1946 AAA Championship Car season
Rnd Date Race Name Length Track Location Type Class Winning Driver
NC March 31 Mike Benton Sweepstakes 20 mi ( 32 km ) Lakewood Speedway Atlanta , Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Jimmy Wilburn
1 April 14 Williams Grove Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg , Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Walt Ader
2 April 28 Williams Grove Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg , Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn
3 May 5 Eastern Inaugural Trophy Sweepstakes 20 mi ( 32 km ) Trenton International Speedway Trenton , New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood
4 May 19 Williams Grove Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg , Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood
5 May 26 Inaugural Sam Nunis Trophy Sweepstakes 12.5 mi ( 20.1 km ) Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reading , Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Walt Ader
6 May 26 Winchester Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Winchester Speedway Winchester , Indiana Dirt Oval Big Car Bus Wilbert
7 May 30 Altamont Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Altamont Speedway Altamont , New York Dirt Oval Big Car Bumpy Bumpus
8 May 30 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes 500 mi ( 800 km ) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway , Indiana Paved Oval Champ Car George Robson
9 May 30 Trenton Race 20 mi ( 32 km ) Trenton International Speedway Trenton , New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Johnny Shackleford
10 June 2 Lakewood Race 25 mi ( 40 km ) Lakewood Speedway Atlanta , Georgia Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn
11 June 9 Thompson Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Thompson International Speedway Thompson , Connecticut Paved Oval Big Car Oscar Ridlon
12 June 9 Williams Grove Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg , Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Big Car Joie Chitwood
13 June 9 Winchester Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Winchester Speedway Winchester , Indiana Dirt Oval Big Car Bus Wilbert
14 June 16 Flemington Race 12.5 mi ( 20.1 km ) Flemington Speedway Flemington , New Jersey Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn
15 June 23 Dayton Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Dayton Speedway Dayton , Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car Elbert Booker
16 June 23 Greensboro Race 12.5 mi ( 20.1 km ) Greensboro Agricultural Fairgrounds Greensboro , North Carolina Dirt Oval Big Car Ted Horn
17 June 23 Thompson Race 15 mi ( 24 km ) Thompson International Speedway Thompson , Connecticut Paved Oval Big Car Oscar Ridlon
18 June 29 Dayton Race 10 mi ( 16 km ) Dayton Speedway Dayton , Ohio Dirt Oval Big Car Bus Wilbert
19 June 30 Langhorne 100 100 mi ( 160 km ) Langhorne Speedway Langhorne , Pennsylvania Dirt Oval Champ Car Rex Mays
Schedule and results
Non-championship race
The 1946 AAA Championship Car season was the first season of American Championship car racing following World War II. After four years without racing in the United States, the AAA Contest Board was initially concerned about having enough races and entrants for the 1946 season. Even the Indianapolis 500 was in doubt, as the speedway was neglected during the war, and owner Eddie Rickenbacker sold the track to Tony Hulman only in November 1945. However, as the season progressed, it proved to be a success, and marked a successful return of the National Championship. George Robson and George Barringer were killed at Atlanta in the race. Al Putnam died at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway in qualifying.