1916 AAA Championship Car season

1916 AAA Championship Car season
AAA National Championship Trail
Season
Races	15
Start date	May 13
End date	November 30
Awards
National champion	Dario Resta
Indianapolis 500 winner	Dario Resta
← 1915 1917 →

The 1916 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 15 races, beginning in Brooklyn, New York on May 13 and concluding in Los Angeles, California on November 30. There were also 12 non-championship races. For the first time since the 1905 season, the AAA awarded points towards a National Championship.^[1] The AAA National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Dario Resta.

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Length	Track	Location	Type	Pole Position	Winning Driver
NC	April 8	Corona Race	301.712 mi (485.558 km)	Grand Boulevard	Corona, California	Road	—	Eddie O'Donnell
NC	April 29	Raisin Classic	301 mi (484 km)	Fresno Road Race Course	Fresno, California	Road	—	Eddie O'Donnell
NC	May 13	Coney Island Cup	20 mi (32 km)	Sheepshead Bay Speedway	Brooklyn, New York	Board	—	Johnny Aitken
Queens Cup		50 mi (80 km)	—				Ralph Mulford
1	May 13	Metropolitan Trophy	150 mi (240 km)	Sheepshead Bay Speedway	Brooklyn, New York	Board	—	Eddie Rickenbacker
2	May 30	1916 Indianapolis 500	300 mi (480 km)A	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Brick	Johnny Aitken	Dario Resta
3	June 11	Chicago Race	300 mi (480 km)	Speedway Park	Maywood, Illinois	Board	Ralph DePalma	Dario Resta
NC	June 24	Des Moines Sprint Race	50 mi (80 km)	Des Moines Speedway	Valley Junction, Iowa	Board	—	Eddie Rickenbacker
4	June 24	Des Moines Race	150 mi (240 km)	Des Moines Speedway	Valley Junction, Iowa	Board	Ralph DePalma	Ralph DePalma
5	July 4	Minneapolis Race	150 mi (240 km)	Twin City Motor Speedway	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Concrete	Louis Chevrolet	Ralph DePalma
NC	July 15	Omaha Sprint Race	50 mi (80 km)	Omaha Speedway	Omaha, Nebraska	Board	—	Ralph DePalma
6	July 15	Omaha Race	150 mi (240 km)	Omaha Speedway	Omaha, Nebraska	Board	Ralph Mulford	Dario Resta
NC	July 22	Kansas City Race	100 mi (160 km)	Kansas City Speedway	Kansas City, Missouri	Dirt	—	Ralph DePalma
16.875 mi (27.158 km)			—				W. W. Brown
7	August 5	Montamarathon/Potlach Trophy Race	288 mi (463 km)	Pacific Coast Speedway	Tacoma, Washington	Board	Sterling Price	Eddie Rickenbacker
NC	August 19	Speedway Grand Prix	50 mi (80 km)	Speedway Park	Maywood, Illinois	Board	Dario Resta	Dario Resta
8	September 4	International Sweepstakes	300 mi (480 km)	Cincinnati Motor Speedway	Sharonville, Ohio	Board	Howdy Wilcox	Johnny Aitken
NC	September 9	Harvest Auto Racing Classic	20 mi (32 km)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Brick	Louis Chevrolet	Johnny Aitken
50 mi (80 km)			—				Johnny Aitken
9	September 9	Harvest Auto Racing Classic	100 mi (160 km)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Brick	—	Johnny Aitken
10	September 30	Astor Cup Race	250 mi (400 km)	Sheepshead Bay Speedway	Brooklyn, New York	Board	—	Johnny Aitken
11	October 14	Grand American Auto Race	250 mi (400 km)	Speedway Park	Maywood, Illinois	Board	Art Klein	Dario Resta
12	October 28	Harkness Trophy Race	250 mi (400 km)	Sheepshead Bay Speedway	Brooklyn, New York	Board	James Benedict	Johnny Aitken
13	November 16	William K. Vanderbilt Cup	294.595 mi (474.105 km)	Santa Monica Road Race Course	Santa Monica, California	Road	Mike Moosie	Dario Resta
14	November 18	American Grand PrizeB	403.2 mi (648.9 km)	Santa Monica Road Race Course	Santa Monica, California	Road	Mike Moosie	Howdy Wilcox
								Johnny AitkenC
15	November 30	Championship Award Sweepstakes	150 mi (240 km)	Ascot Speedway	South Los Angeles, California	Dirt	Eddie Rickenbacker	Eddie Rickenbacker
NC	December 2	Universal Trophy	225 mi (362 km)	Uniontown Speedway	Hopwood, Pennsylvania	Board	—	Louis Chevrolet

^A Reduced from 500 to 300 miles due to the onset of World War I.

^B Sanctioned by the Automobile Club of America, AAA awarded points.

^C Shared drive.

#	Driver	Car	Points
1	Dario Resta	Peugeot	4100
2	Johnny Aitken	Peugeot	3440
3	Eddie Rickenbacker	Maxwell, Peugeot, Duesenberg	2910
4	Ralph DePalma	Mercedes, Peugeot	1790
5	Earl Cooper	Stutz-Wisconsin, Stutz	1405
6	Wilbur D'Alene	Duesenberg	1120
7	Tommy Milton	Duesenberg	690
8	Pete Henderson	Maxwell	667
9	Frank Galvin	Sunbeam Motor Car Company	645
10	Ralph Mulford	Peugeot	620

• Åberg, Andreas. "AAA National Championship 1916". Driver Database. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
• "1916 AAA National Championship Trail". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
• Harms, Phil. "1916 Championship Driver Summary" (PDF). Motorsport.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2011.

• 1916 Indianapolis 500
• 1916 American Grand Prize