1955 AAA Championship Car season

1955 AAA Championship Car season
AAA National Championship Trail
Season
Races11
Start dateMay 30
End dateNovember 6
Awards
National championUnited States Bob Sweikert
Indianapolis 500 winnerUnited States Bob Sweikert
← 1954
1956 (USAC) →

The 1955 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 11 races, beginning in Speedway, Indiana on May 30 and concluding in Phoenix, Arizona on November 6. There was also one non-championship event in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The AAA National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Bob Sweikert. Manny Ayulo was killed at Indianapolis while practicing for the 1955 Indianapolis 500,[1][2] and Bill Vukovich, the two-time defending winner, was killed in the race itself.[3] Jack McGrath, the two-time champion (1952, 1953), was killed in the final race at Phoenix on lap 85.[4] This was the last year of the AAA National Championship;[5] USAC sanctioned the series starting the next year.[6]

  1. ^ "Ayulo critically injured when car runs into wall". The Spartanburg Herald. Associated Press. May 17, 1955.
  2. ^ "Crash injuries fatal to Indianapolis racer". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press. May 17, 1955.
  3. ^ Burgess, Dale (May 31, 1955). "Bob Sweikert winner; Bill Vukovich is dead". The Florence Times. Associated Press.
  4. ^ "Veteran race driver dies". The Victoria Advocate. United Press. November 7, 1955.
  5. ^ "AAA cuts ties with U.S. auto racing". The Michigan Daily. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Associated Press. August 4, 1955.
  6. ^ "USAC takes over AAA's place". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. March 8, 1956.