The 1971 USAC National Dirt Car Championship was the first season of the newly formed USAC National Dirt Car Championship. The inaugural champion was George Snider. The Dirt Car championship was created after dirt races were dropped from the schedule of the USAC Championship Car series following the 1970 season.[1]
Technical rules
The existing USAC National Championship was a mixture of road courses, hill climbs and paved or dirt oval races. For the 1971 season this championship switched exclusively to paved ovals. Especially on the paved ovals rear-engined cars dominated the races whereas on the dirt ovals the front-engined cars were superior.
The cars' construction mainly stayed with front engines as established after World War II. The cars with wheelbase of at least 96 inches. Overhead camshaft engines were restricted to 256.284 cubic inches (4.2 liters) and stock block engine could use up to 305.1 cubic inches (5.0 liters).
Schedule and results
The season consisted of four 100 mile dirt races.[2]
| Rnd | Date | Track | Location | Winning Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 20 | Nazareth National Speedway | Nazareth, Pennsylvania | Jim McElreath |
| 2 | August 22 | Illinois State Fairgrounds | Springfield, Illinois | A.J. Foyt |
| 3 | September 6 | Du Quoin State Fairgrounds | Du Quoin, Illinois | George Snider |
| 4 | September 11 | Indiana State Fairgrounds | Indianapolis, Indiana | Al Unser |
Final point standings
The driver's championship was won by George Snider of 26 classified drivers. The entrants championships went to the #4 car of Leader Card, Inc. [3]
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Snider | 520 |
| 2 | Jim McElreath | 420 |
| 3 | A.J. Foyt | 360 |
| 4 | Bill Vukovich II | 360 |
| 5 | Don Hawley | 340 |
| 6 | Arnie Knepper | 320 |
| 7 | Al Unser | 230 |
| 8 | Bob Harkey | 210 |
| 9 | Larry Dickson | 170 |
| 10 | Bill Puterbaugh | 170 |