# 1972 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship

The 1972 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship was the Sports Car Club of America's sixth annual professional open-wheel auto racing series. It was open to Formula 5000 cars, these being Formula SCCA Class A open-wheel, single-seat cars with 5000cc restricted design engines or 3000cc unrestricted design engines. The championship was won by New Zealand driver Graham McRae.

## Race schedule

The championship was contested over eight races with two heats per race.
| Race | Date | Race Name | Circuit | Race winner | Car |
| 1 | May 7 | Monterey Grand Prix | Laguna Seca Raceway | Graham McRae | Leda GM1 - Chevrolet V8 |
| 2 | June 4 | Lucerne 100 | Edmonton International Speedway | David Hobbs | Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8 |
| 3 | June 18 | Watkins Glen Grand Prix | Watkins Glen International | Graham McRae | Leda GM1 - Chevrolet V8 |
| 4 | July 16 | Road America Grand Prix | Road America | Graham McRae | Leda GM1 - Chevrolet V8 |
| 5 | July 30 | Minnesota Grand Prix | Donnybrooke | Eppie Wietzes | Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8 |
| 6 | August 20 | Road Atlanta Grand Prix | Road Atlanta | Brett Lunger | Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8 |
| 7 | September 4 | Lime Rock Grand Prix | Lime Rock Park | Brett Lunger | Lola T300 - Chevrolet V8 |
| 8 | September 24 | Riverside Grand Prix | Riverside International Raceway | Brian Redman | Chevron B24 - Chevrolet V8 |

## Points system

Championship points were awarded to drivers on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first ten places in each race, those places having been determined from the results of the two heats. Total points for each driver were based on the best six finishes.

## Championship standings

| Position | Driver | Car | Points |
| 1 | Graham McRae | Leda GM1 Chevrolet & McRae GM1 Chevrolet | 87 |
| 2 | Sam Posey | Surtees TS11 Chevrolet | 69 |
| 3 | Brett Lunger | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 60 |
| 4 | Brian Redman | Chevron B24 Chevrolet | 60 |
| 5 | Eppie Wietzes | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 47 |
| 6 | Skip Barber | March 711 Ford Cosworth DFV | 44 |
| 7 | Lothar Motschenbacher | McLaren M18 Chevrolet | 32 |
| 8 | David Hobbs | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 31 |
| 9 | Bob Muir | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 22 |
| 10 | Jerry Hansen | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 21 |
| 11 | Gus Hutchison | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 18 |
| 12 | John Gunn | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 16 |
| 13 | Allan Lader | McLaren M18 Chevrolet | 15 |
| 14 | Derek Bell | McLaren M10B Chevrolet | 15 |
| 15 | John Morton | Lotus 70B Ford | 14 |
| 16 | Rocky Moran | Surtees TS8B Chevrolet | 13 |
| 17 | Sandy Shepard | Lola T300 Pontiac | 12 |
| 18 | Kevin Bartlett | McLaren M10B Chevrolet & Lola T300 Chevrolet | 11 |
| 19 | Peter Gethin | Chevron B24 Chevrolet | 10 |
| = | Horst Kwech | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 10 |
| 21 | Evan Noyes | Leda LT27 Chevrolet & Leda GM1 Chevrolet | 8 |
| = | Warren Flickinger | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 8 |
| 23 | Horst Kroll | Lola T300 Chevrolet | 7 |
| = | John Cannon | March 725 Oldsmobile & McLaren M10B Chevrolet | 7 |
| 25 | Colin Hyams | Lola T192 Chevrolet | 3 |
| = | George Follmer | Matich A50 Ford & Lotus 70B Ford | 3 |
| 27 | Ed Felter | Lola T192 Chevrolet | 1 |
| = | Dave Jordan | Eagle Chevrolet | 1 |