|
1–4, 9–10 |
| McLaren | Offenhauser | Gary Bettenhausen
|
1–7 | |
| Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing
|
Colt (1), Parnelli (2–10) | Offenhauser | Joe Leonard
|
All |
| Colt (1), Parnelli (2–10) | Offenhauser | Al Unser
|
All | |
| Colt (1), Parnelli (2–10) | Offenhauser | Mario Andretti
|
All |
Schedule and results
All races running on Oval/Speedway.
- ^A Originally scheduled for July 2, postponed because of rain.
In the fall of 1971, a tentative schedule held the possibility of returning road courses to the championship schedule. Races at Colorado, Brainerd, Bridgehampton, Road Atlanta, Mosport, as well as a return to Rafaela, Argentina, and a new "Florida 500" at the proposed "Florida International Raceway", were all part of an early press release.[2] However, all road courses were ultimately left off, the Argentina race was discontinued, and the Florida race course was never built.
Final points standings
Note: Peter Revson is not eligible for points.
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References
- ^ "Marlboro Bowing Out As Auto Racing Angel". The Indianapolis Star. December 17, 1971. p. 54. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "USAC Lines Up 17-Event Slate". The Indianapolis Star. September 15, 1971. p. 37. Retrieved January 22, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Åberg, Andreas. "USAC National Championship 1972". Driver Database. Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- Harms, Phil; Ferner, Michael; Measures, Gerry; Brown, Allen. "Indy 500 and USAC racing (1971-1978)". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - "1972 USAC National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- Harms, Phil. "1972 Championship Driver Summary" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (p. 228–229)
- https://www.champcarstats.com/year/1972.htm Retrieved July 30, 2025
- https://www.oldracingcars.com/indy/1972/ Retrieved July 30, 2025