Phoenix 100
American open-wheel race at Arizona State Fairgrounds
The Arizona State Fairgrounds played host to many races in American open-wheel racing during the AAA sanctioned era.
01Race history
Open wheel racing in the Phoenix area dates back to 1915 on a dirt oval at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. Earl Cooper, who competed in the Indianapolis 500 seven times, won the inaugural race, scheduled for 150 laps of the one-mile track, it was ended after 109 miles due to darkness.
The race was revived in 1950 by the AAA, and then passed to the United States Auto Club (USAC) in 1956. USAC moved the race to the newly built Phoenix International Raceway in 1964. The race became a CART event in 1979. During the CART years, two races were scheduled through the mid-1980s, but the track dropped down to one race per year starting in 1987.
Starting in 1954, the race was named for driver Bobby Ball, who died in February 1954 following a racing accident in Los Angeles in January 1953. The race was renamed in 1972 due to sponsorship from Best Western. Bobby Ball naming returned for the 1976-1978 editions, the last of which was title sponsored by Miller High Life. Miller's sponsorship continued through the 1983 edition. The race then had three different title sponsors for its final three editions: Stroh's, Dana, and Circle K.
02Past winners
| Season | Date | Race Name | Driver | Team | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles (km) | |||||||||||
| AAA Championship Car history | ||||||||||||
| 1915 | November 20 | Earl Cooper | Stutz Motor Company | Stutz | Stutz | F | 109 | 109 (175.418) | 1:42:30 | 64.39 | ||
| 1916 , 1949 |
Not held | |||||||||||
| 1950 | November 12 | Phoenix 100 | Jimmy Davies | Pat Clancy Racing | Ewing | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:16:54 | 78.020 | |
| 1951 | November 4 | Phoenix 100 | Johnnie Parsons | Kurtis Kraft | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:10:54 | 84.626 | |
| 1952 | November 11 | Phoenix 100 | Johnnie Parsons | Ricketts | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:09:52 | 85.87 | |
| 1953 | November 11 | Phoenix 100 | Tony Bettenhausen | Belanger Motors | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:11:30 | 83.916 | |
| 1954 | November 7−8* | Bobby Ball Memorial | Jimmy Bryan | Dean Racing Enterprises | Kuzma | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:10:59 | 84.524 | |
| 1955 | November 6 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Jimmy Bryan | Dean Racing Enterprises | Kuzma | Offenhauser | F | 97* | 97 (156.106) | 1:09:24 | 83.862 | |
| USAC Championship Car history | ||||||||||||
| 1956 | November 12 | Bobby Ball Memorial | George Amick | Lindsey Hopkins Racing | Lesovsky | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:05:20 | 91.826 | |
| 1957 | November 11 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Jimmy Bryan | Dean Racing Enterprises | Kuzma | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:09:46 | 86.001 | |
| 1958 | November 11 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Jud Larson | Bignotti-Bowes Racing Associates | Lesovsky | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:04:42 | 92.738 | |
| 1959 | October 18 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Tony Bettenhausen | Lindsey Hopkins Racing | Kuzma | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:07:50 | 88.458 | |
| 1960 | November 20 | Bobby Ball Memorial | A. J. Foyt | Bignotti-Bowes Racing Associates | Meskowski | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:07:21 | 89.079 | |
| 1961 | November 19 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Parnelli Jones | Agajanian Racing | Lesovsky | Offenhauser | F | 89* | 89 (143.231) | |||
| 1962 | November 18 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Bobby Marshman | Lindsey Hopkins Racing | Kuzma | Offenhauser | F | 51* | 51 (82.076) | 0:33:13 | 92.124 | |
| 1963 | November 17 | Bobby Ball Memorial | Rodger Ward | Leader Card Racing | Watson | Offenhauser | F | 100 | 100 (160.934) | 1:10:35 | 85.01 | |
- 1954: Final 65 laps completed on November 8 due to heavy dust and the rough condition of the track.
- 1955: Race shortened due to rough track conditions. Driver Jack McGrath was killed in an accident during this race.
- 1961: Race shortened due to darkness.
- 1962: Race shortened due to crash.
- Bolded driver indicates this was their first USAC Championship Car win
03Selected race summaries
- 1980: Johnny Rutherford led the first 37 laps, then on lap 71 was chasing leader Tom Sneva. Dicing through slower traffic, Rutherford slipped by Sneva in turn three to take the lead. He then suffered a spectacular crash. Coming out of turn four, he touched wheels with Dennis Firestone and spun into the outside wall. Then the car flipped up in the air and landed upside-down on its roll bar. Rutherford escaped with a concussion and only minor cuts and lacerations.
- 1985: In the second-to-last race of the season at Phoenix, Al Unser Sr. and Al Unser Jr. finished first-second, and ended the day within three points of each other going into the season finale. The father and son battle for the 1985 championship is famous in Indy car lore.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Phoenix 100”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- November 20, 1915, race results at Arizona State Fairgrounds.jpg by The Arizona Republic, Public domain
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