1974 USAC Championship Car season


The 1974 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 14 races, beginning in Ontario, California on March 3 and concluding in Avondale, Arizona on November 2. The USAC National Champion was Bobby Unser and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Johnny Rutherford. Due to the events of the 1973 Indianapolis 500 significant improvements were made to the cars for safety concerns. Wings were reduced in size, and pop-off valves were added to the turbocharger plenums in order to reduce horsepower and curtail speeds.

Schedule and results

All races running on Oval/Speedway.
RndDateRace NameTrackLocationPole PositionWinning Driver
1March 3California 500 Qualification Heat 1Ontario Motor SpeedwayOntario, California A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt
2March 3California 500 Qualification Heat 2Ontario Motor SpeedwayOntario, California Johnny Rutherford Johnny Rutherford
3March 10California 500Ontario Motor SpeedwayOntario, California A. J. Foyt Bobby Unser
4March 17Phoenix 150Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona Al Unser Mike Mosley
5April 7Trentonian 200Trenton International SpeedwayTrenton, New Jersey Mario Andretti Bobby Unser
6May 26International 500 Mile SweepstakesIndianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, Indiana A. J. Foyt Johnny Rutherford
7June 9Rex Mays ClassicWisconsin State Fair Park SpeedwayWest Allis, Wisconsin A. J. Foyt Johnny Rutherford
8June 30Schaefer 500Pocono International RacewayLong Pond, Pennsylvania Bobby Unser Johnny Rutherford
9July 21Michigan 200Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan Bobby Unser Bobby Unser
10August 11Tony Bettenhausen 200Wisconsin State Fair Park SpeedwayWest Allis, Wisconsin A. J. Foyt Gordon Johncock
11September 15Norton 250Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan A. J. Foyt Al Unser
12September 22Trenton 300 Heat #1Trenton International SpeedwayTrenton, New Jersey A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt
13September 22Trenton 300 Heat #2Trenton International SpeedwayTrenton, New Jersey A. J. Foyt Bobby Unser
14November 2Bobby Ball 150Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona Johnny Rutherford Gordon Johncock

Final points standings

Note1: Jim Hurtubise, Skip Barber, David Hobbs, Sam Posey and Evan Noyes are not eligible for points.
Note2: Jerry Grant did not obtain a USAC license until after the Ontario event, making him ineligible for points for the first two races of the year.

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