6 replies to this topic

[70JesperOH]

1965 Autoweek Championship

 

Back in 2021 I created a file for the 1965 Autoweek Championship, as found on the racingsportscars.com site; https://www.racingsp...p/Autoweek.html. A six round series, running from mid-September to early November, essentially as a follow up on the United States Road Racing Championship that ran from April to early September. Here Jim Hall and Hap Sharp dominated the races in their Chaparral 2's with small block Chevrolet engines, but found a little more opposition in the Autoweek series.

 

This link suggest that the opening two Canadian rounds of the Autoweek championship also was the final two rounds of the Canadian Sports Car Championship; http://www.wsrp.cz/canadasc1965.html.

 

The above mentioned suggest a pre Can-Am Championship. But what happened from the 1965 Autoweek championship to the 1966 Can-Am series?

 

..and who won the 1965 Autoweek Championship?

 

Jesper

 

Here's a link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoweek.

Edited by 70JesperOH, 18 January 2025 - 09:33.

[10kDA]

SC Johnson ("J-Wax") brought huge sponsorship $$$ for 1966, which could have driven the change to the series name, though the administration through CASC and SCCA remained the same, with some changes to which tracks presented events. I seem to recall Johnson established a points fund of $1 million. That drew drivers and teams from virtually all top levels of racing, giving huge credibility to the on-track action. The schedule starting after most series had concluded their annual schedules meant a chance to snag some off-season cash.

[DCapps]

Don't overthink the "Autoweek Championship" that Competition Press/Autoweek conjured up with nary a penny of their money invested in it -- other than the usual paper, ink, salaries, and other overhead costs for printing and distributing the periodical.

CP/A simply strung together a number of events that formed the North American "Fall Season" and called it a "championship."

Other than the usual CP/A readers and maybe some of the teams, few if anyone knew about it or even cared.

Just CP/A being CP/A.

Not even sure of Sharp even got a trophy from CP/A for his "championship." 

 

The 11 December 1965 issue of CP/A on page five has the listing of the "top 10 drivers" -- actually the top dozen since there was a tied for ninth with four points:

 

1 Hap Sharp, 30 points

2 Jim Hall, 22 points

3 Walt Hansgen, 15 points

4 Bruce McLaren, 10 points

5 Charlie Hayes* & John Surtees, 9 points

7 David Piper, 8 points

8 Jim Clark, 6 points

9 David Hobbs, Pedro Rodriquez, Charlie Parsons, Ronnie Bucknum, 4 points

 

9-6-4-3-2-1 scoring so you can do the rest of the math

 

* Typo corrected.

Edited by DCapps, 18 January 2025 - 17:59.

[Jim Thurman]

Don makes a great point here about Competition Press & Autoweek. Irreverence pervaded its pages, which were peppered with a lot of in-jokes. This made for a fun read, but also pointed out the informality. I was later involved in a sport that had two publications. One publication was very staid, proper and conservative, while the other was much like CP&A with a near gonzo-style approach.

 

And, to correct a typo, it is Charlie Hayes.

 

More than a decade later I happened to pass where CP&A had been based. A small office in a small apartment sized office building in the then still rural Alamo, California. Located at a T-intersection at the town's one stop light. Amazing to think that all came out of that one little office. 

[WINO]

The term Autoweek Championship does not show up in the 1966 Road Racing Annual of the SCCA, which covered all the major 1965 results.

 

It lists the nine USRRC events, the SCCA National champions by region [Northeast, Southeast, Central, Midwest and Pacific Coast] and by class, as well as the American Road Race of Champions [held at Daytona] by class.

 

The six events that supposedly comprised the Autoweek Championship are listed under the chapter Other Major North American Races. They include the six "Autoweek Champ" events, as well as a number of others, including Bridgehampton on September 19. Since Hap Sharp won that race as well, his lead would have been even stronger, if counted.

Edited by WINO, 18 January 2025 - 23:02.

[DCapps]

It was a fig newton of CP/A's imagination, nothing else.

[70JesperOH]

Thank you for the replies. It settles a minor issue of my motorsport history.

 

Jesper