The 1967 USAC season was one of the most demanding and wide-ranging campaigns in American racing, with top drivers competing across Championship Cars, Stock Cars, Sprint Cars, and National Midgets under one sanctioning body. In the headline Championship Car division, A.J. Foyt secured the USAC National Championship for the fifth time and also won the 51st Indianapolis 500, defeating Parnelli Jones after Jones famously lost the lead with just a few laps remaining. The schedule featured 21 races on an extraordinary mix of dirt ovals, paved speedways, road courses, and even the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, illustrating how versatile drivers had to be in this era. Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Lloyd Ruby, and Gordon Johncock were among the season’s other major contenders.
USAC’s Stock Car division was also highly competitive in 1967, with Don White capturing the national championship, his second USAC stock car crown after previously winning in 1963. White was already regarded as one of the division’s biggest stars and would finish his career as the winningest driver in USAC Stock Car history.
In the 1967 USAC National Sprint Car season, Greg Weld captured the championship against a deep field of dirt-track talent, with races held primarily on Midwest fairground ovals. The series featured top competitors such as Mario Andretti and Al Unser, highlighting the crossover skill required across USAC’s divisions.
In the USAC National Midget ranks, Mel Kenyon delivered one of the greatest seasons in series history. Driving despite permanent hand injuries suffered in a 1965 crash, Kenyon won a record 17 feature races in 49 starts to claim his second national title by a wide margin. His comeback story made him one of the most admired drivers in the sport and cemented his reputation as one of midget racing’s all-time greats.
Altogether, the 1967 season reflected USAC at its peak: one organization governing America’s Indy cars, elite short-track racing, and major stock car competition simultaneously. It was an age when the best drivers were expected to win on dirt one week, Indianapolis the next, and a stock car mile after that.
