The 1909 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 24 races, beginning in Portland, Oregon on June 12 and concluding with a point-to-point race from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona on November 6. There were three events sanctioned by the Automobile Club of America in Lowell, Massachusetts. AAA did not award points towards a National Championship during the 1909 season, and did not declare a National Champion.

Schedule and results

• Race halted at 235 miles due to track breaking up. AAA report states that race was halted at 245 miles. ** Event sanctioned by Automobile Club of America, 301–450, 231–300 & 161–230 run simultaneously. *** All classes run simultaneously.

Unofficial, retroactive, and revisionist champions

The contemporary de facto National Champion as polled by the American automobile journal Motor Age, was Bert Dingley. Dingley was named the champion by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based upon merit and on track performance. In 1927, the AAA Contest Board retroactively applied the 1920 points table to the 1909 through 1915 and 1917 through 1919 seasons, scoring Dingley as champion. In 1951, well-published sportswriter Russ Catlin decided to revise these retroactive standings. Catlin attempted to strip Dingley of the title, awarding it instead to George Robertson. In the 1980s, it was recognized by historians that these retroactive championship revisions should not be considered official.

General references