1915 AAA Championship Car season
Auto racing season
The 1915 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 27 races, beginning in San Diego, California on January 9 and concluding in San Francisco, California on November 25. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1915 season, and did not declare a National Champion.[ 1] Ralph DePalma was the winner of the Indianapolis 500 .
The de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age , was Earl Cooper . Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1915 season. Cooper 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
Track
Location
Type
Notes
Pole position
Winning driver
January 9
San Diego Exposition Road Race (305)
Point Loma Road Race Course
San Diego, California
5.982 mile road course
Earl Cooper
February 3
Tropico Road Race (101)
Tropico Road
Tropico, California
1.906 mile road course
Eddie O'Donnell
February 7
Ascot Race (100)
Ascot Speedway
South Los Angeles, California
1 mile dirt oval
Jack Callaghan fatally injured[ 2] [ 3]
Eddie O'Donnell
February 27
American Grand Prize (406)
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
San Francisco, California
3.905 mile road course
ACA sanction
Earl Cooper
Dario Resta
March 6
William K. Vanderbilt Cup (301)
3.849 mile road course
600 cu in.
Barney Oldfield
Dario Resta
March 17
Venice Race (301)
Venice Road Race Course
Venice, California
3.105 mile road course
Cliff Durant
Barney Oldfield
March 20
Tucson Race (103)
Tucson Road Race Course
Tucson, Arizona
4.298 mile road course
Barney Oldfield
April 29
Southern Sweepstakes Road Race (200)
Oklahoma City Road Race Course
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2.404 mile road course
John Raimey
Bob Burman
May 31
International 500 Mile Sweepstakes
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Speedway, Indiana
2.5 mile brick oval
24-car field
Howdy Wilcox
Ralph DePalma
June 9
Galesburg Race (100)
Galesburg District Fairgrounds
Galesburg, Illinois
1 mile dirt oval
Tom Alley
Eddie O'Donnell
June 26
Chicago Race (500)
Speedway Park
Maywood, Illinois
2 mile board oval
Dario Resta
Dario Resta
July 3
Sioux City Race (300)
Sioux City Speedway
North Sioux City, South Dakota
2 mile dirt oval
450 cu in.; C. C. Cox fatally injured[ 4]
Eddie Rickenbacker
July 4
Montamarathon Trophy Race (250)
Pacific Coast Speedway
Tacoma, Washington
2 mile board oval
650 cu in.; Billy Carlson and his riding mechanic Paul Franzen fatally injured[ 5] [ 6]
Glover Ruckstell
July 5
Golden Potlach Trophy Race (200)
Eddie Pullen
July 5
Omaha Race (300)
Omaha Speedway
Omaha, Nebraska
1.25 mile board oval
Eddie O'Donnell
Eddie Rickenbacker
July 9
Burlington Race (100)
Tri-State Fair Grounds
Burlington, Iowa
0.5 mile dirt oval
Bob Burman
August 7
Des Moines Race (300)
Des Moines Speedway
Valley Junction, Iowa
1 mile board oval
300 cu in.; Joe Cooper and Maurice Keeler, riding mechanic for Billy Chandler , fatally injured[ 7]
Ralph Mulford
August 7
Challenge Cup Match Race (100)
Speedway Park
Maywood, Illinois
2 mile board oval
600 cu in.
Barney Oldfield
Dario Resta
August 20
Chicago Auto Club Trophy Race (300)
Elgin Road Race Course
Elgin, Illinois
8.384 mile road course
300 cu in.
Earl Cooper
August 21
Elgin National Trophy Race (300)
450 cu in.
Gil Andersen
August 28
Kalamazoo Race (100)
Recreation Park
Kalamazoo, Michigan
1 mile dirt oval
Free-for-all
Ralph DePalma
September 4
Minneapolis Race (500)
Twin City Motor Speedway
Minneapolis, Minnesota
2 mile concrete oval
300 cu in.
Dario Resta
Earl Cooper /Johnny Aitken
September 18
Providence Race (100)
Narragansett Park Speedway
Cranston, Rhode Island
1 mile concrete oval
Eddie Rickenbacker
October 9
Astor Cup (350)
Sheepshead Bay Speedway
Sheepshead Bay, New York
2 mile board oval
300 cu in.; Harry Grant fatally injured in practice[ 8] [ 9]
Dario Resta
Gil Andersen
November 2
Harkness Gold Medal Race (100)
Ralph DePalma
Dario Resta
November 20
Phoenix Race (109)
Arizona State Fairgrounds
Phoenix, Arizona
1 mile dirt oval
Scheduled for 150 miles; ended early due to darkness.[ 10]
Earl Cooper
November 25
San Francisco Race 3 (100)
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
San Francisco, California
1 mile dirt oval
Earl Cooper
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.
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. ^ "Callaghan badly hurt in Los Angeles race" . The Milwaukee Sentinel ^ "Jack Callaghan dies; was hurt on Sunday" . The Milwaukee Sentinel . February 9, 1915.^ "Cincinnati driver meets death in auto race at Sioux City" . The Cincinnati Enquirer Archived from the original on July 31, 2018.^ "Franzen killed in race" (PDF) . The New York Times Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.^ "Auto driver dies" (PDF) . The New York Times . July 6, 1915. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.^ "Joe Cooper and a mechanician killed in race" . The Gazette Times ^ "Auto driver Grant severely burned" (PDF) . The New York Times . September 28, 1915. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.^ "Harry Grant dies of burns" (PDF) . The New York Times . October 8, 1915. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018.^ "Earl Cooper Wins Race at Phoenix" . San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved May 30, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
General references
