102 replies to this topic

[DCapps]

Given that it never occurred to me do so, I sat down a few days ago and began to sort through the Sanction Reports of the AAA Contest Board for the 1946 Big Car season.

 

What I discovered was that there were 17 events held to the International Formula (National Championship formula) in 1946, of which one, the Mike Benton Sweepstakes held at Lakewood on 31 March, did not count towards the championship. This means that there were 16 events held using the formula. All were held on the one mile tracks. Below is what I have adopted from the entry blanks for those events, excepting the IMS, as to how they stipulated which cars were eligible for these events:

 

This event open to cars conforming to the International Formula adopted by the Contest Board; engines with a maximum piston displacement of 183 cubic inches, supercharged, or 274 cubic inches, unsupercharged, and meeting the minimum weight requirements if having a piston displacement of over 210 cubic inches, unsupercharged.

 

It is a rather clever way of conducting business....

 

I have managed to establish that there were 61 events held using the Big Car/Sprint Car "formula" which mandated the use of unsupercharged engines of not more than 210 cubic inches piston displacement.

 

This might shed a bit more light on a season that still seems to be something of Black Hole for most, especially those at INDYCAR...

 

I think that I have now pretty much established which Eastern and Midwestern events counted towards the national championship and sorted out the dates for these events. The big headache is plowing through the material and then trying to sort it out so that there is a record of sorts for the season. At some point, I will happily pass this on to the Real Experts who can correct my slaughtering of various names and my other errors.

[Vitesse2]

So where does this leave the previous research that there were 77 events? As I understood it, this figure was confirmed by AAA leaving the numbers 2 and 73 blank in the 1947 driver list, to commemorate Robson and Barringer.

 

Would Robson's points from 16 races place him second rather than third, just as in the table using the six races of 100 miles and more?

[DCapps]

So where does this leave the previous research that there were 77 events? As I understood it, this figure was confirmed by AAA leaving the numbers 2 and 73 blank in the 1947 driver list, to commemorate Robson and Barringer.

 

Would Robson's points from 16 races place him second rather than third, just as in the table using the six races of 100 miles and more?

 

Actually, Robson WAS second in the championship and not third in the final, actual 1946 championship standings before the revisionist altering of the record, thanks in large part to the Memorial Day event at the Speedway.

 

If you add 16 + 61 = 77.

 

The rationale for including the Eastern (and some Midwestern) Big Car/Sprint Car events was the distinct possibility of there being shortage of cars and materials (such as tires, for one) for the 1946 season, a not unreasonable concern in the wake of the war.

 

I went through all the available folders in the sanction file for the Big Cars/Sprint Cars for the 1946 season and checked the files for which "formula" each event was open to participating in the event. It occurred me after once again looking at the six event championship that Darren has in his collection of races for that years that it seemed that the one mile tracks might be open to both Championship and Sprint Cars, which turns out to have been the case.

 

So, I think that it is safe to say that of the 17 events open to Championship cars during 1946, 16 of them were in the championship, of which one was the 500-mile race, five were 100-mile events, and rest were features of less than 100 miles.

 

* Atlanta, 31 March (non-championship)

1) Trenton, 5 May

2) Trenton, 30 May

3) Indianapolis, 30 May

4) Atlanta, 2 June

5) Langhorne, 30 June

6) Atlanta, 4 July

7) Atlanta, 7 July

8) Langhorne, 21 July

9) Langhorne, 11 August

10) Atlanta, 2 September

11) Indianapolis, 15 September

12) Milwaukee, 22 September

13) Atlanta, 28 September

14) Trenton, 29 September

15) Atlanta, 5 October

16) Goshen, 6 October

 

I am too lazy at the moment to list the 61 Sprint Car events for 1946, but I did discover that Buzz Rose and Phil Harms and others (me!) did have some of the dates wrong for the Sprint Car events that actually took place or did not realize that there were rain dates and cancellations that were included as well as some race meetings that were left off.

 

It is not for the faint of heart to sort through all the folders, begin to make sense of it all, and then attempt to begin to place in some sort of form that could be used by others.

 

I think that INDYCAR and others need to take heed and correct the error of their ways...

[Vitesse2]

Actually, Robson WAS second in the championship and not third in the final, actual 1946 championship standings before the revisionist altering of the record, thanks in large part to the Memorial Day event at the Speedway.

 

If you add 16 + 61 = 77.

Sometimes the bleedin' obvious ain't so bleedin' obvious!

 

In my (partial) defence, I'd been stuck in 1938 and researching Nuvolari's brief retirement in French newspapers all evening (I should actually have been reading stuff on the War of the Three Kingdoms, but that's another story!) ...

[Michael Ferner]

Given that it never occurred to me do so, I sat down a few days ago and began to sort through the Sanction Reports of the AAA Contest Board for the 1946 Big Car season.
 
What I discovered was that there were 17 events held to the International Formula (National Championship formula) in 1946, of which one, the Mike Benton Sweepstakes held at Lakewood on 31 March, did not count towards the championship...

Don, it was always my understanding that the Benton Sweepstakes did not count towards the championship exactly because it was not run to the formula, i.e. it was effectively a Formula Libre event!? I'm a bit surprised at this finding of yours, since the winner of that event, Jimmie Wilburn, was well known to drive an oversize (318 or 292 CID, depending on who you believe) Offy, and the whole running of the event was, apparently (or so I thought!), a sort of appetizer for him to get a legal engine and run with the AAA henceforth.

As for Championship cars being allowed to run in "non-championship" (i.e. Sprint car) events on one-mile tracks, yes, that appears to have been the case, also in later years, but, as far as I can tell, a driver could not win "non-championship" (i.e. Sprint car) points when driving such a car. This is a bit of a semantic nightmare, but it's the way it was handled at the time, it seems. Perhaps a better way to look at it would be to make a distinction between full "Championship cars" and "Halfmile cars". It's also worth noting that, in 1946 (unlike other years), drivers could score points in "non-championship" events driving "Championship cars", as all points (Championship and "non-championship") were combined in the end. Confusing enough?

Let's try one more time: during the years 1938 through 1940, the AAA ran a National Championship, like before, and used the name "Championship car" for cars meeting the technical rules set forth. At the same time, the AAA ran regional championships in the East and the Midwest for what were nominally not "Championship cars", thus "non-championship cars", but during those three years the only difference appears to have been the minimal body width mandated by the Grand Prix rules, and adhered to in (National) Championship events. In 1941, the AAA restricted "halfmile cars" to 210 CID, but if such a car conformed to the body measurements and weight limits, it was also allowed to race in (National) Championship events, of course (there being no minimum engine capacity). On the other hand, "Championship cars" were still allowed to run in "non-championship" (i.e. regional Championship) events on a no-points basis. This situation continued in 1946, except that (National) Championship and regional Championship points were combined to arrive at the National Championship; in 1947 things returned to the pre-war (1941) status quo.

I think I'm not explaining it well!

[DCapps]

What is definitely the case is that the event on 31 March at the Lakewood Speedway was open over to cars with engines of over 210 cubic inches of piston displacement.

 

That this might have been a Free For All event is certainly possible, but that is not stated on the entry blanks, where such information would be noted.

 

The entry blanks state that as an invitational event, therefore, no championship points would be awarded.

 

That the 210-cubic inch Sprint Cars were allowed to run in the events on the mile tracks and not required to meet the displacement/weight requirements of the International Formula was an interesting way to have it both ways.

 

The minimum weight for a 210 Sprint Car would have been about 1,579 pounds under the formula.

 

From what I have found in the sanction report for the 5 May Trenton race, none of the cars entered were under the International Formula, all of them being Sprint Cars with engines 210 and under.

 

I was actually very surprised when after applying Ockham's Razor to all the various dates for race meetings that the number came out to be 77(!).

 

What all this merely suggests that there is much more work to be done as in actual research on the topic rather than simply blindly accepting the usual folklore and hearsay, while kowtowing to the revisionist alterations.

[Michael Ferner]

77 events plus the Benton Sweepstakes? Okay, so this means I'm one event short. To say I was shivering with an...............................................ticipation would be putting it mildly!

Here's what I have so far:




Yellow fields are suspect info.


EDIT Well, for some reason this won't come out right Will try again tomorrow...

EDIT2 I don't know whether it's Postimage or this website, but I wasted so much time trying to upload a simple picture, it's getting ridiculous. Sorry, but I REALLY tried!

Edited by Michael Ferner, 08 January 2017 - 15:49.

[DCapps]

Minimum wheelbase: 99.0 inches.
Minimum weight: May include oil in the transmission and differential, as well as the tires; does not include water in the radiator, oil or fuel for the engine, tools or spare tire; net weight must lie within 35 pounds of the requisite minimum weight for piston displacement; maximum allowable ballast is 35 pounds and must be securely fastened in place.
Minimum exterior width: 33.46 inches or 85.0 centimeters.
Minimum height: 9.84 inches or 25.0 centimeters.
Transmission must incorporate a reverse gear.
No oil replenishment allowed during the race.
Cars must be started with self-starter or hand crank; push starts are not allowed.
Firewall between engine compartment and driver’s cockpit must be a minimum of 3/16th of an inch thick.
 
Supercharged Cars
Piston Displacement                      Minimum Weight
Cubic Inches Cubic Centimeters  Pounds                 Kilograms 
183.060                3,000                    1,873.898            849.995
176.958                 2,900                     1,831.394             830.715 
170.856                2,800                    1,788.889            811.435
164.754                 2,700                     1,746.384             792.155
158.652                 2,600                     1,703.880            772.875
152.550                 2,500                     1,661.375              753.595
146.448                 2,400                     1,618.870             734.315
140.346                 2,300                     1,576.366             715.035
134.244                 2,200                     1,533.861             695.861
128.142                 2,100                     1,491.356              676.475
122.040 2,000                    1,448.852             657.195
115.938                 1,900                     1,406.347             637.915
109.836                1,800                     1,363.842             618.635
103.734                 1,700                     1,321.338             599.355
97.632                   1,600                     1,278.833             580.075
91.530                   1,500                     1,236.328             560.795
85.428                  1,400                     1,193.823             541.515
79.326                   1,300                     1,151.319              522.235
73.224                   1,200                     1,108.814             502.955
67.122                   1,100                     1,066.309             483.675
61.020                   1,000                     1,023.805            464.395
54.918                   900                        981.300                445.115
48.816                   800                        938.795                425.835
42.714                   700                        896.291                 406.555
40.639                   666                         881.840                400.000
 
Increasing by: 4.25 pounds for each increase of 0.61 cubic inches of piston displacement; 1.9280 kilograms for each increase of 10 cubic centimeters of piston displacement.
 
Unsupercharged Cars
Piston Displacement                      Minimum Weight
Cubic Inches Cubic Centimeters  Pounds                 Kilograms 
274.590 4,500                     1,873.358             849.750
268.488                4,400                     1,845.029             836.900
262.386 4,300                     1,816.700             824.050
256.284 4,200                     1,788,371             811.200
250.182                4,100                     1,760.042             798.350
244.080                4,000                    1,731.713              785.500
237.978                3,900                     1,703.384             772.650
231.876                 3,800                    1,675.055             759.800
225.774                 3,700                     1,646.725             746.950
219.672                 3,600                     1,618.396             734.100
213.570                 3,500                     1,590.067             721.250
207.468                3,400                     1,561.738             708.400
201.366                 3,300                     1,533.409             695.550
195.264                 3,200                     1,505.080            682.700
189.162                 3,100                     1,476.751              669.850
183.060                3,000                    1,448.422             657.000
176.958                 2,900                     1,420.093             644.150
170.856                2,800                    1,391.763              631.300
164.754                 2,700                     1,363.434             618.450
158.652                 2,600                     1,355.105             605.600
152.550                 2,500                     1,306.776             592.750
146.448                 2,400                     1,278.447             579.900
140.346                 2,300                     1,250.118             567.050
134.244                 2,200                     1,221.789             554.200
128.142                 2,100                     1,193.460             541.350
122.040 2,000                    1,165.131              528.500
115.938                 1,900                     1,136.801             515.650
109.836                1,800                     1,108.472             502.800
103.734                 1,700                     1,080.143             489.950
97.632                   1,600                     1,051.814             477.100
91.530                   1,500                     1,023.485             464.250
85.428                  1,400                     995.156                 451.400
79.326                   1,300                     966.827 438.550
73.224                   1,200                     938.498                425.700
67.122                   1,100                     910.169                 412.850
61.020                   1,000                     881.840                400.000
 
Increasing by: 2.83 pounds for each increase of 0.61 cubic inches of piston displacement; 1.285 kilograms for each increase of 10 cubic centimeters of piston displacement.

 

Hope this works, but a summary of the technical regs for the 1946 Championship Cars & the International Formula.

[Michael Ferner]

Thanks for that, Don. I'm surprised to see a minimum wheel base specified, I always thought that came later.

[Michael Ferner]

77 events plus the Benton Sweepstakes? Okay, so this means I'm one event short. To say I was shivering with an...............................................ticipation would be putting it mildly!

Thanks to material Don sent me, I know now where I was wrong (well, kind of): the 77th event was the October 12 Charlotte/NC meeting, which I sort of expected. The main event was rained out that day, that much I knew through my newspaper research. What I didn't know, but suspected because of certain remarks, is that qualifying and heat races apparently took place, if somewhat abridged. The AAA documents Don sent me show the results of three of the four advertized heats, but sadly no qualifying results, so it is possible that qualifying was not held in an effort to rush the programme through in threatening weather. What really set me aback, however, was the terse remark that the payout was made according to championship positions! That means, that Bill Holland was paid the winner's purse without even starting! Championship points, however, were only awarded to positions won in the three heats.

Thanks to Don's indefatigable efforts, I now seem to have official documentation about all of the events taking place in 1946. It will take some time to sift through all those documents, but the picture is already showing recognizable features. In time, a near perfect portrait will be possible, so watch this space!

[DCapps]

Michael,

 

Something that I meant to get around to was generating a listing of those winning the pole in the sprint event meetings, which would send the INDYCAR statistics into another tizzy.

 

I would hope that someday that I could actually see the fabled File Cabinets holding the AAA Contest material at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum simply, as an historian with much times in the archives, to see how the material is actually stored and how the files are arranged.

 

By a physical examination of the archival material I could get a better sense of just what is mixed in with what and get a better idea of the files that were generated by the Betts, Harms, and others and tossed in which the other material.

 

Plus, I have the suspicion that some items are missing from what Gordon White tired to get microfilmed.

 

Well, I can always hope....

 

Don

[Michael Ferner]

... and we're down to 76 again!

One of the most pressing items on my crowded agenda these days is to make a final list of events for 1946, but checking those AAA files is a tiresome and slow business. But, I'm finally getting there. The big issue are the events for which I have no period documention, like Selinsgrove. Most lists show two events, July 20 and 22, but the only reference I found in newspapers was from July 19, and mentioned only one meeting on the 20th (Saturday). The AAA files now show only one event, with both dates mentioned! My theory is now, that the original event was rained out and postponed to the Monday, which I think was after the fair week, but I need to check that - it would be very unusual to schedule two meetings, one on the closing day of the fair and one the Monday after! There's also mention of the weather in the AAA report, telling how qualifying was stopped early because of it - makes only sense if the time trials were held on the 20th, with the races on the 22nd, the way I see it. Bottom line, there was very obviously only one Selinsgrove meeting! The final word on this (and other issues), however, may well have to wait until I am in a position to recalculate the points tables.

[Michael Ferner]

Update:





Looks better now...

Edited by Michael Ferner, 14 April 2017 - 14:04.

[Michael Ferner]

And the story so far:

Edited by Michael Ferner, 14 April 2017 - 13:56.

[ensign14]

All hail Champcar winner Bumpy Bumpus.

[DCapps]

All hail Champcar winner Bumpy Bumpus.

 

Along with Tommy Hinnershitz, of course, with Lucky Lux and a few others included as well.

 

In recent years, I have not been all that concerned as to whether there were 70 or 71 events held for Sprint Cars/Big Cars that counted towards the 1946 AAA national championship, but rather that those that did take place are included in the record book. Whether or not the Contest Board later decided to refuse to acknowledge those events, recognizing only the six events held to the criteria of 100 miles or more on a one mile track using the championship car technical specifications (the International Formula which was put into place in 1938), the events certainly did take place. Not being a "purist," I have no problem with the winners of the main events being included as championship event winners.

 

With only a few exceptions, the schedule of events and the results of these race meetings are now known. The time trials, heats, consolation and semi-final events, feature events, and payout sheets of these race meetings make for interesting reading. They also give a better idea of how the infrastructure of racing under the Contest Board actually worked.

 

As for Selingsgrove, I think that there was only one event, not two. As the report states, the program was shortened by the weather and that was that. The slim field, only nine entries being reflected in the time trials results, suggest that even without the weather issue, it would have been a rather thin program anyway. Note the sanction number, 4051, and it is clear that it was added to the listing quite late. The report also suggests just what a fumble the event was, with the track scarcely managing to open for the event and a very small field to boot. This is where the stories, if you will, of the events often leave more questions than answers. Focusing solely on the statistics and data, what constitutes the generally accepted definition of "auto racing history," often tends to largely ignore or simply leave open the context and specifics of individual events. Interestingly, there is not all that much in either NSSN or ISN on many of these events held during 1946. Then again, in some cases just finding out the bare bones of a race meeting can be a serious challenge, much less digging into its specifics. For the most part, whether buff or scholastic historian, folks do their flat level best to bring this material to our attention.

 

A tip of the hat to Michael for his excellent work sorting all this sort of stuff out.

[Michael Ferner]

I have an advantage... I've been dealing with Sprint car races for the better part of ten years now, so it's familiar terrain. One forgets the amazement at certain things one takes for granted now. The fun really begins once you step into the minefield of weekly races for track championships, but I digress... This here, to me, actually is more like kid's stuff - pretty straightforward.

[Michael Ferner]

Fascinating detail I found out thanks to Don's AAA material: Phil Harms (and his copycats) list Sprint car regular Freddie Carpenter from Albany/NY as a driver for the two postwar National Championship races at Goshen/NY in 1946 and '47. I had already assumed that the car in both instances (#31 Gardner Special in '46, and #22 Pauley-Vogt Special in '47) was one and the same, namely the ex-Chet Gardner Duesenberg two-man car, now fitted with a Ford V8 flathead. Naturally, I was quite pleased to find out I was right, with the entrant in both years listed as J. Edward Pauley in the AAA documents, but what took me by surprise was to find that the driver in 1946 was actually Johnny Carpenter of Syracuse/NY, another Empire State Sprint car veteran who I had racing only Midgets after WW2. To the best of my knowledge, Fred and John Carpenter were not related, so it is pretty astonishing that both had their one and only Championship appearance in the same car and at the same track, only one year apart!

[carl s]

Michael

 

This 1938 Ed Ryan photo and info on Johnny Carpenter in his Big Car was supplied by New York racing historian Roger Liller. It’s not clear if this photo depicts Johnny Carpenter of Syracuse or John Carpenter from Elmira.

 

https://www.flickr.c...57632911694050/

[Michael Ferner]

That's right, there was another, earlier John Carpenter from New York State (Elmira in the Southern Tier)- if it's 1938, it should be the one from Syracuse who drove at Goshen in 1946, as the one from Elmira generally raced in the twenties. However, from the looks of the car and people in that picture I'd say it's much earlier than 1938, so who knows.

Thanks, Carl - nice picture!

[Michael Ferner]

To the best of my knowledge, Fred and John Carpenter were not related, so it is pretty astonishing that both had their one and only Championship appearance in the same car and at the same track, only one year apart!

Well, the purist should take issue with this wording, as both Fred and Johnny raced in a number of 1946 Championship events, of course - only goes to show how easy it is to fall into those traps...

[carl s]

Thanks Michael. Makes my head hurt but happy it is still attached....somewhat.

The other John - Johnny - Carpenter

https://www.flickr.c...57632911694050/

[Michael Ferner]

 

Plus, I have the suspicion that some items are missing from what Gordon White tired to get microfilmed.

 

 

That, sadly, proves to be the case. There are no results or payoff sheets for Thompson June 9, for example, so that one remains elusive. The only hope is to be able to reconstruct the results from the points standings.

 

Also, there are no results for Winchester May 26, and the payoff sheet is rather "erratic": several payoff positions are missing, and some of those listed do not agree with the entry blank info nor the info from newspaper reports. Shackleford is listed with a qualifying time, but crossed out, and does not appear to have received any money, whereas all newspaper reports list him as winning a heat and running strongly in the feature. Maybe he was disqualified? Yet, there's no hint in the official report from the race, which meticulously lists all fees collected from the drivers, car owners, mechanics and the promoter, rates the "policing" of the race as "OK" and reports the "accidents" as "none", without further remarks. In short, a headache.

 

Normally, I accept the payoff info as final, as the entrants sign off with their name against their winnings, thus accepting the finishing order (which settles the odd disagreement between results and payoff info), but this can be tricky, too - case in point is the final race, Richmond Nov 10: both Johns and Goss are paid for 5th place in the main event, and there's no payoff for 6th, while the total sum of prize money paid is 25 dollars off (the exact amount of the difference between 5th and 6th). One can only guess what happened: the race was stopped prematurely due to an accident, and the last two laps were run under yellow. The local paper reported Johns finishing 4th, with no info on the following positions. Examining the payoff ledger now, one can see that the main event amounts for Stine (4th), Johns (5th) and Fleming (7th) were corrected, whereas the entry for Goss (6th) wasn't altered. My guess is that Stine dropped to seventh during the yellow laps, and (informally) protested at the payoff window, leading to the corrections. Apparently, Goss had already been paid for 5th, and since there were only four cars running in the consy (which paid to 7th position), the promoter was 35 dollars to the good, and probably decided that it wasn't worth the hassle to recover those 25 dollars - stranger things have happened!

[DCapps]

For better or worse, the historical instinct is to collect as many examples of the phenomena or issues we seek to understand.  “Why stop at four examples when forty will do?,” is our motto.  Historians believe that because historical sources are always flawed and biased, so it’s better practice to look at as many as possible and weigh them one against another to test their validity before drawing definitive conclusions about the past.

 

This is from Dr. Ann Little (AKA "Historiann") at Colorado State University and, I think, correctly suggest the empirical approach that historians tend to take while developing their interpretations.

 

And, Michael, you correctly state one of the issues that seems to related to the AAA Contest Board material and other contemporary (and later, for that matter...) sources.

[Michael Ferner]

Normally, I accept the payoff info as final, as the entrants sign off with their name against their winnings, thus accepting the finishing order (which settles the odd disagreement between results and payoff info), but this can be tricky, too - case in point is the final race, Richmond Nov 10: both Johns and Goss are paid for 5th place in the main event, and there's no payoff for 6th, while the total sum of prize money paid is 25 dollars off (the exact amount of the difference between 5th and 6th). One can only guess what happened: the race was stopped prematurely due to an accident, and the last two laps were run under yellow. The local paper reported Johns finishing 4th, with no info on the following positions. Examining the payoff ledger now, one can see that the main event amounts for Stine (4th), Johns (5th) and Fleming (7th) were corrected, whereas the entry for Goss (6th) wasn't altered. My guess is that Stine dropped to seventh during the yellow laps, and (informally) protested at the payoff window, leading to the corrections. Apparently, Goss had already been paid for 5th, and since there were only four cars running in the consy (which paid to 7th position), the promoter was 35 dollars to the good, and probably decided that it wasn't worth the hassle to recover those 25 dollars - stranger things have happened!

A very similar thing seems to have happened at the Dayton Night race, June 28. The initial results had Bob Simpson in 3rd, followed by Norm Houser, Joe Baker, Ottis Stine and Bud Rose. That's how the papers reported, and how the results were initially documented on the "Form 4A - SUMMARY OF RESULTS" in the AAA folder. But before the points were allocated, someone (probably AAA zone supervisor Bob Martindale) corrected the results and put Rose in 3rd, with everyone else dropping a place correspondingly - likely a lap miscount. On the payoff ledger now, both Rose and Simpson receive $200, the third place prize. Taking a closer look, though, one can see that only those two entries were corrected, and only minimally so (4th paid $100). Perhaps Simpson was not happy with the decision, but didn't want to protest since then the money would be withheld until a decision was reached, which could take months. Neither he nor Rose were interested in the points, it was all about the money, so the promoter's mediation skills were needed - luckily, Frank Funk had thirty years of experience dealing with pesky racers. Apparently, he was also thrifty enough to at least try and persuade Rose to accept fourth money , but the Californian predictably would have none of it. Don't feel sorry for Frank, though, he still made an extra profit of $260 by cancelling the consy due to a short field.

I have updated the tables in posts 13 & 14 again, as things come together nicely. The best thing about this, though, is getting lots of background information about the cars, owners and mechanics as well. Having definite car assignments is already a great asset, as there is often only rudimentary info (or none at all!) provided by the press. I usually get along fine with that and a bit of guesswork - if driver A has car B in races 1 and 5, I assume the same combination does races 2, 3 and 4 as well - but "real life" has always a few surprises in store: Bill Holland, for example, does a few races for Milt Marion in mid season while the Malamud is laid up with repairs. The Ted Horn cars don't stay with their regular drivers throughout the year, either, and even Joie Chitwood subs in one, apart from driving the old O'Day/Offy in the season opener. And sometimes, drivers appear to switch mounts right out of the blue: Red Byron and Buddie Rusch, for example, swop their rides for one single race only, just to see how it is walking in somebody else's shoes - quite fascinating!

Many thanks again to Don, who's made this research possible!

[Michael Ferner]

A few interesting (I hope) statistics, perhaps:

There were 78 AAA race meetings in 1946, 76 National Championship rounds but only 75 main events due to the Charlotte rain-out (see post #10). Of those 75 main events, 43 were won by the fastest qualifyer, including Trenton Memorial Day when Bob Sall fast timed for Johnny Shackleford who went on to win. The second fastest qualifier won 18 times, third fastest five, while fourth and fifth fastest won three times each. "Slowest winner" was Charley van Acker, who took his single win as 8th fastest, while George Connor was 7th and 8th fastest, respectively, for his two wins. No one qualifying sixth or worse than eighth won in 1946.

Qualifying positions do not always equal starting positions, and George Robson won the Indy 500 from 15th on the grid, outside fifth row, despite qualifying fifth fastest. Rex Mays won the Langhorne 100-miler from 9th, also fifth row but inside, despite being fastest qualifyer. Also fastest, but starting from sixth was Tony Bettenhausen, winner at Goshen, while Connor started his winning drives from fifth and sixth, respectively, with van Acker winning from fifth.

More qualifying statistics may follow, if there's interest.

[Michael Ferner]

Offenhauser Engineering built its first engine in 1934, for a Midget and it famously won first time out. Not only that, but it changed Midget racing forever. The following year, Offenhauser built two Big car engines, and those two engines finished 1-2 in their first race, the Indy 500; the start of a similar success story. By the end of 1946, 170 Midget engines and 70 Big car engines had left the factory in California, and ten of those Big car engines won 64 of the 75 National Championship main events. Built in the same shop, the unique Bowes-Meyer supercharged 8-cylinder won another three, beaten only by the popular Hal engine out of Ohio, which accounted for four wins in three different cars. The other four wins fell to the Dreyer engine from Indiana, the McDowell and Sparks-Thorne engines from California, and the Voelker from Michigan. The latter two were the only six-cylinder winners, and the Sparks-Thorne was the only other supercharged engine, apart from the Bowes-Meyer, to visit victory lane.

More engine statistics will follow.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 16 April 2017 - 13:11.

[Michael Ferner]

Combining the two (engines & qualifying), we again have ten Offenhausers supplying 62 fast times, plus one by an old 16-valve Miller of basically identical construction, four different Hals with seven and the single Bowes-Meyer with four. The remaining two (there are 76 because qualifying was held at Charlotte before the rains came) go to the Winfield brothers of California: Ed with his rocker-arm 4-cylinder and Bud with his supercharged V8.

The only fast qualifying Offy to not win was the (Dick) Palmer #12, originally built by Harry Hartz for the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup. The only Offy winner to not qualify fastest was the (Ed) Walsh #38, a new car built from the remains of the one crashed by Sam Hanks at Indy in 1941. Qualifying fast and winning were all three of the Ted Horn cars (his own #5 built in 1939, the #4 that was built in 1936 by Russ Garnant from the '35 Harris Insinger wreck, and the #3 that was originally built in 1932 by Fred Blauvelt), the Bill Corley/Paul Russo #7 (built in 1939 by Kelly Petillo from his '35 Indy winner), Charlie Engle's new #17, Ralph Malamud's old #29 (built in 1938 or earlier), the Fred Peters/Ted Nyquist #6 (built for Briggs Cunningham in 1933), the Paul Weirick #1 (built in 1932 and better known as "Poison Lil") and the Oscar Ridlon #8, allegedly a former Milt Marion car but not yet fully identified. Apart from the 1938 Bowes-Meyer, the (Lawrence) Jewell/Hal #34 (built in 1941 or earlier) and the (Howard) Bumpus #5 (originally built by John Bagley in 1936) also took honours in both categories.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 16 April 2017 - 13:37.

[Michael Ferner]

Driver statistics are still a bit "rough around the edges", because of the missing results for the June 9 Thompson meeting as well as missing or incomplete qualifying data and/or pay-off sheets for one or two others. Nevertheless, they make for some interesting reading:

Twenty drivers shared in the 75 main event wins: Ted Horn (19), Bill Holland (15), Joie Chitwood (7), George Robson (6), Walt Ader (4), Rex Mays (3), Bus Wilbert (3), Elbert Booker (2), George Connor (2), Tommy Hinnershitz (2), Oscar Ridlon (2), Johnny Shackleford (2), Tony Bettenhausen, Bumpy Bumpus, Lucky Lux, Hal Robson, Hank Rogers, Charley van Acker, Joe Verebly and Lee Wallard.

There were sixteen drivers with a best finish of 2nd place: Tommy Mattson (3), Eddie Zalucki (3), Emil Andres (2), Red Byron (2), Walt Brown, Duke Dinsmore, Norm Houser, Jimmy Jackson, Johnnie Matera, Duke Nalon, Mauri Rose, Buddie Rusch, Steve Truchan, Buster Warke, Spider Webb and Ed Zimmerman.

Ten drivers with a best finish of 3rd place: Eddie Casterline (2), Bob Cooney (2), Fred Carpenter, Danny Goss, Earl Johns, Bud Rose, Mike Salay, Buddy Shuman, Larry Smith and Ottis Stine.

Thirteen drivers with a best finish of 4th place: Al Fleming (4), Orville Epperley (3), Johnny Favenger (2), Earl Horne (2), Bud Bardowski, George Cavanna, Dutch Culp, Milt Fankhauser, Jimmy Gibbons, Hank Gritzbach, Bob Simpson, Charlie Szekendy and Dee Toran.

Sixteen drivers with a best finish of 5th place: Warren Bates (2), Jim Brubaker (2), Carl Ott (2), Charlie Rogers (2), Bob Chronister, Charles Crawford, Billy Devore, George Fabyan, Ed Kulp, Joe Langley, Mark Light, George Lynch, Herman Owens, Chick Smith, Ed Terry and Sam Hanks.

Eighteen drivers with a best finish of 6th place: Mike Bailey, Joe Baker, Paul Becker, George Bouley, Clay Corbitt, Floyd Davis, Louis Durant, Eddie Edwards, Jimmy Goodwin, Amos Hill, Jakie Holland, Fred Lauty (whose real name was Lautenschlager, apparently), George Metzler, Verden Morelock, Harry Robtoy, Peewee Southcott, Walt Walker and John Weavil.

Eighteen drivers with a best finish of 7th place: Johnny Byrne (2), Charlie Breslin, Johnny Carpenter, Len Duncan, Jimmy Fearick, Lou Heller, Stan Jones, Joe Martin, Charlie Miller, Dewey Ploppert, D. C. Russell, Ed Sample, Carl Scarborough, Jim Schumacher, Al Staley, Sammy Swartz, Gene Trinque and Luigi Villoresi.

Sixteen drivers with a best finish of 8th place: George Barringer, Carl Coggins, Eddie Gallione, Ernie Gesell, Vince Haan, Howie Hagelin, Jack Hudson, Bud Johnson, George Marshman, Al Miller, Red Redmond, George Rutty, Mark Sooy, G. L. Strickland, Frank Wearne and Steve Yanigan.

Six drivers with a best finish of 9th place: Al Baker, Jack Etheridge, Ducky Pehlman, Leonard Shaw, Bill Sheffler and Tom Sternad.

Eight drivers with a best finish of 10th place: Len Fanelli, Paul Handshew, Len Koenig, Chuck McNeal, Vic Nauman, Fred Reid, Henry Steiger and George Yetter.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 17 April 2017 - 18:04.

[Michael Ferner]

Best qualifying position (drivers):

1st: Bill Holland (17), Ted Horn (14), Joie Chitwood (11), Rex Mays (5), George Robson (5), Elbert Booker (4), Johnny Shackleford (3), Oscar Ridlon (2), Hank Rogers (2), Spider Webb (2), Walt Ader, Emil Andres, Tony Bettenhausen, Bumpy Bumpus, Ralph Hepburn, Tommy Hinnershitz, Duke Nalon, Buddie Rusch, Bob Sall, Joe Verebly, Bus Wilbert and Jimmie Wilburn (NC).

2nd: Walt Brown, Red Byron, Fred Carpenter, Eddie Casterline, Earl Horne, Tommy Mattson, Ottis Stine, Lee Wallard and Eddie Zalucki

3rd: Cliff Bergere, Bob Cooney, Duke Dinsmore, Ernie Gesell, Jimmy Gibbons, Danny Goss, Lou Rassey**, Hal Robson, Charley van Acker and Ed Zimmerman

4th: Al Fleming (2), Dutch Culp, Billy Devore, Cliff Helman, Norm Houser, Mark Light, Johnnie Matera, Herman Owens, Red Redmond, Mauri Rose, Paul Russo, Carl Scarborough*** and Peewee Southcott

5th: Earl Johns (3), George Connor, Hank Gritzbach, Stan Jones, Lucky Lux, George Rutty, Ed Terry and Dee Toran

6th: Milt Fankhauser (2), Buddy Shuman (2), Warren Bates, Jim Brubaker, Bob Chronister, Orville Epperley, Eddie Gallione, Phil Galus, Joe Langley, George Marshman, George Metzler, Al Miller, Fred Reid, Bud Rose, Mike Salay, Lou Volk and Buster Warke

7th: Tom Sternad (2), George Barringer, George Bouley, Johnny Favinger, Sam Hanks, Amos Hill, Ed Kulp, Charlie Rogers, Larry Smith and Charlie Szekendy

8th: Len Duncan (2), Clay Corbitt, Johnnie Crone, Jimmy Goodwin, Lou Heller, Chet Miller, Bob Patriguin, Sammy Swartz, Steve Truchan and John Weavil

9th: Les Adair (NC), Mike Bailey, Joe Baker, Bud Bardowski, Jerry Brown, Johnny Byrne, George Golden, Don King, George Lewis, Harry McQuinn, Charlie Miller, Verden Morelock, Vic Nauman, Carl Ott, Sandy Sanford and Jim Schumacher

10th: Len Koenig (2), Al Baker, Johnny Carpenter, Charles Crawford, Ken Dadswell, Howie Hagelin, George Lynch, Phil Myers, Ed Sample, Bob Simpson and G. L. Strickland

11th: Jack Etheridge (2), Jakie Holland (2), Carl Coggins, Floyd Davis, Mike Doherty, George Fabyan, Len Fanelli, Al Gaumond, Paul Handshew, Johnny Holmes (NC), Fred Lauty, Doc Rand, Leonard Shaw, Henry Steiger and Arthur York

12th: Jimmy Fearick (2), Mark Sooy (2), Tommy Charles, Ben Emerick, Vince Haan, Carl Hudson, Frank Luptow, Joe Martin, Chuck McNeal, Ducky Pehlman, Bill Randall, Ben Smorto, Al Staley and Steve Yanigan

13th: Eddie Edwards (2), Shorty Dotter, Paul Eldridge, Tommy Gulliver, Jack Hudson, Bud Johnson, Jimmy Little, Speed McFee, Berk Starke and Junior Wingate (NC)

14th: Charlie Breslin, Shorty Cantlon, Charley Engle, Bill Gouse, Paul Lawrence, Pop Lewis (NC), Al Metzger, Gene Trinque and Walt Walker

15th: Chick Smith (2), Herschel Buchanan (NC), Charles Kilmer, Lou Li Dell, Frank Sivret and Melvin Swartzlander

16th: Jim Boas, Robert Bosworth, Clint Breese, George Dolan, Mickey Fenn, Bernie Graybeal, Jack Peterson and Russ Snowberger

17th: Bill Blalock (NC), Carl Boss, Doc Fredericks, Ken Gallup, Bob Geist and Cliff Hemingway

18th: Carl Anderson, Paul Becker, Mel Hansen, George Lyon, Harry Robtoy and Joe Sanco

19th: Sam Greco, Johnny Hill, Hank Hudomint, Kid Sbrilli and Luigi Villoresi

20th: Dub Hoffman, Hank Schlosser, Joe Valletta and Frank Wearne

21st: Dewey Ploppert and George Yetter (NC)

22nd: Hal Cole

23rd: Joe Gillow and Charles Trimmer

24th: Pete McKeone, Johnny Pierson and Bill Sheffler

25th: Jimmy Jackson

26th: Scotty Arrell, Henry Banks and Tut Moore

27th: -

28th: -

29th: -

30th: -

31st: Louis Tomei

32nd: Louis Durant

33rd: Sam Craft and Danny Kladis

34th: Mike Magill, Frank Parisi and Al Putnam


* NC = non-championship; Wilburn also qualified 6th for a Championship round

** Lou Rassey arrived at Langhorne in August with his car, and no driver assigned. Walt Brown took over the driving when his regular ride, the Marion/Offy conked out in hot laps - it was likely him who qualified the Rassey/Offy third fast, however the AAA records and the newspapers listed Rassey as the driver. There are a few more examples of car owners listed with qualifying times, some of them former drivers; it is always possible that they qualified their car in cases when no regular driver was available, so I generally included them in this list.

*** Scarborough was disqualified after qualifying fourth at Dayton in July with an oversized engine, his best "legal" result was 10th.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 17 April 2017 - 23:02.

[DCapps]

Many thanks again to Don, who's made this research possible!

 

Funny as to what a difference archival material can make to a research effort....

[Michael Ferner]

Beats stabbing in the dark!


To continue with the statistics, making lots of dough is what professional racing is all about, isn't it? Here's what they took home in 1946 (including the Benton Sweepstakes and Pikes Peak, though incomplete, but without the first Thompson race):

$48,964.05 George Robson
$27,719.84 Ted Horn
$13,737.50 Jimmy Jackson
$13,108.84 Rex Mays
$12,604.77 Emil Andres
$11,700.00 Bill Holland
$7,698.00 Walt Ader
$7,650.00 Tommy Hinnershitz
$7,025.00 Ralph Hepburn
$6,583.13 Joie Chitwood
$6,429.22 George Connor
$5,729.25 Duke Dinsmore
$5,502.82 Tony Bettenhausen
$5,416.38 Mauri Rose
$4,800.00 Lou Unser
$3,934.37 Sam Hanks
$3,237.00 Louis Durant
$3,178.55 Billy Devore
$3,062.41 Elbert Booker
$3,025.00 Lee Wallard
$2,775.00 Johnny Shackleford
$2,714.90 Steve Truchan
$2,700.00 George Hammond
$2,640.00 Hank Rogers*
$2,525.00 Earl Johns
$2,437.00 Frank Wearne
$2,381.88 Spider Webb
$2,375.00 Luigi Villoresi
$2,270.00 Hal Robson
$2,225.00 Eddie Zalucki
$2,196.40 Danny Goss
$2,113.00 Bill Sheffler
$2,113.00 Tommy Mattson*
$2,098.79 Bud Bardowski
$1,965.00 Bus Wilbert
$1,941.61 Jimmie Wilburn
$1,862.50 Duke Nalon
$1,845.00 Red Byron
$1,700.00 Mel Hansen
$1,669.58 Charlie Rogers
$1,445.00 Walt Brown
$1,425.00 Walt Killinger
$1,310.19 Al Putnam
$1,291.00 Al Fleming
$1,285.00 Ottis Stine
$1,266.00 Ed Zimmerman*
$1,216.55 George Barringer
$1,210.00 Charley van Acker
$1,169.21 Cliff Bergere
$1,159.43 George Metzler
$1,152.42 Joe Langley
$1,150.00 Buddie Rusch
$1,148.39 Harry McQuinn
$1,112.50 Russ Snowberger
$999.00 Lucky Lux
$925.00 Jimmy Gibbons
$909.39 Eddie Casterline*
$896.00 Bob Cooney
$896.00 Warren Bates
$890.62 Chet Miller
$890.00 Larry Smith
$875.00 Danny Kladis
$859.38 Louis Tomei
$845.88 Al Miller
$786.00 Dutch Culp
$774.00 Joe Verebly*
$760.00 Buddy Shuman
$750.00 Wayne Sankey
$725.00 Fred Carpenter*
$725.00 Shorty Cantlon
$725.00 Henry Banks
$696.56 Floyd Davis
$665.00 Buster Warke
$660.00 Orville Epperley
$650.00 Paul Russo
$630.00 Norm Houser
$600.00 Hal Cole
$580.00 Johnnie Matera
$573.00 Bob Chronister
$560.00 Oscar Ridlon*
$544.00 Mark Light
$515.00 Milt Fankhauser
$475.00 Bumpy Bumpus*
$471.43 Johnny Carpenter*
$470.00 Carl Ott
$445.00 Earl Horne
$415.00 Bud Rose
$390.00 Dee Toran
$380.00 Ed Terry
$380.00 Len Duncan
$362.00 Stan Jones
$356.82 Zora Arkus-Duntov
$340.00 George Cavanna*
$325.00 George Rutty
$325.00 Len Koenig
$293.00 Johnny Favinger
$258.00 Herman Owens
$250.00 Mike Salay
$245.00 Bob Simpson
$235.00 Clay Corbitt
$234.00 Red Redmond
$212.00 Hank Gritzbach*
$190.00 Jim Brubaker
$185.00 Charlie Breslin
$176.00 Eddie Edwards*
$172.00 Joe Martin
$165.00 Ducky Pehlman
$159.00 Mike Bailey
$155.00 Walt Walker
$155.00 Jimmie Fearick*
$145.00 Ed Sample
$140.00 Speed McFee
$140.00 Jimmy Goodwin
$139.00 Ed Kulp
$135.00 D. C. Russell
$125.00 Verden Morelock
$120.00 or $90.00 Carl Scarborough
$115.00 Charlie Szekendy
$115.00 George Lynch
$115.00 Paul Becker
$110.00 Mark Sooy
$110.00 Charles Crawford
$105.00 Henry Steiger
$105.00 Peewee Southcott
$100.00 Chick Smith
$100.00 Johnny Byrne
$96.00 Charles Kilmer*
$95.00 Jack Etheridge
$95.00 Al Baker
$85.00 Dewey Ploppert
$85.00 Charlie Miller
$85.00 Chuck McNeal
$85.00 Jakie Holland
$85.00 Amos Hill
$80.00 Pete McKeone
$80.00 Jim Boas
$77.00 Gene Trinque*
$75.00 Paul Handshew
$75.00 Joe Baker
$70.00 Eddie Gallione
$65.00 Fred Lauty
$65.00 George Fabyan
$65.00 Herschel Buchanan
$63.00 Dub Hoffman
$60.00 Lou Heller
$57.00 Lou Volk
$55.00 Sammy Swartz
$55.00 Al Staley
$55.00 Len Fanelli
$50.00 G. L. Strickland
$50.00 Sandy Sanford
$50.00 Harry Robtoy
$50.00 George Marshman
$50.00 Bud Johnson
$50.00 Carl Coggins
$49.00 George Yetter
$47.00 Melvin Swartzlander
$45.00 Steve Yanigan
$45.00 John Weavil
$45.00 Jimmy Little
$45.00 Mike Doherty
$45.00 Jerry Brown
$43.00 J. A. Kennedy
$40.00 Joe Taggart
$40.00 Don King*
$40.00 Bill Gouse
$40.00 Al Gaumond*
$40.00 Ben Emerick
$40.00 George Bouley
$35.00 Jim Schumacher
$35.00 Cliff Hemingway
$34.00 Les Adair
$30.00 Arthur York
$30.00 Howie Hagelin
$30.00 Johnnie Crone
$30.00 Harold Collier (?)
$30.00 Tommy Charles
$27.00 Paul Edlridge
$25.00 Frank Luptow
$25.00 Jack Hudson
$25.00 Joe Gillow
$25.00 Scotty Arrell
$20.00 Ben Smorto
$20.00 Fred Reid
$20.00 Bob Patriguin
$20.00 George Lyon
$20.00 Lou Li Dell
$20.00 Johnny Hill
$20.00 Vince Haan
$20.00 Tommy Gulliver
$20.00 Bernie Graybeal
$20.00 Carl Boss
$15.00 Tom Sternad
$15.00 Berk Starke
$15.00 Leonard Shaw
$15.00 Bill Randall*
$15.00 Doc Rand
$15.00 Vic Nauman
$15.00 Al Metzger
$15.00 J. Grubbs
$15.00 George Golden
$15.00 Ernie Gesell
$15.00 Bob Geist
$15.00 Shorty Dotter
$11.00 Cliff Helman
$10.00 Kid Sbrilli
$10.00 Phil Myers
$10.00 Clint Breese
$10.00 Robert Bosworth
$5.00 Frank Sivret
$5.00 George Lewis*
$0.00 Mike Magill*
$0.00 Louis Giuliano*

* These drivers competed at Thompson Speedway on June 9, and may have won additional purse money there.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 02 May 2017 - 21:02.

[Michael Ferner]

A total of 280 drivers competed in the 78 AAA race meetings in 1946, and sixteen of those appeared only at the Lakewood or Pikes Peak non-points shows. For the purpose of the following stats, I will post non-championship information in squared brackets, to make it more readable, like in "there were 264 [+16] drivers competing in the 76 [+2] races..."

Pennsylvanians Bill Holland and Tommy Hinnershitz were the busiest drivers all year, both competing in 45 [+1] meetings, and making 42 [+1] main event starts each. Holland won 15 races, was second 10 times, third 8 times, fourth 5 [+1] times and fifth on 2 occasions; Hinnershitz won but 2, was second 10 times, third 10 times, fourth 9 times and fifth 7 times.

Californian Ted Horn took part in 40 [+1] meetings, making 39 [+1] starts - on October 19 at Raleigh/NC, he made his 50th start in a National Championship main event, thus becoming only the 6th ever driver to achieve that milestone, after Tommy Milton (63 races in total), Frank Elliott (61), Harry Hartz (60), Bennie Hill (53) and Eddie Hearne (50). Horn won 19 races, was second 9 [+1] times, third 5 times, fourth on 2 occasions, and once classified sixth.

New Jersey's Earl Johns competed in 40 meetings, but made only 30 starts, finishing third once, fourth twice, fifth 7 times and sixth 5 times. His statemate Walt Ader took part in 37 meetings, with 32 starts, 4 wins, 8 seconds, 13 thirds, 3 fourths and 1 fifth. Virginia's Al Fleming made 15 [+1] starts in 35 [+1] attempts, finishing fourth 4 times, and sixth once.

Two more Jerseyites follow, with Warren Bates (11 starts in 34 meetings) and Hank Rogers (25 in 33), then Ed Zimmerman of New York (21 in 33) and two drivers from the same small town in Southern Pennsylvania (York), Ottis Stine (16 in 31) and Bob Chronister (5 in 31). New York's Lee Wallard is the last driver with at least 30 appearances, or more than 20 starts (21 [+1] in 29 [+1], actually).

The complete list (overall appearances, main event starts, wins, seconds, thirds, fourth, fifths, sixths):

46 43 2 10 10 9 7 - Tommy Hinnershitz
46 43 15 10 8 6 2 - Bill Holland
41 40 19 10 5 2 - - Ted Horn
40 30 - - 1 2 7 4 Earl Johns
37 32 4 8 13 3 1 - Walt Ader
36 16 - - - 4 - 1 Al Fleming
34 11 - - - - 2 3 Warren Bates
33 25 1 2 2 2 4 5 Hank Rogers
33 21 - 1 - 1 4 3 Ed Zimmerman
31 16 - - 1 2 1 1 Ottis Stine
31 5 - - - - 1 1 Bob Chronister
30 22 1 2 3 4 1 2 Lee Wallard
26 16 - 3 1 4 2 1 Tommy Mattson
25 8 - - - 1 2 2 Dutch Culp
24 5 - - - - - 1 Stan Jones
23 19 - 2 2 2 2 1 Red Byron
23 14 2 2 1 - 2 - Johnny Shackleford
23 10 - - 1 - - 2 Larry Smith
22 17 - - 1 1 3 5 Danny Goss
21 7 - - - - 1 - Mark Light
19 17 7 4 3 - - - Joie Chitwood
19 6 - 1 - - 1 2 Buddie Rusch
18 14 - 3 1 1 3 1 Eddie Zalucki
18 7 - - 2 - - - Bob Cooney
17 9 - - - 1 1 1 Jimmy Gibbons
17 5 - - - - 1 - Ed Terry
17 3 - - - - - - Len Koenig
16 14 - 1 2 4 - 1 Duke Dinsmore
16 12 2 1 2 1 - - Elbert Booker
16 11 - - 1 1 - 3 Fred Carpenter
16 3 - - - - - - Red Redmond
15 5 - - - 1 - - Milt Fankhauser
14 13 6 2 1 - - - George Robson
14 9 - 1 2 1 - - Spider Webb
14 5 1 - - - 1 1 Lucky Lux
14 3 - - - - - - Jimmy Fearick
13 8 - 1 3 - - - Walt Brown
13 4 - - - - - - George Rutty
13 1 - - - - - - Dub Hoffman
12 10 2 - - - - - George Connor
12 9 3 1 1 1 - - Bus Wilbert
11 5 - - 1 - 2 1 Buddy Shuman
11 1 - - - - - - Mark Sooy
10 4 - 1 - - 1 1 Norm Houser
10 4 - - - - - 1 George Metzler
9 9 - 2 3 3 1 - Emil Andres
9 7 1 - 1 2 2 - Charley van Acker
9 6 - - - 3 - 1 Orville Epperley
9 5 - - - - 1 1 Joe Langley
9 - - - - - - - Cliff Helman
8 7 - - - 2 1 - Earl Horne
8 6 - - - - 2 3 Carl Ott
8 5 1 1 - - - - Joe Verebly
8 2 - - - - - 1 Clay Corbitt
8 2 - - - - - - Ducky Pehlman
8 1 - - - - 1 - Ed Kulp
8 1 - - - - - - George Marshman
7 6 - - - 1 1 - George Cavanna
7 6 3 - - - - - Rex Mays
7 4 - - - - - 1 Eddie Edwards
7 4 - 1 - - - 1 Johnnie Matera
7 2 1 - - - - - Bumpy Bumpus
7 2 - - - 1 - - Hank Gritzbach
7 - - - - - - - Jim Boas
7 - - - - - - - Ben Smorto
6 6 1 1 - 1 1 - Hal Robson
6 3 - 1 - - - 1 Buster Warke
6 2 - - - - 2 - Jim Brubaker
6 2 - - - 2 - - Johnny Favinger
6 1 - - - - - - Paul Handshew
6 - - - - - - - Pete McKeone
5 5 - - - - 1 1 Herman Owens
5 4 - - - 1 - - Bud Bardowski
5 4 - 1 - 1 - - Duke Nalon
5 3 - - 1 1 - - Bud Rose
5 2 - - - - - - Johnny Byrne
5 - - - - - - - Jerry Brown
5 - - - - - - - Charles Kilmer
5 - - - - - - - Melvin Swartzlander
4 4 1 - - - 1 - Tony Bettenhausen
4 4 - - 2 - - 1 Eddie Casterline
4 4 - - - - 1 - Billy Devore
4 4 - 1 - - - - Mauri Rose
4 3 - - - - - 1 Peewee Southcott
4 2 - - - - - 1 Mike Bailey
4 2 - - - - - - Charlie Breslin
4 2 - - - - - - Jack Etheridge
4 2 - - - - - 1 Jimmy Goodwin
4 2 - - - - - 1 Walt Walker
4 1 - - - - - - Al Baker
4 1 - - - - - - Chuck McNeal
4 1 - - - - - 1 Verden Morelock
4 1 - - - - - - Sammy Swartz
4 - - - - - - - Bill Gouse
3 3 - - - - - - Joe Martin
3 3 2 - - - - - Oscar Ridlon
3 2 - - - - - - Len Duncan
3 2 - - - - - 1 Jakie Holland
3 2 - - - - - - Al Miller
3 2 - - - - 2 - Charlie Rogers
3 2 - 1 - - - - Steve Truchan
3 1 - - - - - - Eddie Gallione
3 1 - - - - - - Vic Nauman
3 1 - - - - - - Bill Randall
3 1 - - - - - - Ed Sample
3 1 - - - - - - Carl Scarborough
3 1 - - - - - - Henry Steiger
3 1 - - - - - - Tom Sternad
3 1 - - - - - - Gene Trinque
3 - - - - - - - Al Gaumond
3 - - - - - - - Bob Geist
3 - - - - - - - Jimmy Little
3 - - - - - - - Mike Magill
3 - - - - - - Kid Sbrilli
3 - - - - - - - Lou Volk
2 2 - - - - - George Barringer
2 2 - - - - - - D. C. Russell
2 2 - - - - - - Jim Schumacher
2 2 1 - - - - Jimmie Wilburn
2 1 - - - - - 1 Joe Baker
2 1 - - - - - - Johnny Carpenter
2 1 - - - - - - Carl Coggins
2 1 - - - - 1 - Charles Crawford
2 1 - - - - - - Len Fanelli
2 1 - - - - - - Howie Hagelin
2 1 - - - - - - Bud Johnson
2 1 - - - - - 1 Fred Lauty
2 1 - - - - - - Dewey Ploppert
2 1 - - - - - - Al Putnam
2 1 - - - 1 - - Bob Simpson
2 1 - - - - 1 - Chick Smith
2 1 - - - - - - Russ Snowberger
2 1 - - - - - - Al Staley
2 1 - - - - - 1 Hank Weavil
2 1 - - - - - - George Yetter
2 - - - - - - - Zora Arkus-Duntov
2 - - - - - - - Scotty Arrell
2 - - - - - - - Clint Breese
2 - - - - - - - Tommy Charles
2 - - - - - - - Mike Doherty
2 - - - - - - - Ben Emerick
2 - - - - - - - Chas Fleming
2 - - - - - - - Phil Galus
2 - - - - - - - Cliff Hemingway
2 - - - - - - - Don King
2 - - - - - - - George Lewis
2 - - - - - - - Frank Luptow
2 - - - - - - - Speed McFee
2 - - - - - - - Frank Sivret
2 - - - - - - - Berk Starke
2 - - - - - - - Charles Trimmer
1 1 - - - - - - Les Adair
1 1 - - - - - - Henry Banks
1 1 - - - - - 1 Paul Becker
1 1 - - - - - - Cliff Bergere
1 1 - - - - - 1 George Bouley
1 1 - - - - - - Herschel Buchanan
1 1 - - - - - - Shorty Cantlon
1 1 - - - - - - Hal Cole
1 1 - - - - - - Johnnie Crone
1 1 - - - - - 1 Floyd Davis
1 1 - - - - - 1 Louis Durant
1 1 - - - - 1 - George Fabyan
1 1 - - - - - - Ernie Gesell
1 1 - - - - - - Johnny Grubb
1 1 - - - - - - Vince Haan
1 1 - - - - - 1 Buster Hammond
1 1 - 1 - - - - George Hammond
1 1 - - - - - - Sam Hanks
1 1 - - - - - - Mel Hansen
1 1 - - - - - - Lou Heller
1 1 - - - - - - Ralph Hepburn
1 1 - - - - - 1 Amos Hill
1 1 - - - - - - Jack Hudson
1 1 - 1 - - - - Jimmy Jackson
1 1 - - - - - - J. A. Kennedy
1 1 - - 1 - - - Walt Killinger
1 1 - - - - - - Danny Kladis
1 1 - - - - 1 - George Lynch
1 1 - - - - - - Johnny Mauro
1 1 - - - - - - Harry McQuinn
1 1 - - - - - - Charlie Miller
1 1 - - - - - - Chet Miller
1 1 - - - - - - Fred Reid
1 1 - - - - - 1 Harry Robtoy
1 1 - - - - - - Al Rogers
1 1 - - - - - - Paul Russo
1 1 - - 1 - - - Mike Salay
1 1 - - - 1 - - Wayne Sankey
1 1 - - - - - - Len Shaw
1 1 - - - - - - Bill Sheffler
1 1 - - - - 1 - J. C. Shoemaker
1 1 - - - - - - G. L. Strickland
1 1 - - - 1 - - Charlie Szekendy
1 1 - - - - - - Louis Tomei
1 1 - - - 1 - - Dee Toran
1 1 1 - - - - - Lou Unser
1 1 - - - - - - Luigi Villoresi
1 1 - - - - - - Frank Wearne
1 1 - - - - - - Steve Yanigan
1 - - - - - - - Slim Allen
1 - - - - - - - Carl Anderson
1 - - - - - - - Robert Arbuthnot
1 - - - - - - - Harold Bailey
1 - - - - - - - Bill Blalock
1 - - - - - - - Carl Boss
1 - - - - - - - Robert Bosworth
1 - - - - - - - Arvol Brunmier
1 - - - - - - - Sam Bruno
1 - - - - - - - Rudolf Caracciola
1 - - - - - - - Harold Collier
1 - - - - - - - Sam Craft
1 - - - - - - - Ken Dadswell
1 - - - - - - - Bill d'Amico
1 - - - - - - - Bruce Denslow
1 - - - - - - - George Dolan
1 - - - - - - - Shorty Dotter
1 - - - - - - - Ray Dowell
1 - - - - - - - Paul Eldridge
1 - - - - - - - Ray Elston
1 - - - - - - - Charley Engle
1 - - - - - - - Vern Falor
1 - - - - - - - Mickey Fenn
1 - - - - - - - Mike Fiore
1 - - - - - - - Doc Fredericks
1 - - - - - - - Roland Free
1 - - - - - - - Ken Gallup
1 - - - - - - - Louis Gérard
1 - - - - - - - Joe Gillow
1 - - - - - - - Louis Giuliano
1 - - - - - - - George Golden
1 - - - - - - - Tiny Gould
1 - - - - - - - Bernie Graybeal
1 - - - - - - - Sam Greco
1 - - - - - - - Tommy Gulliver
1 - - - - - - - Johnny Hill
1 - - - - - - - Johnny Holmes
1 - - - - - - - Bill Hooper
1 - - - - - - - Henry Hudomint
1 - - - - - - - Carl Hudson
1 - - - - - - - Larry Lane
1 - - - - - - - Paul Lawrence
1 - - - - - - - Pop Lewis
1 - - - - - - - Lou Li Dell
1 - - - - - - - George Lyon
1 - - - - - - - Eddie Martin
1 - - - - - - - Art Martinson
1 - - - - - - - Frank McGurk
1 - - - - - - - Al Metzger
1 - - - - - - - Wally Mitchell
1 - - - - - - - Tut Moore
1 - - - - - - - Phil Myers
1 - - - - - - - Frank Parisi
1 - - - - - - - Bob Patriguin
1 - - - - - - - Jack Peterson
1 - - - - - - - Johnny Pierson
1 - - - - - - - Doc Rand
1 - - - - - - - Lou Rassey
1 - - - - - - - Jimmy Rice
1 - - - - - - - Bob Sall
1 - - - - - - - Joe Sanco
1 - - - - - - - Sandy Sanford
1 - - - - - - - Harry Schell
1 - - - - - - - Hank Schlosser
1 - - - - - - - Joe Silvia
1 - - - - - - - Joe Sostilio
1 - - - - - - - Don Swartz
1 - - - - - - - Allen Swenson
1 - - - - - - - Joe Taggart
1 - - - - - - - Earl Thorp
1 - - - - - - - Guy Tobias
1 - - - - - - - Joe Valletta
1 - - - - - - - Achille Varzi
1 - - - - - - - Asa Vinson
1 - - - - - - - Buster Whaley
1 - - - - - - - Bob White
1 - - - - - - - Junior Wingate
1 - - - - - - - Freddie Winnai
1 - - - - - - - Perry Wood
1 - - - - - - - Arthur York

N.B. It is not always perfectly clear who actually started in the main events, so that number will not be 100 % accurate. Also, a few of the non-starters may actually have not appeared at all.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 02 May 2017 - 21:08.

[Michael Ferner]

Researching the cars proves to be more of a challenge than anticipated: I actually expected car registration numbers to appear on entry lists and perhaps results as well, and to be able to work out the rest, but sadly that is rather the exception than the rule - more often than not, the number in the appropriate column is either missing entirely, replaced by a simple tick or the letters "ok", confused with other numbers such as the owner/driver/mechanic's registration number, or even receipt numbers for fees paid! In other words, almost completely worthless Also, useful information asked on the entry blank (like e.g. year of build, bore and stroke etc.) is not shown on the entry list, and very few filled-in entry forms are included, some of them (inevitably, perhaps) missing this data. Oh well, would've been nice, anyway.

Still, lots of interesting facts and facets can be extrapolated from the material, and used to make some pretty interesting observations. Let's start with something nice and easy, like finishing position for engine makes:

1st: Offenhauser (64+1 NC), Hal (4), Bowes-Meyer (3), Dreyer (1), Maserati (NC), McDowell (1), Sparks-Thorne (1) and Voelker (1)

2nd: Offenhauser (58+2), Hal (9), Riley (4), Dreyer (2), Harry Miller (1) and Ralph Miller (1)

3rd: Offenhauser (48+2), Hal (11), Dreyer (3), McDowell (3), Riley (3), Harry Miller (2), Ed Winfield (2), Frontenac (1), Maserati (1) and Ralph Miller (1)

4th: Offenhauser (25+1), Hal (14), Riley (10), Dreyer (6), McDowell (6), Harry Miller (4), Ralph Miller (3), Cragar (1+1), Rutherford (2), Maserati (1), Studebaker (1) and Ed Winfield (1)

5th: Offenhauser (18), Riley (18), Hal (14), Dreyer (11), McDowell (5), Harry Miller (1+2), Cragar (2), Ford (2), Clemons (1), Frontenac (1) and Ed Winfield (1)

6th: Hal (27), Riley (16), Offenhauser (8), Dreyer (6+1), McDowell (6+1), Cragar (2), Ed Winfield (2), Alfa Romeo (1), Ford (1), Harry Miller (1), Ralph Miller (1), Rutherford (1), Studebaker (1) and Voelker (1)

7th: Hal (23+1), Riley (12), Dreyer (8), Offenhauser (8), McDowell (5), Cragar (3), Harry Miller (3), Ed Winfield (3), Ford (2), Maserati (1), Terraplane (1), Vance (1), Voelker (1) and unknown (2)

8th: Hal (16), Offenhauser (13), Riley (13), Cragar (8), Dreyer (6), McDowell (4+1), Harry Miller (2), Alexander (1), Clemons (1), Green (1), Hudson (1), Maserati (1), Miller-Schofield (1), Ed Winfield (1) and unknown (1)

9th: Hal (21+1), Offenhauser (15), Dreyer (12), Riley (7), Cragar (4), Ed Winfield (3), Harry Miller (2), McDowell (1) and Miller-Schofield (1)

10th: Hal (19), Riley (9), Offenhauser (6), Dreyer (5), McDowell (5), Cragar (3), Harry Miller (3), Voelker (2), Ed Winfield (2), Clemons (1), Ford (1), Studebaker (1) and unknown (1)

Edited by Michael Ferner, 02 May 2017 - 20:56.

[Michael Ferner]

Qualifying positions:

1st: Offenhauser (62+1), Hal (7), Bowes-Meyer (4), Harry Miller (1), Bud Winfield (1) and Ed Winfield (1)

2nd: Offenhauser (61+1), Hal (9), Riley (3), Bowes-Meyer (1), Dreyer (1) and Harry Miller (1)

3rd: Offenhauser (56+1), Hal (11), Riley (4), Dreyer (2), McDowell (2) and Ralph Miller (1)

4th: Offenhauser (39+1), Hal (19), Dreyer (4), Riley (4), McDowell (2), Harry Miller (2), Ralph Miller (2) and Cragar (1)

5th: Offenhauser (24), Hal (18), Dreyer (9), Riley (6), Harry Miller (4+1), Cragar (3), Ed Winfield (3), McDowell (2), Ralph Miller (1), Sparks-Thorne (1), Vance (1) and Voelker (1)

6th: Hal (18), Riley (15), Offenhauser (13), Dreyer (8+1), McDowell (5), Harry Miller (3), Cragar (2), Ralph Miller (2), Ed Winfield (2), Alfa Romeo (1), Ford (1), Frontenac (1), Maserati (1) and Voelker (1)

7th: Hal (21), Dreyer (10), Offenhauser (9+1), McDowell (7), Harry Miller (7), Riley (7), Cragar (6), Voelker (2), Lockhart-Miller (1), Rutherford (1), Ed Winfield (1) and unknown (1)

8th: Hal (17+1), Riley (11), Dreyer (9), Harry Miller (9), Offenhauser (8), McDowell (7), Cragar (2), Ed Winfield (2), Alfa Romeo (1), Clemons (1), Ford (1), Voelker (1) and unknown (2)

9th: Hal (23), Riley (12), Offenhauser (7), Dreyer (6), Cragar (5), Harry Miller (4+1), Ed Winfield (3), McDowell (2), Ambler (1), Ford (1), Rutherford (1), Sparks-Thorne (1), Studebaker (1), Vance (1), Voelker (1) and unknown (1)

10th: Hal (26), Cragar (8), Riley (8), Dreyer (7), Offenhauser (5), McDowell (3), Ed Winfield (3), Harry Miller (2), Clemons (1), Ford (1), Hudson (1), Miller-Schofield (1), Rutherford (1), Studebaker (1), Voelker (1) and unknown (NC)

Edited by Michael Ferner, 01 May 2017 - 11:31.

[Michael Ferner]

The previous two posts showed Offenhauser dominating the top five positions in both qualifying and main events, with Hal the premier make in the lower ranks. How does this translate into the pay-offs?

$140,024.50 Offenhauser
$43.950.00 Sparks-Thorne
$23,933.38 Maserati
$19,634.58 Hal
$12,212.46 Bowes-Meyer
$8,997.00 Riley
$7,025.00 Bud Winfield
$5,986.00 Dreyer
$5,422.00 Harry Miller
$5,152.00 Alfa Romeo
$4,741.00 McDowell
$2,889.00 Cragar
$2,793.35 Voelker
$2,728.79 Studebaker
$2,369.25 Clemons
$2,359.00 Ed Winfield
$1,260.00 Ralph Miller
$925.00 Miller-Hartz
$875.00 Grancor
$826.43 Ford
$750.00 Brisko
$675.00 Lockhart-Miller
$356.82 Talbot-Lago
$350.00 Rutherford
$315.00 Frontenac
$148.00 Miller-Schofield
$112.00 Alexander
$110.00 Vance
$70.00 Green
$65.00 Terraplane
$45.00 Hudson
$15.00 Ambler
$0.00 Lagonda
$0.00 Lencki
$0.00 Plymouth

$357.00 unknown

$297,472.56 total

Not surprisingly, almost half of the entire purse money goes to the Offy owners. However, Indy plays a huge role in this set of statistics, and with a grand total of three engines built, and only two of those making one start each, the Sparks-Thorne combo heaves itself into the runner-up position, with quite a bit money going to Italy, as well.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 02 May 2017 - 21:01.

[Michael Ferner]

Some of the 36 different engine makes (including the ubiquitous manufacturer, "unknown" ) are more popular than others, and make up by sheer numbers what they may have been lacking in outright speed. Here's the "hit parade" of total appearances, main event starts and top 6 finishes, with the usual disclaimer (see post #33):

382 177 4 9 11 14 14 27 Hal (49*)
340 293 65 60 50 26 18 8 Offenhauser (36*)
216 100 - 4 3 10 18 16 Riley (32*)
108 64 1 2 3 6 11 7 Dreyer (12**)
108 27 - - - 2 2 2 Cragar (23)
108 19 - - 2 1 1 2 Ed Winfield (21)
98 47 1 - 3 6 5 7 McDowell (20)
61 26 - 1 2 4 3 1 Harry Miller (16*)
17 6 - - - - 2 1 Ford (6)
13 8 1 - 1 1 - - Maserati (10)
11 7 1 - - - - 1 Voelker (2)
10 1 - - - - - - Alexander (2)
8 7 - 1 1 3 - 1 Ralph Miller (1)
6 5 3 - - - - - Bowes-Meyer (1)
6 5 - - - - 1 - Clemons (1)
6 5 - - - 1 - 1 Studebaker (1)
6 3 - - - 2 - 1 Rutherford (2)
6 1 - - - - - - Hudson (5)
5 3 - - - - - - Miller-Schofield (1)
4 4 - - - - - 1 Alfa Romeo (3)
4 1 - - - - - - Green (1)
4 1 - - - - - - Terraplane (3)
4 1 - - - - - - Vance (1)
3 2 1 - - - - - Sparks-Thorne (3)
2 2 - - 1 - 1 - Frontenac (2)
2 1 - - - - - - Brisko (2)
2 - - - - - - - Ambler (2)
2 - - - - - - - Lencki (2)
2 - - - - - - - Talbot-Lago (1)
1 1 - - - - - - Grancor (1)
1 1 - - - - - - Lockhart-Miller (1)
1 1 - - - - - - Miller-Hartz (1)
1 1 - - - - - - Bud Winfield (1)
1 - - - - - - - Lagonda (1)
1 - - - - - - - Plymouth (1)

28 4 - - - - - - unknown (15)


The number in brackets is a first tentative try at identifying the individual number of cars competing with that engine make in 1946. At least three cars changed engines during the course of the season, and are thus listed twice, marked with an asterisk each.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 02 May 2017 - 20:56.

[Michael Ferner]

Reconstructing the points tables is a tough job - I can come close, very close, but the final few inches are going to be a daunting task, I fear, for several reasons. Of course, the missing and/or confusing results of the Winchester and Thompson openers are not relly helpful, but one recurring problem is the fact that heat points were earned back to 4th place, while many reports as well as the pay-off sheets only show the top 3 finishers. Some of these, I'm sure, it will be possible to solve by deduction, but several will probably remain obscure, I'm afraid. Another problem is that of shortened or prematurely stopped races, which are not always properly recorded, but will become obvious through a thorough analysis of the points tables, it is hoped. There also appear to be some inconsistencies in the way that retirements were handled, I suspect.

A quick and very unsophisticated check-up shows I can already match about half of the totals spot on, and most of the others are off by only a very small amount, less than ten or even five points in most cases, but a few larger discrepancies still cause a few headaches. To wit, going by championship positions I have Ted Horn off by 3 points, George Robson off by 5 and Emil Andres spot on, but then Bill Holland is off by almost 80 points! To continue, Hinnershitz is off by 2.2 points, Ader by 3.5, Jackson spot on, Chitwood off by more than 80, Mays spot on, Dinsmore off by 2, Durant spot on, Connor off by 6, Rogers by 29, Bettenhausen spot on and Johns off by more than 80, again. Further down, the biggest difference is Zimmerman by 20 points, so Holland, Chitwood and Johns are by far the biggest problems to solve.

Interestingly, though, I was able to solve one minor issue: in the 1972 USAC Yearbook, Ted Horn and Elbert Booker are listed as Sprint Car Champions for the year 1946, East and Midwest, respectively - probably a retrospective "rearrangement", much like the six-race National Championship schedule. In 2005 and 2006, however, authors Buzz Rose and Jim Chini published their own calculations in the books "Eastern Bull Rings" and "Kings of the Hills", which showed Bill Holland and Bus Wilbert on top of the respective points listings. Already apparent at that time, however, was that these calculations did not add up correctly, probably due to the problem of actual lap counts deviating from the advertized race distances - several drivers had a higher score in one region alone than their overall points for the National Championship.

My own preliminary calculations now show that Rose and Chini were at least half right: Indeed, Holland seems to have scored more points than Horn in the East, irrespective of the still existing discrepancy mentioned above, which would only further increase his advantage. Wilbert, on the other hand, despite scoring more points than anybody else in the Midwest, could not have won the Championship since he had been stripped of all his points after competing "outlaw" (MDTRA Sprints and CMRA Midgets) in the summer. However, Chini and Rose had Eddie Zalucki in second place behind Wilbert, outscoring Booker and thus claiming the title, but not according to my calculations, which show Booker ahead and therefore the rightful claimant to that (unofficial) title.

[ensign14]

What the schedule perhaps tells us is that the "National Championship" was most important to the individual race promoters.  Less important to the drivers, which again might be logical, they would prefer the $ than the abstract, and we see the likes of Vuky not bothering with the season when a title was ready and waiting for them.  And not at all to the AAA, which couldn't be bothered to keep the records, but seemingly just winged it.

 

But a race promoter can sell his 15 mile pot-bolier dirt oval slugfest featuring Bumpy Bumpus as a National Championship event.  And at the next race introduce National Championship Race Winner Bumpy Bumpus to the crowd.  Suddenly Skowhegan and Rutland are Big Time.

[Michael Ferner]

No, not at all. Points, whether regional or national, are of only secondary interest to promoters; they get rarely ever mentioned. Bumpy Bumpus wasn't advertized any differently after he won his National Championship race, and the same goes for Lucky Lux, Oscar Ridlon or Hank Rogers. Walt Ader might get a mention for running high in points, but more likely he would be introduced as the winner of the Williams Grove season opener, and it didn't matter one iota whether that was a National or Eastern points race. The term "National Championship" is way overloaded with importance these days, and that is just because Phil Harms made his records availbale back in the nineties, and everybody can now say they know about it. Back in the day, nobody knew about it. A promoter in the East couldn't sell a Wisconsin State Fair winner because nobody would have heard of him, unless he made a few starts at Langhorne or Syracuse, and vice versa. Only exception to this was Indy - you could sell a tenth place winner at Indy everywhere.

Interesting as to why you think the AAA couldn't be bothered to keep records? I'm happy they did. Where are the FIA records of those times?

[ensign14]

The FIA wasn't running a championship. 

[Michael Ferner]

Not in 1946, but in the fifties. People are still arguing about the points scoring in the FIA World Drivers Championship, where are the FIA documents to settle that issue?

[Vitesse2]

Not in 1946, but in the fifties. People are still arguing about the points scoring in the FIA World Drivers Championship, where are the FIA documents to settle that issue?

Probably in the same place as the AIACR ones that would settle the 1939 European Championship ...

[Cynic2]

Michael,

 

I apologize for this being slightly off-topic, but perhaps you can answer a question from your research on the 1946 season.

 

The first race I ever attended was in 1946 (September, apparently) when my father took me to the AAA race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds one-mile dirt track (I was five at the time).

 

During the race a driver crashed -- went over the fence, I think -- and was killed.  Do you know that driver's name?

 

Thanks.

 

David Seibert

[Jim Thurman]

David, I'm not Michael, but that would have had to have been Al Putnam, who died in a crash qualifying for the race.

 

Eerily, you've asked this on his birthday.

[ReWind]

Not eerily at all, Jim, because Al Putnam was not born in May 1910 but in October 1908.
See here.

[Jim Thurman]

Not eerily at all, Jim, because Al Putnam was not born in May 1910 but in October 1908.
See here.

 

Sorry ReWind, I forgot about the corrected date change and saw an in error posting yesterday (see below)

 

https://thisdayinmot...fornia-may.html

 

Feel free to contact them about the error.

Edited by Jim Thurman, 07 May 2017 - 16:56.

[Cynic2]

Thanks, Jim.  I have very little memory of the actual event (again, five years old) but it's been one of those trivial things that has nagged at me over the years.

 

I've been a long time fan and spent much of my professional life working in various aspects of racing.  I think I was affected by learning at that very first race that this was a dangerous sport and drivers -- even one's heroes (e.g. Rex Mays, Bill Vukovich) -- could lose their lives in it.

 

David

[carl s]

From The San Antonio Light Sep 16 1946

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

[Michael Ferner]

Analysis of available information about point standings:

A - Final Championship position according to Speed Age of May 1947, retrieved by Don Capps (http://forums.autosp...nship/?p=628824)
B - Final Championship position according to Illustrated Speedway News of January 3, 1947, retrieved by John Printz (http://forums.autosp...ship/?p=2604500)
C - Final Championship points according to Illustrated Speedway News of January 3, 1947, retrieved by John Printz (http://forums.autosp...ship/?p=2604500)
D - Final Championship points according to The Eastern Bull Rings (2005)
E - Final Championship points according to Kings of the Hills (2006)
F - My own (preliminary) calculations
G - "National" points according to Phil Harms (1999)
H - My own (preliminary) calculations
I - "Eastern" points according to The Eastern Bull Rings (2005)
J - My own (preliminary) calculations
K - "Midwestern" points according to Kings of the Hills (2006)
L - My own (preliminary) calculations
M - "AAA National Drivers Point Standing as of October 23, 1946 (...) not [including] Atlanta Race, September 2" according to Automotive Digest of November 1946...
N - ... plus missing races from my own calculations
O - known "outlaw" activity

 A  B                        C        D        E        F        G        H        I        J        K        L        M        N    O
 1  1 Ted Horn            2448     2445.4   2449     2451     1360     1360     1060     1067       24       24     2286    + 156
 2  2 George Robson       1544     1544     1544     1549     1220     1220      219      219      110      110     1484    +  60
 3  3 Emil Andres         1348     1348     1348     1348     1260     1260        -       88        -        -     1208    + 140
 4  4 Bill Holland        1280.6   1280.6   1280.6   1203        -        -     1140     1131       72       72     1171.6  + 109
 5  5 Tommy Hinnershitz    896.8    896.8    896.8    899        -        -      831      847       53       52      808.8  +  88
 6  6 Walt Ader            850      850      850      853.5      -        -      857.5    853.5      -        -      776    +  74
 7  7 Jimmy Jackson        800      800      800      800      800      800        -        -        -        -      800        -
 8  8 Joie Chitwood        693      693      693      611.5    372      127.5    445      459       25       25      623    +  68
 9  9 Rex Mays             613      613      613      613      620      600        -       13        -        -      613        -
10 10 Duke Dinsmore        454      454      454      456      310      260      120      120       80       76      454        -
11 11 Louis Durant         400      400      400      400      400      400        -        -        -        -      400        -
12 12 George Connor        380      376      380      374      370      330        -        -       50       44      180    + 200
13 13 Hank Rogers          371      371      371      400        -        -      378      400        -        -      311    +  60    STRC??
14 14 Tony Bettenhausen    340      340      340      340      340      340        -        -        -        -      340        -
15 15 Earl Johns           309      309      309      390.5      -        -      374.5    376.5      -       14      272    +  37    PJARC??
16 16 Luigi Villoresi      300      300      300      300      300      300        -        -        -        -      300        -
17 17 Johnny Shackleford   297.5    297.5    297.5    299.5      -        -      176.5    226.5     83       73      287    +  10.5
18 18 Lee Wallard          291      291      291      295        -        -      364      295        -        -      247    +  44
19 19 Red Byron            280.8    280.8    280.8    285        -        -      282      281        -        4      258.8  +  22
20 20 Tommy Mattson        276.5    270.5    270.5    275.5      -        -      288.5    275.5      -        -      270.5      -    WRA
21 21 Elbert Booker        260      260      260      260       70       60        -       56      144      144      260        -
22 22 Eddie Zalucki        253      253      253      261        -        -      125      122      147      139      253        -    IMCA?
23 23 Frank Wearne         250      250      250      250      250      250        -        -        -        -      250        -
24 24 Al Fleming           246      246      246      235        -        -      228      231        -        4      240    +   6    IMCA?
25 25 Mauri Rose           240      240      240      240      240      240        -        -        -        -      240        -
26 26 Ottis Stine          229.5    229.5    229.5    237        -        -      183      209       28       28      199.5  +  30
27 27 Ed Zimmerman         227      227      227      207        -        -      230      203        -        4      227        -
 -  - Bus Wilbert            -        -      178      220        -        -        -       44      178      176        -        -    MDTRA, IMCA??
28 28 Danny Goss           202      202      202      205       30        -      211      205        -        -      192    +   6
 -  - Bill Sheffler          -        -        -      200      200      200        -        -        -        -      200        -    ARA, WRA, IMCA??
29 29 Charlie Rogers       200      200      200      200      200      200        -        -        -        -      200        -
30 30 Walt Brown           186      186      186      194       60       60      146      134        -        -      178    +   8
31 31 Warren Bates         173.5    173.5    173.5    159        -        -      173      159        -        -      165.5  +   8
32 32 Spider Webb          163.5    163.5    163.5    164       80       50        -        -      115.5    114      163.5      -    WRA, ARA??
33 33 Buddie Rusch         160      160      160      150.5     80       80        -       62.5      -        8      160        -
34 34 Bud Bardowski        160      160      160      160      160      160        -        -        -        -        -    + 120
35 35 Steve Truchan        160      160      160      160      200      160        -        -        -        -        -    + 160
36 36 Billy Devore         146        -        -      146      290      140        -        6        -        -      106    +  40
37 37 Eddie Casterline     145        -        -      145       80       80        -       65        -        -      145        -
38 38 Buddy Shuman         135        -        -      132.5      -        -      134.5    132.5      -        -      133        -
39 39 Charles van Acker    128        -        -      133        -        -        -        -      131      133      128        -    MDTRA
40 40 Lucky Lux            122        -        -      117        -        -      135      117        -        -      106    +  16
41 41 Joe Langley          120        -        -      122      100      100        -        -        -       22        -    + 100    MDTRA??
42 42 Larry Smith          117.8      -        -      141        -        -      138.5    141        -        -      111.8  +   6
43 43 Dutch Culp           114.5      -        -      125.5      -        -      143.5    125.5      -        -       87.5  +  27    STRC
44 44 Bob Cooney           112        -        -      112        -        -        -      112        -        -      106    +   6    STRC, PJARC?
45 45 Jimmy Gibbons        106.5      -        -      115.5      -        -        -      115.5      -        -       96.5  +  10
 -  - Fred Carpenter         -        -        -      105       60        -      125      105        -        -        -        -    CSRA, STRC
46 46 Joe Verebly          102        -        -      108        -        -        -      108        -        -      102        -
 -  - Mel Hansen             -        -        -        -      100        -        -        -        -        -        -        -
47 47 Milt Fankhauser       95        -        -       81        -        -        -       69        -       12       95        -
48 48 Hal Robson            94        -        -       98       50        -        -        -       98       98       94        -    IMCA
49 49 Red Redmond           90        -        -       84        -        -        -       84        -        -       74    +  16
50 50 George Metzler        89.5      -        -       89.5     70       70        -        -       15.5     19.5     89.5      -
51 51 Mark Light            89        -        -      101        -        -        -      101        -        -       81    +   8
52 52 Oscar Ridlon          83        -        -       83        -        -        -       83        -        -       83        -
53 53 Orville Epperley      83        -        -       83        -        -        -        6       77       77       83        -
54 54 Floyd Davis           80        -        -       80       80       80        -        -        -        -       80        -
55 55 Johnny Carpenter      76        -        -       60        -       60        -        -        -        -       76        -
56 56 Earl Horne            75        -        -       78        -        -        -       78        -        -       75        -    STRC
57 57 Duke Nalon            67        -        -       68        -        -        -       34       34       34       68        -
58 58 Carl Ott              65        -        -       64        -        -        -       46       18       18       65        -    MDTRA, IMCA??
59 59 Johnnie Matera        60        -        -       69        -        -        -       69        -        -       54    +   6
60 60 Bob Chronister        57        -        -       62        -        -        -       62        -        -       57        -
 -  - George Cavanna         -        -        -       60        -        -        -       60        -        -        -        -    CSRA
61 61 Buster Warke          55        -        -       55        -        -        -       55        -        -       55        -    IMCA, STRC??
62 62 Norm Houser           54        -        -       56        -        -        -        -       56       56       54        -    MDTRA??
63 63 Ed Terry              52        -        -       52        -        -        -       52        -        -       52        -
64  - Al Miller              -        -        -       50       50       50        -        -        -        -       50        -
65 64 George Barringer      50        -        -       50       50       50        -        -        -        -        -    +  50
 -  - Bud Rose               -        -        -       50        -        -        -        -       47       50        -        -    ARA, IMCA
66  - Herman Owens           -        -        -       42.5      -        -        -       42.5      -        -        -    +  15
67  - Clay Corbitt           -        -        -       35        -        -        -        -       45       35        -        -
68  - George Rutty           -        -        -       46        -        -        -       46        -        -        -        -
69  - Stan Jones             -        -        -       48        -        -        -       48        -        -        -        -
 -  - Johnny Favinger        -        -        -       48        -        -        -       48        -        -        -    +  10    PJARC
 -  - Russ Snowberger        -        -        -        -       39        -        -        -        -        -        -        -
 -  - Bumpy Bumpus           -        -        -       38        -        -        -       38        -        -        -        -
70  - Len Koenig             -        -        -       37        -        -        -       37        -        -        -        -
71  - Jack Etheridge         -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -
72  - Jimmie Fearick         -        -        -       35        -        -        -       35        -        -        -        -
 -  - Eddie Edwards          -        -        -       35        -        -        -       35        -        -        -        -    CSRA, STRC
 -  - Hank Gritzbach         -        -        -       35        -        -        -       35        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA
73  - Verden Morelock        -        -        -       31        -        -        -       31        -        -        -        -
74  - Mike Bailey            -        -        -       29        -        -        -       29        -        -        -        -
75  - Charlie Breslin        -        -        -       28        -        -        -       28        -        -        -        -
 -  - Len Duncan             -        -        -       28        -        -        -       28        -        -        -    +  10
76  - Jakie Holland          -        -        -       19        -        -        -       19        -        -        -    +  11
77  - Jim Brubaker           -        -        -       26        -        -        -       26        -        -        -        -
 -  - Peewee Southcott       -        -        -       24        -        -        -       24        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA?
78  - Paul Becker            -        -        -       21        -        -        -       21        -        -        -        -    PJARC, STRC?
79  - Joe Martin             -        -        -       20        -        -        -       20        -        -        -        -
 -  - Charles Crawford       -        -        -       20        -        -        -        -       20       20        -        -
 -  - Jimmy Goodwin          -        -        -       20        -        -        -       20        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA?
 -  - Dee Toran              -        -        -       20        -        -        -       20        -        -        -        -
 -  - Ducky Pehlman          -        -        -       18        -        -        -       18        -        -        -        -    PJARC, STRC
80  - D. C. Russell          -        -        -       17        -        -        -       17        -        -        -        -
81  - Mark Sooy              -        -        -       22        -        -        -       22        -        -        -        -
 -  - Walt Walker            -        -        -       16.5      -        -        -       16.5      -        -        -        -
 -  - Charlie Szekendy       -        -        -       16        -        -        -        -       18       16        -        -    IMCA
 -  - Cliff Helman           -        -        -       16        -        -        -       16        -        -        -        -
82  - Chick Smith            -        -        -       14        -        -        -        -       14       14        -        -    MDTRA, IMCA
83  - Bob Simpson            -        -        -       14        -        -        -        -        -       14        -        -    CSRA, MDTRA, IMCA
84  - Bud Johnson            -        -        -       14        -        -        -        -        -       14        -        -
85  - Charlie Miller         -        -        -       13        -        -        -       13        -        -        -        -    CSRA??
 -  - Amos Hill              -        -        -       13        -        -        -       13        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA
86  - Speed McFee            -        -        -       12        -        -        -       12        -        -        -        -
87  - Arthur York            -        -        -       12        -        -        -       12        -        -        -        -
 -  - Ed Kulp                -        -        -       12        -        -        -       12        -        -        -        -
88  - Henry Steiger          -        -        -       11        -        -        -       11        -        -        -        -
89  - Bill Randall           -        -        -       11        -        -        -       11        -        -        -        -
 -  - Fred Lauty             -        -        -       11        -        -        -       11        -        -        -        -
 -  - G. L. Strickland       -        -        -       11        -        -        -       11        -        -        -        -
 -  - Al Baker               -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -
 -  - Johnnie Crone          -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -        -       10        -        -
 -  - Paul Eldridge          -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -
 -  - George Fabyan          -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -    MDTRA, CSRA
 -  - Len Fanelli            -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -
 -  - Howie Hagelin          -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -
 -  - Lou Heller             -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -    +  10
 -  - J. A. Kennedy          -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -
 -  - Jimmy Little           -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA
 -  - Mike Salay             -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -        -       10        -        -    MDTRA, CSRA, IMCA
 -  - Ed Sample              -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -
 -  - Sandy Sanford          -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA
 -  - Jim Schumacher         -        -        -       10        -        -        -       10        -        -        -        -    CSRA
 -  - Harry Robtoy           -        -        -        9        -        -        -        -        -        9        -        -    CSRA, IMCA
 -  - Joe Baker              -        -        -        8        -        -        -        -        -        8        -        -    IMCA
 -  - Johnny Byrne           -        -        -        8        -        -        -        -        -        8        -        -
 -  - Eddie Gallione         -        -        -        8        -        -        -        8        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA
 -  - Jack Hudson            -        -        -        8        -        -        -        8        -        -        -        -
 -  - Dewey Ploppert         -        -        -        8        -        -        -        8        -        -        -        -
 -  - Lou Volk               -        -        -        8        -        -        -        8        -        -        -        -    CSRA??
 -  - Hank Weavil            -        -        -        8        -        -        -        8        -        -        -        -
 -  - Tom Sternad            -        -        -        7        -        -        -        7        -        -        -        -    CSRA
 -  - Tommy Charles          -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - Carl Coggins           -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - George Golden          -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - Tommy Gulliver         -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -    STRC
 -  - Vince Haan             -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -        -        6        -        -
 -  - Paul Handshew          -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -    PJARC
 -  - George Lynch           -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -        -        6        -        -
 -  - Pete McKeone           -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - Chuck McNeal           -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -    STRC, CSRA
 -  - Bob Patriguin          -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - Carl Scarborough       -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -        -        6        -        -    CSRA, IMCA?
 -  - Gene Trinque           -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - Steve Yanigan          -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - George Yetter          -        -        -        6        -        -        -        6        -        -        -        -
 -  - Shorty Dotter          -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Ben Emerick            -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -        -        4        -        -
 -  - Ernie Gesell           -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Johnny Grubb           -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Cliff Hemingway        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Frank Luptow           -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -    CSRA, IMCA??
 -  - Vic Nauman             -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Doc Rand               -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Fred Reid              -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Len Shaw               -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Melvin Swartzlander    -        -        -        4        -        -        -        4        -        -        -        -
 -  - Charles Kilmer         -        -        -        3        -        -        -        3        -        -        -        -    CSRA
 -  - Al Metzger             -        -        -        3        -        -        -        3        -        -        -        -
 -  - Al Staley              -        -        -        3        -        -        -        3        -        -        -        -
 -  - Sammy Swartz           -        -        -        3        -        -        -        3        -        -        -        -
 -  - George Bouley          -        -        -        2        -        -        -        2        -        -        -        -    STRC