1962 Trenton 100 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1962)

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1962trenton1001.jpg

A.J. Foyt (pictured at a different 1962 race) won the event.

Status: Lost

The 1962 Trenton 100 was the opening race of the 1962 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 8th April at the Trenton Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by A.J. Foyt in a Meskowski-Offenhauser, setting an average track speed record in the process. The race was also the first USAC event to be televised.

Background

The 1962 Trenton 100 was the fifth running of the event, with the annual race lasting 100 miles.[1] It was one of three 1962 USAC Championship Car Season races to commence at Trenton Speedway;[2] the Trenton 150 occurred on 22nd July and was won by Roger Ward in a Watson-Offenhauser,[3] while the Trenton 200 commenced on 23rd September and was won by another Watson-Offenhauser driver, Don Branson.[4] Trenton would continue hosting IndyCar races until 1979 before it was dropped from the schedule and demolished in 1980.[5]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Don Davis winning the pole position in a Turner-Offenhauser with a record speed of 106.038 mph.[6][1] Directly behind him was Foyt,[1] who was looking to achieve his first Trenton victory in six attempts.[6] Meanwhile, Parnelli Jones lined up third out of 22 competitors in a Lesovsky-Offenhauser, being deemed one of the favourites to win heading in.[7][1] The race was to have commenced on 1st April, but was ultimately delayed by a week.[7][6][1]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1962 Trenton 100 commenced on 8th April.[1] Davis maintained his lead from the start, holding onto it before dropping it to Jones on lap 7.[1] After a duel led to him briefly leading early in the race, Foyt would regain the first position from Jones on lap 27.[6][1] He never relinquished it for the remainder of the 100-lap race, and set about not only winning the event for the first time, but also breaking the track speed record.[6][1] Although spinning vehicles resulted in four caution periods, Foyt was able to ultimately achieve victory with a record average speed at Trenton of 101.101 mph, while also claiming $4,500 in prize money.[6][1] Jones finished second, while Watson-Offenhauser driver Roger Ward took third.[1][6]

Availability

According to IndyCar on TV, the race made television history, as it became the first USAC-sanctioned event to be broadcast.[8] 45 minutes of highlights were shown by ABC on 21st April 1962 as part of its Wide World of Sports, alongside the Grand National Steeplechase.[8] This event has yet to resurface however, and no footage of the race is currently publicly available.

See Also

References