1909 AAA Championship Car season


The 1909 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 24 races, beginning in Portland, Oregon on June 12 and concluding with a point-to-point race from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona on November 6. There were three events sanctioned by the Automobile Club of America in Lowell, Massachusetts. The de facto National Champion as poled by the American automobile journal Motor Age was Bert Dingley. Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1909 season. Champions of the day were decided by C. G. "Chris" Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based on merit and on track performance.
The points table was created retroactively in 1927 keeping Dingley as champion. In 1951 the championship standings were reworked, stripping the traditional champion of his title and giving it to George Robertson. All championship results should be considered unofficial.

Schedule and results

DateRace Name
Distance 		TrackLocationTypeNotesPole PositionWinning Driver
June 12Portland Race 1 Portland Road Race CoursePortland, Oregon14.6 mile road courseStock class, costing $1600 or underHoward Covey
June 12Portland Race 2 Portland Road Race CoursePortland, Oregon14.6 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis of less than $3000Charlie Arnold
June 12Wemme Cup Race Portland Road Race CoursePortland, Oregon14.6 mile road courseFree-For-All class.Bert Dingley
June 18Indiana Trophy Race Crown Point Road Race CircuitCrown Point, Indiana23.27 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis of maximum of 300 ciJoe Matson
June 19Cobe Trophy Race Crown Point Road Race CircuitCrown Point, Indiana23.27 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis of over 300 ciLouis Chevrolet
July 5Denver Trophy Race Brighton Road Race CourseDenver, Colorado14.5 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, Open engineEaton McMillan
July 10Ferris Trophy Race Santa Monica Road Race CourseSanta Monica, California8.417 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, light carsHarris HanshueHarris Hanshue
July 10Shelter Trophy Race Santa Monica Road Race CourseSanta Monica, California8.417 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, heavy carsBert Dingley
August 19Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana2.5 mile dirt ovalStock chassis, 301–450 ci; Billy Bourque and his riding mechanic Harry Holcomb fatally injuredBob Burman
August 20G & J Trophy Race Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana2.5 mile dirt ovalStock chassis.Lewis Strang
August 21Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race* Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana2.5 mile dirt ovalLimited to stock chassis; Charles Merz broke through the outer fence, crashed into a crowd, and rolled over; his mechanician Claude Kellum was thrown out and died along with two spectators, Howard Jolliff and James West; others were injuredLeigh Lynch
September 6Vesper Club Trophy Race** Merrimack Valley CourseLowell, Massachusetts10.6 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, 301–450 ciLee LorimerBob Burman
September 6Yorick Club Trophy Race** Merrimack Valley CourseLowell, Massachusetts10.6 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, 231–300 ci,John CoffeyLouis Chevrolet
September 6Merrimack Valley Trophy Race** Merrimack Valley CourseLowell, Massachusetts10.6 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, 161–230 ci; Arthur Otis, a passer-by, who had entered the foggy race track, fatally struck by Joe Matson's car in practiceJoseph GrinnonBilly Knipper
September 6Lowell Trophy Race** Merrimack Valley CourseLowell, Massachusetts10.6 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, 451–600 ciGeorge Robertson
September 29Riverhead Class A*** Riverhead Road Race CourseRiverhead, New York22.75 mile road course$4001 and over; James Bates, riding mechanic for Herbert Lytle, fatally injuredRalph DePalma
September 29Riverhead Class B*** Riverhead Road Race CourseRiverhead, New York22.75 mile road course$3001–4000Frank Lescault
September 29Riverhead Class C*** Riverhead Road Race CourseRiverhead, New York22.75 mile road course$2001–3000William Sharp
September 29Riverhead Class D*** Riverhead Road Race CourseRiverhead, New York22.75 mile road course$1251–2000Louis Chevrolet
September 29Riverhead Class E*** Riverhead Road Race CourseRiverhead, New York22.75 mile road course$851–1250Arthur See
October 9Philadelphia Race Fairmount ParkPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania8 mile road courseStock ChassisGeorge Robertson
October 23Portola Road Race Portola Road Race CircuitSan Leandro, California21.18 mile road courseA tire which had flown off Howard Hall's car knocked down a spectator, Peter McKiterick, who later succumbed to his injuries.Jack Fleming
October 30William K. Vanderbilt Cup Long Island Motor ParkwayLong Island, New York12.64 mile road courseLimited to stock chassis, 301–600 ciLewis StrangHarry Grant
November 6Cactus Derby Los Angeles to PhoenixCalifornia to PhoenixPoint to PointLimited to stock chassisJoe Nikrent
Louis Nikrent

* Race halted at 235 miles due to track breaking up. AAA report states that race was halted at 245 miles.
** Event sanctioned by Automobile Club of America, 301–450, 231–300 & 161–230 run simultaneously.
*** All classes run simultaneously.

Leading National Championship standings

The points paying system for the 1909–1915 and 1917–1919 season were retroactively applied in 1927 and revised in 1951 using the points system from 1920.
# DriverSponsorPoints
1George Robertson*Simplex1480
2Louis ChevroletBuick1300
3Joe NikrentBuick1110
4Bob BurmanBuick1100
5Bert DingleyChalmers-Detroit920

* Bert Dingley was poled as national champion in 1909 and held his championship when points were applied in 1927. These are the final standing as of 1951 after AAA revised the championship trail for 1909. The earliest known occurrence of George Robertson holding the title was in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 program.

General references