1959 USAC Championship Car season
The 1959 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 13 races, beginning in Daytona Beach, Florida on April 4 and concluding in Sacramento, California on October 25. There were also three non-championship events. The USAC National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Rodger Ward. In this tragic season 7 fatal accidents occurred. During the pre-season, Marshall Teague was fatally injured in a crash at Daytona. He was 37 years old. In the first race of the season at Daytona, 34-year-old George Amick was killed in an accident on the last lap. In the second race of the season at Trenton, Dick Linder was killed; he was 36 years old. The third race of the season, the Indy 500, had two fatalities. On May 2, Jerry Unser was killed in a practice accident, and on May 19 death Bob Cortner was also killed in a practice accident. On July 19 at Mechanicsburg in the Indianapolis Sweepstakes non-championship race Van Johnson was killed in an accident; he was 32 years old. On August 30, 32-year-old Ed Elisian was killed at the Milwaukee Mile. The year 1959 could be considered one of the most tragic seasons in American open-wheel car history.
Schedule and results
| Rnd | Date | Race Name | Track | Location | Type | Pole Position | Winning Driver |
| 1 | April 4 |  Daytona 100 | Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida | Paved | Dick Rathmann | Jim Rathmann |
| NC | April 4 | USAC/FIA Formula Libre Race | Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida | Paved | Dick Rathmann | Jim Rathmann |
| 2 | April 19 | Race of Champions | Trenton International Speedway | Trenton, New Jersey | Paved | Don Branson | Tony Bettenhausen |
| 3 | May 30 | International 500 Mile Sweepstakes | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana | Paved | Johnny Thomson | Rodger Ward |
| 4 | June 7 | Rex Mays Classic | Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | Paved | Johnny Thomson | Johnny Thomson |
| 5 | June 14 | Langhorne 100 | Langhorne Speedway | Langhorne, Pennsylvania | Dirt | Jud Larson | Van Johnson |
| NC | July 4 |  Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb | Pikes Peak Highway | Pikes Peak, Colorado | Hill | Slim Roberts | Bobby Unser |
| C | July 4 | Daytona | Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida | Paved | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| NC | July 19 | Indianapolis Sweepstakes | Williams Grove Speedway | Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania | Dirt | Rodger Ward | Rodger Ward |
| 6 | August 22 | Springfield 100 | Illinois State Fairgrounds | Springfield, Illinois | Dirt | Don Branson | Len Sutton |
| 7 | August 30 | Milwaukee 200 | Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | Paved | Shorty Templeman | Rodger Ward |
| 8 | September 7 | Ted Horn Memorial | DuQuoin State Fairgrounds | Du Quoin, Illinois | Dirt | Don Branson | Rodger Ward |
| 9 | September 12 | Syracuse 100 | New York State Fairgrounds | Syracuse, New York | Dirt | Johnny Thomson | Eddie Sachs |
| 10 | September 19 | Hoosier Hundred | Indiana State Fairgrounds | Indianapolis, Indiana | Dirt | Rodger Ward | Rodger Ward |
| 11 | September 27 | Trenton 100 | Trenton International Speedway | Trenton, New Jersey | Paved | Eddie Sachs | Eddie Sachs |
| 12 | October 18 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Arizona State Fairgrounds | Phoenix, Arizona | Dirt | Lloyd Ruby | Tony Bettenhausen |
| 13 | October 25 | Golden State 100 | California State Fairgrounds | Sacramento, California | Dirt | Wayne Weiler | Jim Hurtubise |