Races 5 National champion Johnny Rutherford Start date 1980 | End date July 13 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford Race 5 | |
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Similar 1983–84 USAC Champio, 1970 USAC Champio, 1973 USAC Champio | ||
The 1980 USAC Championship Car season consisted of five races, beginning in Ontario, California on April 13 and concluding in Lexington, Ohio on July 13. The USAC National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Johnny Rutherford. The season was planned to be 12 races, each co-sanctioned with CART, however USAC withdrew from the agreement after the fifth race.
In January 1980, USAC initially released a 10-race schedule, with new venues Talladega, Charlotte, and Road Atlanta added to the schedule. However, these three events were eventually scrapped when USAC entered into a joint sanctioning effort with CART.
Schedule and results
CART and USAC united in 1980 under the banner of the Championship Racing League (CRL). The first five races of the season were run under CRL banner and sanction by USAC. The union dissolved after the Mid-Ohio race and USAC ended their season.
The withdrawn races:
April 26 at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas
July 27 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia
August 10 at Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway in West Allis, Wisconsin
August 24 at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama
September 14 at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario
September 28 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.