The 1912 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 18 races, beginning in Santa Monica, California on May 4 and concluding in Brooklyn, New York on November 5. There was also one non-championship event at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1912 season, and did not declare a National Champion. Joe Dawson was the winner of the Indianapolis 500.

The de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age, was Ralph DePalma. Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1912 season. DePalma was named the champion by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based upon merit and on track performance. A points table was created retroactively in 1927. At a later point, it was recognized by historians that these championship results should be considered unofficial.

Schedule and results

Date Race NameDistance (miles) Track Location Type Notes Pole position Winning driverMay 4 Chanslor & Lyon Trophy Race* (101)Santa Monica Road Race CourseSanta Monica, California8.417 mile road course Stock chassis, 230 cu in. Roscoe Anthony George Joerimann Jepsen Trophy Race* (152) 231–300 cu in. Earl Devore Ralph DePalma Dick Ferris Trophy Race* (303) Free-for-all Dave Lewis Teddy Tetzlaff May 30 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 2.5 mile brick oval Qualifications based upon demonstrated 75 mph single-lap speed, 24-car field; Ralph DePalma pushes car across finish line Gil Andersen Joe DawsonJuly 5 First Montamara Fiesta Race (150)Tacoma Road Race CourseTacoma, Washington5 mile road course 231-300 cu in. Eddie Pullen Tacoma Race 2 (150) 301-450 cu in. Earl Cooper Tacoma Race 3 (200) Free-for-all Earl Cooper Teddy Tetzlaff July 6 Montamarathon Trophy Race (250) Free-for-all Hughie Hughes Teddy Tetzlaff August 25 Columbus Race (200) Driving Park Columbus, Ohio 1 mile dirt oval Free-for-all Charles Elliott Spencer WishartAugust 30 Aurora Trophy Race (152)Elgin Road Race CourseElgin, Illinois8.47 mile road course 300 cu in. Eddie Pullen Hughie Hughes Illinois Trophy Race (203) 450 cu in. Charles Merz Jencks Trophy Race (101) 600 cu in. Harry Endicott Harry EndicottAugust 31 Elgin Race 4* (254) Ralph DePalma Elgin National Trophy Race* (305) Free-for-all Ralph DePalma October 2 William K. Vanderbilt Cup (299)Wauwatosa Road Race CourseMilwaukee, Wisconsin7.88 mile road course 301-600 cu in. Ralph DePalma Ralph DePalmaOctober 5 Wisconsin Challenge Trophy Race* (173) 161-230 cu in. Ray Snyder Harry Endicott Pabst Blue Ribbon Trophy Race* (220) 231-300 cu in. Louis Nikrent Mortimer RobertsAmerican Grand Prize (410) ACA sanction; non-championship event; David Bruce-Brown and his riding mechanic Tony Scudellari fatally injured in practice, Ralph DePalma seriously injured in race Bob Burman Caleb Bragg November 5 Brighton Beach Race (100) Brighton Beach Dirt Track Brooklyn, New York 1 mile dirt oval Free-for-all Neil Whalen Ralph Mulford

* Events on same date were 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.

 #  Driver Sponsor Points 1 Ralph DePalma Mercedes 2000 2 Teddy Tetzlaff Fiat 1900 3 Joe Dawson National 1000 4 Hughie Hughes Mercer 890 5 Ralph Mulford Knox 870

References

General references http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1912.htm accessed 8/21/15 http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/indycar/1912.html accessed 8/21/15