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
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
1971	1973

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.

Schedule and results

Rnd	Date	Length	Race Name	Track	Location	Pole Position	Winning Driver
1	March 18	Jimmy Bryan 150	150 mi (240 km)	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
2	April 23	Trentonian 200	201 mi (323 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Bobby Unser	Gary Bettenhausen
3	May 27	International 500 Mile Sweepstakes	500 mi (800 km)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Bobby Unser	Mark Donohue
4	June 4	Rex Mays Classic	150 mi (240 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
5	July 16	Michigan 200	200 mi (320 km)	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	Bobby Unser	Joe Leonard
6	July 29	Schaefer 500	500 mi (800 km)	Pocono International Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania	Bobby Unser	Joe Leonard
7	August 13	Tony Bettenhausen 200	200 mi (320 km)	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis, Wisconsin	Mario Andretti	Joe Leonard
8	September 3	California 500	500 mi (800 km)	Ontario Motor Speedway	Ontario, California	Jerry Grant	Roger McCluskey
9	September 24	Trenton 300	300 mi (480 km)	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton, New Jersey	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
10	November 4	Best Western 150	150 mi (240 km)	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	Mark Donohue	Bobby Unser

Leading National Championship standings

#	Driver	Team	Points
1	Joe Leonard	Samsonite	3460
2	Bill Vukovich II		2200
3	Roger McCluskey	American Marine	1970
4	Al Unser	Viceroy	1800
5	Mark Donohue	Team Penske	1720

References

• Åberg, Andreas. "USAC National Championship 1972". Driver Database. Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. http://www.driverdb.com/standings/980-1972/. Retrieved 2009-05-03. 
• Harms, Phil; Ferner, Michael; Measures, Gerry; Brown, Allen. "Indy 500 and USAC racing (1971-1978)". OldRacingCars.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. http://www.oldracingcars.com/indy/. Retrieved 2009-05-03. 
• "1972 USAC National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-13. http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1972.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-11. 
• Harms, Phil. "1972 Championship Driver Summary". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-03. http://old.motorsport.com/stats/champ/data/1972sum.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-03. 

See also

• 1972 Indianapolis 500