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1973 USAC Championship Car season

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Sports season

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1973 USAC Championship Car season
USAC National Championship Trail
Season
Races	16
Start date	April 7
End date	November 3
Awards
National champion	Roger McCluskey
Indianapolis 500 winner	Gordon Johncock
← 1972 1974 →

The1973 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 16 races, beginning inCollege Station,Texas on April 7 and concluding inAvondale,Arizona on November 3. The first race of the season, inAvondale,Arizona on March 17, was postponed by rain and eventually cancelled due to infrastructure damage caused by the rain and scheduling conflicts.Bob Criss was killed in a private test at Phoenix before he could enter another event. He was 35 years old. TheUSAC National Champion wasRoger McCluskey and theIndianapolis 500 winner wasGordon Johncock.

In this tragic season, two drivers were killed at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway.Art Pollard died in an accident while practicing for theIndy 500 whileSwede Savage, who crashed during the race, died by complications one month later. Another driver,Salt Walther, suffered serious burns surviving a crash at the start of the race.In response to those accidents, USAC revised the rules in time for the Pocono 500. The rear wing width was cut back from 64 inches to 55, fuel tank capacity was drastically reduced (from 75 gallons to 40) and the allowable fuel to be consumed in a 500-mile race was reduced from 375 gallons to 340.

Entrants

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(partial list)

Team	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	Rounds
A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Coyote	Foyt	A.J. Foyt	1-4, 6-8, 11-15
All American Racers	Eagle	Offenhauser	Wally Dallenbach	4
All American Racers	Eagle	Offenhauser	Bobby Unser	1-8, 11-16
Bob Fletcher	Eagle	Offenhauser	Lee Kunzman	10-12, 14-16
Commander Racing Team	Eagle	Offenhauser	Lloyd Ruby	1, 4-8, 10-16
Andy Granatelli	Eagle	Offenhauser	Wally Dallenbach	1-2, 5-9, 11-12, 14-16
Gerhardt	Eagle	Offenhauser	Mike Hiss	1-9, 11-15
Jerry O"Connell Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser	Bill Vukovich II	1-9, 11-16
Leader Card Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser	Mike Mosley	1-8, 10-16
Lindsey Hopkins Racing	McLaren	Offenhauser	Roger McCluskey	1-9, 11-12, 14-16
Lindsey Hopkins Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser	Lee Kunzman	1-7
McLaren	McLaren	Offenhauser	Johnny Rutherford	1-2, 4-8, 10-16
Patrick Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser	Gordon Johncock	1-9, 11-12, 14-16
Team Penske	McLaren	Offenhauser	Gary Bettenhausen	1-8, 10-16
Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing	Parnelli	Offenhauser	Mario Andretti	1-8, 10-16
	Parnelli	Offenhauser	Al Unser	1-8, 10-12, 14-16
	Parnelli	Offenhauser	Joe Leonard	1-9, 11-16

Schedule and results

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All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Rnd	Date	Race name	Track	Location	Pole position	Winning driver
-	March 17 & 31^A	Phoenix 150	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale,Arizona	Race postponed twice; eventually cancelled
1	April 7	Texas 200	Texas World Speedway	College Station,Texas	Bobby Unser	Al Unser
2	April 15	Trentonian 300 Heat #1	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton,New Jersey	Gordon Johncock	A. J. Foyt
3	April 15	Trentonian 300 Heat #2	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton,New Jersey	A. J. Foyt	Mario Andretti
4	May 28, 29 & 30^B	International 500 Mile Sweepstakes	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway,Indiana	Johnny Rutherford	Gordon Johncock
5	June 10	Rex Mays Classic	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis,Wisconsin	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser
6	July 1	Schaefer 500	Pocono International Raceway	Long Pond,Pennsylvania	Peter Revson	A. J. Foyt
7	July 15	Michigan 200	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn,Michigan	Bobby Unser	Roger McCluskey
8	August 12	Tony Bettenhausen 200	Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway	West Allis,Wisconsin	Wally Dallenbach Sr.	Wally Dallenbach Sr.
9	August 26	California 500 Qualification Heat 1	Ontario Motor Speedway	Ontario,California	Gordon Johncock	Wally Dallenbach Sr.
10	August 26	California 500 Qualification Heat 2			Johnny Rutherford	Johnny Rutherford
11	September 2	California 500			Peter Revson	Wally Dallenbach Sr.
12	September 16	Michigan Twin 125s #1	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn,Michigan	Gordon Johncock	Bill Vukovich II
13	September 16	Michigan Twin 125s #2	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn,Michigan	Gary Bettenhausen	Johnny Rutherford
14	September 23	Trenton 200	Trenton International Speedway	Trenton,New Jersey	Gordon Johncock	Gordon Johncock
15	October 6	Texas 200	Texas World Speedway	College Station,Texas	Mario Andretti	Gary Bettenhausen
16	November 3	Arizona 150	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale,Arizona	Gordon Johncock	Gordon Johncock

^A Postponed due to infrastructure damage, and again on March 28 due to continued flooding. Eventually cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.

^B Scheduled for 500 miles, stopped early due to rain. See1973 Indy 500

Final points standings

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Note: Sam Posey, Peter Revson, Mark Donohue, David Hobbs, Jerry Grant, John Cannon, Graham McRae and Bobby Allison are not eligible for points. The Rookie of the Year was not awarded, because every rookie was not eligible for points.

Further information:List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems

Pos	Driver	TWS	TRE		INDY	MIL	POC	MIS	MIL	ONT			MIS		TRE	TWS	PHX	Pts
Pos	Driver	200	150		500	150	500	200	200	Q-H1	Q-H2	500	125		200	200	150	Pts
1	Roger McCluskey	7	8	6	3	2	2	1	6	2		4	4		13	18	4	3705
2	Wally Dallenbach Sr.	DNQ	DNQ		24	4	29	6	1	1		1	23		3	6	2	2620
3	Johnny Rutherford	4	15		9	5	5	2	18		1	31	3	1	4	2	Wth	2595
4	Bill Vukovich II	15	3	2	2	22	24	3	3	12		24	1	15	6	20	3	2440
5	Mario Andretti	25	4	1	30	8	7	5	19		12	2	5	2	7	17	7	2400
6	Mike Mosley	3	9	8	10	24	4	10	2		5	3	18		14	23	20	2345
7	Gordon Johncock	23	2	21	1	18	14	9	17	5		32	16		1	7	1	2240
8	Gary Bettenhausen	2	6	17	5	3	27	24	20		2	19	2	8	24	1	6	2093
9	Lloyd Ruby	DNQ			27	21	3	4	DNQ		8	28	6	4	8	4	11	1610
10	A. J. Foyt	11	1	11	25		1	13	25			10	13	14	20	10		1580
11	Lee Kunzman	8	11	9	7	6	20	12			3	13	20		10	3	5	1260
12	Bobby Unser	20	19	15	13	1	10	20	DNQ			7	10	16	2	15	18	1108
13	Al Unser	1	7	3	20	9	33	22	26		4	9	21		25	16	19	1080
14	Mike Hiss	22	14	13	17	10	6	25	5	3		27	9	3	21	11		1050
15	Joe Leonard	5	13	5	18	7	8	23	7	9		21	12	7	9	19	15	1018
16	Mel Kenyon	12	12	10	4		18	8	9			16		DNQ		9		940
17	John Martin				8	13	28	7		13		5						870
18	Steve Krisiloff	DNS	18		6	16	22	18	21		6	12	7	6	11	8	21	845
19	Jim McElreath				23	11	11		4	6		20			5		16	650
20	Dick Simon	6	10	7	14	17	12	17	22		11	22	DNS		23	21	8	440
21	Jimmy Caruthers	21	16		21	12	16	19	8	4		15	8	9	22	DNS	9	408
22	Johnny Parsons				DNQ		30	14	13		9	25	11	5	15	5	22	390
23	Bentley Warren		21	16	DNQ		DNQ		16		7	8		DNQ	12	22	10	375
24	Swede Savage	13	5	4	22													330
25	Tom Bigelow				DNQ	14	32	15		7		11						160
26	Lee Brayton	10	17	12	DNQ	15						DNQ	15	10	16	12	17	133
27	Sam Sessions	9	DNQ		28		13	11	23			DNQ						120
28	John Hubbard		DNQ			19		DNQ	10				14	12				73
29	John Mahler				Wth					8		26						50
30	Jerry Karl				26	23	26		11			18					DNQ	40
31	Tom Sneva R	26	DNQ		DNQ		DNQ		21	14		10	17		19		14	30
32	George Snider				12		25					14					12	29
33	Larry Cannon				DNQ	DNQ							16	11	17	14		25
34	Jigger Sirois				DNQ	Wth			12				DNS	13	DNQ			20
-	Sam Posey				DNQ		9			11		6						0
-	John Cannon									10		30						0
-	David Hobbs				11		31				13	DNQ						0
-	Bob Harkey				29		15									DNQ	13	0
-	Eldon Rasmussen		DNQ				DNQ									13		0
-	Larry McCoy	14	20	14	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	26	15				22		26	24		0
-	Bill Simpson				DNQ						14	DNQ				26		0
-	Mark Donohue				15		17		DNQ			29						0
-	Al Loquasto		DNQ		DNQ		DNQ	16	24			DNQ	19		18			0
-	Salt Walther	16	22		33													0
-	Graham McRae R				16							DNQ						0
-	Dee Jones	17	24	19	Wth													0
-	Rick Muther	18			DNQ		19						DNQ		DNQ	25		0
-	Crockey Peterson		23	18		20												0
-	Jerry Grant				19							33						0
-	Art Pollard	19	DNQ		Wth													0
-	Joe Tetz		DNQ	20														0
-	Peter Revson				31		21					23						0
-	Jim Hurtubise				DNQ		23					DNQ						0
-	Larry Dickson	24			Wth													0
-	Bobby Allison R				32													0
-	Gig Stephens		DNS															0
-	Billy Shuman		DNQ															0
-	Arnie Knepper				DNQ													0
-	Bill Puterbaugh				DNQ													0
-	Greg Weld				DNQ													0
-	Dan Murphy								DNQ									0
-	Benny Rapp												DNQ					0
Pos	Driver	TWS1 200	TRE1 150	TRE2 150	INDY 500	MIL1 150	POC 500	MIS1 200	MIL2 200	ONT Q-H1	ONT Q-H2	ONT 500	MIS2 125	MIS3 125	TRE3 200	TWS2 200	PHX 150	Pts

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th-10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps
RY Rookie of the Year
R Rookie

References

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Åberg, Andreas."USAC National Championship 1973". Driver Database.Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. RetrievedMay 3, 2009.
Harms, Phil; Ferner, Michael; Measures, Gerry; Brown, Allen."Indy 500 and USAC racing (1971-1978)". OldRacingCars.com.Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. RetrievedMay 3, 2009.
"1973 USAC National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com.Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. RetrievedMay 11, 2009.
Harms, Phil."1973 Championship Driver Summary"(PDF).Motorsport.com. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on August 10, 2012. RetrievedMay 3, 2011.
http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at theWayback Machine (p. 225-227)
http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/CrissBob.htm
https://www.champcarstats.com/year/1973.htm Retrieved August 9, 2025
https://www.oldracingcars.com/indy/1973/ Retrieved August 9, 2025

v t e American Championship car racing (Indy car) seasons
AAA	1905 1906–1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
USAC	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
CART	1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
CCWS	2004 2005 2006 2007 ~~2008~~
IRL	1996 1996–97 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
IndyCar	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Years marked initalics are not official championship years or upcoming seasons.

v t e USAC Championship Cars (1971–1995)
Seasons	1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
Indianapolis 500s	1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
National Champions	Emerson Fittipaldi (twice) A. J. Foyt (twice) Gordon Johncock Joe Leonard (twice) Arie Luyendyk Roger McCluskey Rick Mears (three times) Bobby Rahal Johnny Rutherford Tom Sneva (three times) George Snider Danny Sullivan Al Unser Al Unser Jr. (twice) Bobby Unser Jacques Villeneuve
Tracks	Atlanta Brands Hatch DuQuoin State Fair Illinois State Fair Indianapolis Indiana State Fair Michigan Mid-Ohio Milwaukee Mosport Nazareth Ontario Phoenix Pocono Rafaela Silverstone Texas World Trenton

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Entrants

Schedule and results

Final points standings

References

See also