# 1973 Can-Am season

The 1973 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the eighth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 10, 1973, and ended October 28, 1973, after eight rounds. The season came amid the Oil Crisis, which ended interest in performance cars after an already-declining market over a several-year period. The golden age of the Trans Am Series ended after the 1972 season, leaving Can Am and Formula 5000 as the frontrunners of the SCCA. The season was also the penultimate season of the series, which would fold after 1974 before being revived in an entirely reworked series based on F5000 a few years later.

## Schedule

For 1973, the schedule was altered as the season continued on. The first race ran in a standard, single race format. Rounds two through four ran as two heats, with the results being determined by combined results. Rounds five through eight ran a Sprint qualifying heat first to determine the starting order for the Cup event. The results of the Sprint and Cup were not combined.
| Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date |
| 1 | Labatt's Blue Trophy | Mosport Park | June 10 |
| 2 | Carling Can-Am | Road Atlanta | July 8 |
| 3 | Watkins Glen Can-Am | Watkins Glen International | July 22 |
| 4 | Buckeye Cup | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | August 12 |
| 5 | Road America Can-Am | Road America | August 26 |
| 6 | Molson Cup | Edmonton Speedway Park | September 16 |
| 7 | Monterey Castrol Grand Prix | Laguna Seca Raceway | October 14 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Times Grand Prix | Riverside International Raceway | October 28 |

## Season results

| Rnd | Circuit | Winning Team | Results |
| Rnd | Circuit | Winning Driver | Results |
| 1 | Mosport | #23 Rinzler Motoracing Royal Crown | Results |
| 1 | Mosport | Charlie Kemp | Results |
| 2 | Road Atlanta | #16 Rinzler Motoracing Royal Crown | Results |
| 2 | Road Atlanta | George Follmer | Results |
| 3 | Watkins Glen | #6 Roger Penske Enterprises | Results |
| 3 | Watkins Glen | Mark Donohue | Results |
| 4 | Mid-Ohio | #6 Roger Penske Enterprises | Results |
| 4 | Mid-Ohio | Mark Donohue | Results |
| 5 | Road America | #6 Roger Penske Enterprises | Results |
| 5 | Road America | Mark Donohue | Results |
| 6 | Edmonton | #6 Sunoco Porsche+Audi | Results |
| 6 | Edmonton | Mark Donohue | Results |
| 7 | Laguna Seca | #6 Roger Penske Enterprises | Results |
| 7 | Laguna Seca | Mark Donohue | Results |
| 8 | Riverside | #6 Roger Penske Enterprises | Results |
| 8 | Riverside | Mark Donohue | Results |

## Drivers Championship

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers in the order of 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1.
| Pos | Driver | MOS | ATL | WGL | MOH | ROA | EDM | LAG | RIV | Pts |
| 1 | Mark Donohue | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 139 |
| 2 | George Follmer | 13 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 20 | 62 |
| 3 | Hurley Haywood | 15 | 5 | 21 | 3 | 14 | DNS | 3 | 2 | 47 |
| 4 | Charlie Kemp | 1 | | 4 | DNS | 12 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 45 |
| 5 | Bob Nagel | 3 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 44 |
| 6 | Jody Scheckter | 16 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 39 |
| 7 | David Hobbs | Wth | 4 | 2 | 19 | Wth | 4 | 9 | 18 | 37 |
| 8 | Scooter Patrick | 4 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 31 |
| 9 | Jackie Oliver | 20 | 19 | 17 | 8 | DNS | 3 | 2 | 17 | 30 |
| 10 | Steve Durst | 5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | DNS | 5 | 10 | 8 | 29 |
| 11 | Bobby Brown | | | 16 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 26 |
| 12 | Milt Minter | | 17 | | | | | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| 13 | Hans Wiedmer | 2 | 16 | 15 | 23 | | | | | 15 |
| 14 | Tom Dutton | 12 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 15 |
| 15 | John Cannon | 6 | | 5 | | | | 17 | 15 | 14 |
| 16 | Derek Bell | | | | 4 | DNS | | | | 10 |
| 17 | Bob Peckham | | | | 11 | Wth | | 7 | 6 | 10 |
| 18 | Danny Hopkins | | 13 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 15 | | | 8 |
| 19 | Tom Heyser | | 8 | 8 | 16 | 10 | | | | 7 |
| 20 | Gary Wilson | | | | 9 | 7 | | | DNS | 6 |
| 21 | Ed Felter | 8 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 16 | | 20 | | 4 |
| 22 | John Cordts | 9 | 12 | 19 | 14 | Wth | 9 | 14 | 14 | 4 |
| 23 | Warren Agor | 19 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 8 | | | | 3 |
| 24 | Pete Sherman | 10 | 9 | 14 | 17 | | | | | 3 |
| 25 | Peter Gregg | | | 9 | | | | | | 2 |
| 25 | Hans Müller-Perschl | | | | | | | Wth | 9 | 2 |
| | Brian Redman | | | | | | | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| | David Saville-Peck | 18 | | | 21 | 11 | 14 | 22 | Wth | 0 |
| | William Wonder | 11 | | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Frank Kahlich | Wth | | | | | | | 12 | 0 |
| | John Gunn | | | | | | 13 | 23 | Wth | 0 |
| | Jigger Sirois | | | | | 13 | | | | 0 |
| | Jim Butcher | 14 | Wth | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Vic Elford | | | | | | | 15 | 21 | 0 |
| | Lothar Motschenbacher | | 15 | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Sam Posey | | | | | | | | 16 | 0 |
| | Dick Durant | 17 | | | | DNS | | | | 0 |
| | Bill Cuddy | | | | | | | 18 | | 0 |
| | Tony Settember | | | | | | | 19 | Wth | 0 |
| | Gene Fisher | | 20 | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Willi Kauhsen | | | | 22 | | | | | 0 |
| | Mario Andretti | | DNS | | | | | DNS | DNS | 0 |
| | James Hunt | | | | | DNS | | | | 0 |
| | Dan Kampo | | | | | DNS | | | | 0 |
| | Dave Causey | | | | | DNS | | | | 0 |
| | Monte Shelton | | | | | | DNS | | | 0 |
| | Bob Earl | | | | | | | | Wth | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | MOS | ATL | WGL | MOH | ROA | EDM | LAG | RIV | Pts |
| Color | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | 4th-6th place |
| Light Blue | 7th–10th place |
| Dark Blue | Finished (Outside Top 10) |
| Purple | Did not finish |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Brown | Withdrawn (Wth) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| Blank | Did not participate (DNP) |
| Blank | Driver replacement (Rpl) |
| Blank | Injured (Inj) |
| Blank | Race not held (NH) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position |