1970 USAC Championship Car season

1970 USAC Championship Car season
USAC National Championship Trail
Season
Races	18
Start date	March 28
End date	November 21
Awards
National champion	Al Unser
Indianapolis 500 winner	Al Unser
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
1969	1971

The 1970 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 18 races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 28 and concluding at the same location on November 21. There was also one non-championship event at Pikes Peak, Colorado. The USAC National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Al Unser. After this season, dirt courses did not reappear in the USAC Championship until 1981-82.

Schedule and results

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Length	Track	Location	Type	Pole Position	Winning Driver
1	March 28	Phoenix 150	150 mi (240 km)	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	Paved Oval	Mario Andretti	Al Unser
2	April 4	Golden Gate 150	151.38 mi (243.62 km)	Sears Point Raceway	Sonoma, California	Road Course	Mark Donohue	Dan Gurney
3	April 26	Trenton 200	201 mi (323 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Paved Oval	Al Unser	Lloyd Ruby
4	May 30	International 500 Mile Sweepstakes	500 mi (800 km)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Paved Oval	Al Unser	Al Unser
5	June 7	Rex Mays Classic	150 mi (240 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Paved Oval	Mario Andretti	Joe Leonard
6	June 14	Langhorne 150	150 mi (240 km)	Langhorne Speedway	Langhorne, Pennsylvania	Paved Oval	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
7	June 28	Rocky Mountain 150	151.62 mi (244.01 km)	Continental Divide Raceway	Mead, Colorado	Road Course	Al Unser	Mario Andretti
8	July 4	Michigan Twin 200s	200 mi (320 km)	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	Paved Oval	Gary Bettenhausen	Gary Bettenhausen
NC	July 4	Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb	12.42 mi (19.99 km)	Pikes Peak Highway	Pikes Peak, Colorado	Hill Climb	—	Ted Foltz
9	July 26	Indy 150	150 mi (240 km)	Indianapolis Raceway Park	Clermont, Indiana	Paved Oval	Mario Andretti	Al Unser
10	August 22	Tony Bettenhausen 100	100 mi (160 km)	Illinois State Fairgrounds	Springfield, Illinois	Dirt Oval	Larry Dickson	Al Unser
11	August 23	Tony Bettenhausen 200	200 mi (320 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Paved Oval	Al Unser	Al Unser
12	September 6	California 500	500 mi (800 km)	Ontario Motor Speedway	Ontario, California	Paved Oval	Lloyd Ruby	Jim McElreath
13	September 7	Ted Horn Memorial 100	100 mi (160 km)	DuQuoin State Fairgrounds	Du Quoin, Illinois	Dirt Oval	Al Unser	Al Unser
14	September 12	Hoosier Hundred	100 mi (160 km)	Indiana State Fairgrounds	Indianapolis, Indiana	Dirt Oval	Johnny Parsons	Al Unser
15	September 19	Sedalia 100	100 mi (160 km)	State Fair Raceway	Sedalia, Missouri	Dirt Oval	Al Unser	Al Unser
16	October 3	Trenton 300	264 mi (425 km)A	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Paved Oval	Al Unser	Al Unser
17	October 4	Golden State 100	100 mi (160 km)	California State Fairgrounds	Sacramento, California	Dirt Oval	Mario Andretti	Al Unser
18	November 21	Bobby Ball 150	150 mi (240 km)	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	Paved Oval	Al Unser	Swede Savage

^A Scheduled for 300 miles, stopped early due to rain.

Leading National Championship standings

#	Driver	Team	Points
1	Al Unser	Johnny Lightning 500	5130
2	Bobby Unser		2260
3	Jim McElreath		2060
4	Mike Mosley	G. C. Murphy	1900
5	Mario Andretti	STP Oil Treatment	1890

References

• Åberg, Andreas. "USAC National Championship 1970". Driver Database. Archived from the original on 2009-05-14. http://www.driverdb.com/standings/980-1970/. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
• "1970 USAC National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-14. http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1970.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
• Harms, Phil. "1970 Championship Driver Summary". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-03. http://old.motorsport.com/stats/champ/data/1970sum.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-03. 

See also

• 1970 Indianapolis 500