The United States Auto Club was established following the American Automobile Association's withdrawal from motorsport after the 1955 season. The AAA cited the Le Mans disaster and the death of Bill Vukovich at Indianapolis as contributing factors in its decision to exit racing. USAC was formed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman to take over as the sanctioning body for America's highest levels of open-wheel competition.
USAC's sprint car program dates to the organization's earliest years. From 1956 to 1960, the National Sprint Car Championship was divided into two regional divisions covering the Midwest and the East before consolidating into a unified national series. For decades USAC also sanctioned the Indianapolis 500 and the overall United States National Championship, though its profile in Indy car racing diminished after the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams in 1979.
The USAC National Sprint Car Series operates on a points system in which drivers accumulate results across the season's slate of races. A driver's best 25 finishes count toward the national championship in the unified USAC national standings, which aggregate points from the sprint car, midget, and Silver Crown series. The series competes on dirt oval tracks, with most events concentrated in Indiana, Illinois, and neighboring Midwestern states.
USAC also sanctions regional sprint car programs. The USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, which debuted in 2004, runs on dirt ovals across California and Arizona using the same 410-cubic-inch engines as the national series and holds co-sanctioned races with the national championship at select events. The USAC 360 Sprint Car Series covers several regional circuits with smaller-displacement non-wing cars, including East Coast, West Coast, and Southwest divisions.
The most distinguished individual achievement within USAC open-wheel racing is the triple crown, earned when a driver claims all three national championships — Silver Crown, sprint car, and midget car — in a single season. Only two drivers have accomplished the feat in one year: Tony Stewart in 1995 and J. J. Yeley in 2003. Six additional drivers have won each of the three titles at least once across their careers: Pancho Carter, Dave Darland, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines, Chris Windom, and Logan Seavey. In 2012 car owners Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian became the only ownership duo to capture all three championships in the same year.
USAC reinstated a unified national championship in 2010 after a long gap following A. J. Foyt's seventh title in 1979. The national champion is determined by combining a driver's best results across the sprint car, midget, and Silver Crown series. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana, won the inaugural reinstatement championship in 2010 and repeated in 2011 and 2012. The award has been known as the Mike Curb Super License National Championship Award since 2013. Justin Grant of Ione, California, became the most successful driver in the revived era, claiming four consecutive national titles from 2021 through 2024.
On April 23, 1978, a Piper Navajo Chieftain carrying USAC officials crashed during a thunderstorm approximately 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis while returning from a race at Trenton Speedway in New Jersey. The pilot and eight USAC officials were killed, including vice-president of public affairs Ray Marquette, technical committee chairman Frank Delroy, head starter Shim Malone, and Don Peabody, who headed the sprint division. The disaster came during a period of tension between USAC and car owners who were dissatisfied with television rights negotiations and payout structures. Though the crash coincided with the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams and the subsequent USAC-CART split, historians have largely concluded that the organizational schism had roots predating the accident.
USAC's sprint car program has been a proving ground for some of American open-wheel racing's most accomplished drivers. The series gave early national exposure to drivers who went on to win at Indianapolis, and its triple crown concept created a unique benchmark for versatility across different car configurations and track types. The national sprint car championship continues to anchor USAC's identity as the principal governing body for domestic open-wheel short-track competition.