# 1972 USAC Championship Car season

The 1972 USAC Championship Car season consisted of ten races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 18 and concluding at the same location on November 4. The USAC National Champion was Joe Leonard and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Mark Donohue. Jim Malloy was killed at Indianapolis in practice; he was 40 years old.
After sponsoring the USAC Championship Trail in 1970–1971, Marlboro dropped out of the sport for 1972. After only two seasons as title sponsor, the company became angered when rival Viceroy was signed on to sponsor Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, at the time dubbed the "super team" of the series. Without any exclusivity clause, managers at Marlboro deemed the situation "impractical and untenable," and abruptly quit. Marlboro would not return to Indy car racing until 1986.

## Schedule and results

All races running on Oval/Speedway.
| Rnd | Date | Race Name | Track | Location | Pole Position | Winning Driver |
| 1 | March 18 | Jimmy Bryan 150 | Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | Bobby Unser | Bobby Unser |
| 2 | April 23 | Trentonian 200 | Trenton International Speedway | Trenton, New Jersey | Bobby Unser | Gary Bettenhausen |
| 3 | May 27 | International 500 Mile Sweepstakes | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana | Bobby Unser | Mark Donohue |
| 4 | June 4 | Rex Mays Classic | Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin | Bobby Unser | Bobby Unser |
| 5 | July 16 | Michigan 200 | Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | Bobby Unser | Joe Leonard |
| 6 | July 29 | Schaefer 500 | Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania | Bobby Unser | Joe Leonard |
| 7 | August 13 | Tony Bettenhausen 200 | Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin | Mario Andretti | Joe Leonard |
| 8 | September 3 | California 500 | Ontario Motor Speedway | Ontario, California | Jerry Grant | Roger McCluskey |
| 9 | September 24 | Trenton 300 | Trenton International Speedway | Trenton, New Jersey | Bobby Unser | Bobby Unser |
| 10 | November 4 | Best Western 150 | Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | Mark Donohue | Bobby Unser |
    ^A Originally scheduled for July 2, postponed because of rain.
In the fall of 1971, a tentative schedule held the possibility of returning road courses to the championship schedule. Races at Colorado, Brainerd, Bridgehampton, Road Atlanta, Mosport, as well as a return to Rafaela, Argentina, and a new "Florida 500" at the proposed "Florida International Raceway", were all part of an early press release. However, all road courses were ultimately left off, the Argentina race was discontinued, and the Florida race course was never built.

## Final points standings

Note: Peter Revson is not eligible for points.
| Pos | Driver | PHX | TRE | INDY | MIL | MIC | POC | MIL | ONT | TRE | PHX | Pts |
| 1 | Joe Leonard | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 3 | DNQ | 3460 |
| 2 | Bill Vukovich II | 20 | 18 | 28 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 2200 |
| 3 | Roger McCluskey | 7 | 2 | 24 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 1970 |
| 4 | Al Unser | 6 | 20 | 2 | 19 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 31 | 23 | 4 | 1800 |
| 5 | Mark Donohue | 17 | 19 | 1 | 2 | | | | | 2 | 16 | 1720 |
| 6 | Mike Hiss RY | 10 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 26 | 6 | | 2 | 14 | DNQ | 1665 |
| 7 | Johnny Rutherford | 13 | Wth | 27 | 21 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 1620 |
| 8 | Bobby Unser | 1 | 17 | 30 | 1 | 14 | 20 | Wth | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1500 |
| 9 | Sam Sessions | | | 4 | | 4 | 15 | | 4 | | | 1440 |
| 10 | Mike Mosley | 3 | 13 | 26 | DNQ | | | | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1250 |
| 11 | Mario Andretti | 2 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 28 | 3 | 1135 |
| 12 | Gary Bettenhausen | 4 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 24 | 19 | DNQ | | | | 790 |
| 13 | Wally Dallenbach Sr. | 9 | 6 | 15 | DNQ | 2 | 14 | DNQ | 21 | 7 | 24 | 720 |
| 14 | Salt Walther | | 11 | 33 | | DNQ | 8 | | 6 | 27 | | 690 |
| 15 | Lee Kunzman | 22 | | 17 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 26 | 12 | 23 | 670 |
| 16 | George Snider | 16 | DNQ | 11 | 23 | 6 | 21 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 517 |
| 17 | Sam Posey | | | 5 | | | 5 | | 19 | | | 500 |
| 18 | Lloyd Ruby | 21 | | 6 | 22 | | 26 | DNQ | 17 | 18 | 7 | 490 |
| 19 | Mel Kenyon | 23 | 10 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 28 | 11 | 9 | 460 |
| 20 | Art Pollard | 14 | | Wth | | | | | 7 | 9 | 11 | 450 |
| 21 | Jimmy Caruthers | | | 9 | 12 | 22 | 10 | | 12 | | | 415 |
| 22 | Gordon Johncock | | 3 | 20 | | 9 | 22 | 22 | 13 | 20 | | 360 |
| 23 | Rick Muther | | | DNQ | 24 | 20 | 12 | 5 | 15 | | 22 | 250 |
| 24 | Jim Malloy | 15 | 5 | Wth | | | | | | | | 200 |
| 25 | Swede Savage | 19 | 16 | 32 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 9 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 200 |
| 26 | Dick Simon | 18 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 12 | | 16 | 14 | 200 |
| 27 | Bill Simpson | 24 | | DNQ | | 13 | 24 | 24 | 9 | | 17 | 200 |
| 28 | Johnny Parsons | | | | | | | 6 | 22 | 17 | DNS | 160 |
| 29 | Cale Yarborough | | | 10 | | | | | DNQ | | | 150 |
| 30 | John Mahler | | 8 | 22 | 11 | | 27 | 25 | 18 | | | 130 |
| 31 | Jerry Grant | | | 12 | 20 | | | | 33 | 21 | 8 | 125 |
| 32 | Tom Bigelow | | | Wth | | 21 | DNQ | 7 | | 13 | | 120 |
| 33 | Steve Krisiloff | | 12 | 21 | | 18 | 32 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 120 |
| 34 | John Hubbard R | | | | | | | 8 | | | | 100 |
| 35 | Al Loquasto | | 9 | DNQ | | | DNQ | | DNQ | | | 80 |
| 36 | A. J. Foyt | 8 | | 25 | | | | | 30 | 22 | 21 | 75 |
| 37 | Bentley Warren | | DNQ | DNQ | 14 | | 18 | 10 | | 26 | 20 | 60 |
| 38 | Lee Brayton R | | | DNQ | | 10 | DNQ | 17 | DNQ | | | 60 |
| 39 | Jim McElreath | | DNQ | DNQ | 10 | | DNQ | | DNS | | | 45 |
| 40 | George Eaton | 11 | | | | | | | | | | 30 |
| 41 | Jim Hurtubise | 12 | 21 | 23 | DNQ | 23 | DNQ | | | | | 15 |
| 42 | Greg Weld | | | | | | 33 | | DNQ | | 12 | 6 |
| - | John Martin | | | 16 | 17 | | 17 | 20 | 32 | | 13 | 0 |
| - | Dee Jones | | | | | | | 13 | | | | 0 |
| - | Carl Williams | | | 29 | 16 | | 30 | | 14 | | | 0 |
| - | Joe Tetz R | | 15 | | | | | 23 | | | | 0 |
| - | Larry McCoy R | | DNQ | | | 19 | | 21 | | 24 | | 0 |
| - | Denny Zimmerman | | | 19 | | | 25 | | 25 | | | 0 |
| - | Peter Revson | | | 31 | | | 31 | | 23 | | | 0 |
| - | Gig Stephens | | 23 | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Merle Bettenhausen | | | DNQ | | 25 | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Arnie Knepper | | | DNQ | | | | | | 25 | | 0 |
| - | Jerry Karl | | | DNQ | | | | 28 | | 29 | | 0 |
| - | Bob Harkey | | | DNQ | | | 29 | | | | | 0 |
| - | George Follmer | | | | | | | | DNS | | | 0 |
| - | Larry Dickson | | | DNQ | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | David Hobbs | | | | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Eldon Rasmussen | | | | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bruce Walkup | | | DNQ | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Jigger Sirois | | | DNQ | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bill Puterbaugh | | | Wth | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bud Tingelstad | | | Wth | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | PHX | TRE | INDY | MIL | MIC | POC | MIL | ONT | TRE | PHX | Pts |
| Color | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | 4th & 5th place |
| Light Blue | 6th-10th place |
| Dark Blue | Finished (Outside Top 10) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Brown | Withdrawn (Wth) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| Blank | Did not participate (DNP) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position |
| Italics | Ran fastest race lap |
| * | Led most race laps |
| RY Rookie of the Year ||
| R Rookie ||