Ontario, California, March 28th
Money talks in motor racing and particularly when the currency is American dollars. So when the Ontario Motor Speedway, constructed last year at a cost of a vast 25 1/2 million dollars, decided to stage a road race for Formula One and American Formula A cars, everyone started to take interest, particularly when a prize fund of $278,400 was announced, with plenty for everyone. However, there were several problems, including the only available date being just one week after the Brands Hatch Race of Champions, and the fact that the supply of new or freshly re-built engines from Cosworth was almost non-existent.
The original plan was to have twenty Formula One cars ranged against the best ten Formula A cars in the States, with USAC drivers like the Unser Brothers and Foyt to drive amongst the regulars to give the crowd an even better spectacle. As it happened, there were only seventeen Formula Ones after Team Surtees withdrew, and March only decided to send one car. So the remainder of the thirty-car field was completed by the Formula A machines with a couple of hopeful reserves as well.
