The stock car class began as a division of the
AAA Contest Board. AAA decided to stop sanctioning all racing classes after
Bill Vukovich's death at the
1955 Indianapolis 500 was followed closely by the
1955 Le Mans disaster. USAC took over sanction in all of their classes starting in 1956. From 1963 through 1970, and again in 1972, USAC held one of its most prestigious stock car events at the beginning of
the "month of May." The
Yankee 300 was held at
Indianapolis Raceway Park, and was often frequented by
Indy car stars. USAC continued to sanction the Stock Car division until 1984 but the series had lost some luster as the events were frequently co-sanctioned with
ARCA. The final championship in 1984 was scheduled for three races but only two were run (
Springfield and
DuQuoin). The third event, part of the
4 Crown Nationals at
Eldora Speedway, was rained out and not rescheduled. After the division ended, many of the drivers moved to other
Midwestern series such as the
American Speed Association (ASA), ARCA, and
ARTGO. ==Tracks==