List of American open-wheel racing national champions

[1] The sport was administered by the American Automobile Association (AAA) in 1905 until 1955 when the United States Auto Club (USAC) ran open-wheel racing starting from 1956 after the AAA dissolved its Contest Board in the wake of the 1955 Le Mans disaster and the fatal accident of driver Bill Vukovich.

[4] A disagreement between CART and Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George resulted in the establishment of the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 1996 and the series rivalled CART before the latter went bankrupt in 2003 and was renamed the Champ Car World Series (CCWS) in 2004.

[7][8] The season consists of a series of races held variously on permanent road courses, closed city streets and oval tracks, usually in the United States and in a few cases abroad.

[5][10] The Drivers' Championship is won when it is no longer mathematically possible for another competitor to overtake their points total regardless of the outcome of the remaining races, although is not officially awarded until the Victory Lap Celebration banquet that takes place after the season has ended.

[17] Louis Meyer and Ted Horn hold the record for the most AAA titles, having won the sanctioning body's championship three times.