1946 AAA Championship Car season
| 1946 AAA Championship Car season | |
|---|---|
| AAA National Championship Trail | |
| Season | |
| Races | 77 |
| Start date | April 14 |
| End date | November 10 |
| Awards | |
| National champion |
 Ted Horn
|
| Indianapolis 500 winner |
 George Robson
|
The 1946 AAA Championship Car season was the first season of American Championship car racing following World War II. After four years without racing in the United States, the AAA Contest Board was initially concerned about having enough races and entrants for the 1946 season. Even the Indianapolis 500 was in doubt, as the speedway was neglected during the war, and owner Eddie Rickenbacker sold the track to Tony Hulman only in November 1945. However, as the season progressed, it proved to be a success, and marked a successful return of the National Championship. George Robson and George Barringer were killed at Atlanta in the race. Al Putnam died at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway in qualifying.
Previously, only races of over 100 miles (160 km) on tracks one mile (1.6 km) or longer were able to hold National Championship events. Due to the concerns about the car counts and participation, the AAA Contest Board included a substantial number of "Big Car" races (today known as Sprint Cars) as part of the championship. The season officially consisted of 77 races (6 Champ Car races and 71 Big Car races), beginning at Mechanicsburg on April 14 and concluding at Richmond on November 10.
After car counts were better than expected, confusion arose over whether the 71 Big Car events counted towards the National Championship. Some news sources of the time erroneously reported points only from the six Champ Car events. The Contest Board met after the season, and it was not until then which they declared the Big Car races would be dropped from the National Championship - effective for 1947. The prize money and 1947 car numbers assignments are consistent with the final points standings for the full 77-race schedule.
Despite later publications suggesting the season was only six races (including official statistical publications released by the league decades later), historians firmly contend that the 1946 season should be recognized as the full 77-race schedule.
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