NASCAR Cup Series The field was first set with a traditional 33 cars, but later a special qualifying session allowed two more to make the field, for a total of 35, which was the most since 1933. Further complicating the day, USAC disqualified Bill Alsup for using the same engine that Bobby Unser had already qualified with. A. J. Foyt finished the week with the top practice speed, and Rick Mears had several hand-timed laps in the 193 mph (311 km/h) range.
Eleven entries that were identified as being denied a fair attempt to qualify were allowed to participate. Spike Gehlhausen had the only incident of the day, when a water line broke, spewing hot fluid into the cockpit. However, in post-inspection, Ferguson was disqualified and fined $5,000 for an illegal wastegate inlet. The first major salvo was made on March 25, 1979, when the CART-based teams boycotted the USAC Datsun Twin 200 at Ontario.
[4] Driver, owner, and advocate Dan Gurney then published his infamous "White Paper,"[6] lobbying several complaints and charges against USAC and IMS, concluding that new organization (i.e., CART) was necessary to ensure the success of Indy car racing into the future. Suddenly with 8 laps to go, Tom Sneva wrecked in turn four, bringing out the yellow, and bunching up the field.
Indy 500 Rarity: 1979 Ford F100 Official Truck Replica. Dick Simon bumped him out with ease. Announcer: Jim McKay The 33 cars that were already in the field were "locked in," and could not be bumped. Johnny Rutherford was the first driver to complete a run at 188.137 mph (302.777 km/h), and became the coveted 'first driver in the field.' Though it was not known at the moment, Mosley's charge on the final lap nearly gave him second place.
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)? The green flag back came out with Bobby Unser now leading. During the month, a second controversy erupted regarding the technical regulations of the turbocharger wastegate. Brothers Al and Bobby Unser combined to lead 174 of the 200 laps, but Al dropped out around the midpoint, and Bobby slipped to 5th place at the finish nursing mechanical issues. DRIVEN BY JOHNNY PARSONS, #17 SANYO VOLLSTEDT/OFFY H. Greer, A.
Bobby and Al led 174 of the 200 laps, but soon mechanical issues would slow them down.
USAC officials black-flagged him, and made him return to the garage area. Preview – 2020 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio September 11, 2020 Preview – 2020 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 August 27, 2020 Starting Grid – 2020 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 … Rick Mears was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Bill Alsup. and last updated 2016-04-21 16:43:20-04. Rain kept the track closed on pole day until after 4 p.m.. At 4:19 p.m., the track opened for practice, with the temperature 55 °F and winds up to 12 mph.
The first crash of the day involved Larry Rice on lap 156. A hectic, non-stop day of qualifying occurred, with no less than 45 cars pulling away for qualifying attempts. [10] Like the format used in NASCAR and at other Indy car races, when the caution flag came out, the pace car would enter the track and pick up the leader. Turn 3: Doug Zink
Rick Mears was holding second, and A. J. Foyt was moving up to third, one lap down. Jamie Palmer.
200 laps on a 2.500 mile paved track (500.0 miles), Glossary 1979 USAC Champ Car Series results An appeal was made the next morning, but USAC denied the appeal.
1978 | 1977 | 1976 | 1975 | 1974 | 1973 | 1972 | 1971 | 1970 | 1965 | 1964 | 1963 | 1962 | 1961 | 1960 | 1959 | 1958 | 1957 | 1956 | 1955 | 1954 | 1953 | 1952 | 1951 | 1950 | 1949 |1948 | 1947 | 1946 | 1941 | 1940 | 1939 | 1938 | 1937 | 1936 | 1935 | 1934 | 1933 | 1932 | 1931 | 1930 | 1929 | 1928 | 1927 | 1926 | 1925 | 1924 | 1923 | 1922 | 1921 | 1920 | 1919 | 1916 | 1915 | 1914 | 1913 | 1912 | 1911 | Special Section: Road to 100 | Enter to win tickets to the Indy 500 | Start your engines: 100 stories in 100 days. Mike Mosley was one lap down in third place, however, an early-race scoring error was tentatively showing him two laps down in 5th place. The race itself, however, was competitive and entertaining, and completed without major incident or controversy. Top Rated Plus.
Furthermore, they released a memo which stated that any cars qualifying on Sunday May 20 must have unrestricted wastegate pipes (no washers were allowed to be welded inside) that are exactly 1.470 inches in diameter or greater.
Heavy activity amongst the numerous non-qualified cars was noted.
The day concluded with Larry Rice bumping out John Mahler. With twenty laps to go, Bobby Unser led his Penske teammate Rick Mears by a few car lengths. R = Indianapolis 500 rookie W = Former Indianapolis 500 winner. / 1979 standings, Active Drivers' Career Stats Following the death of Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony Hulman in 1977, and the tragic 1978 USAC plane crash, owners and participants in Indy car racing were anxious to reorganize the sport. Indy 500 and USAC racing (1971-1978) A new era of US motor racing began in 1971 with the separation of the USAC championship into separate divisions for dirt racing, road courses and paved ovals. Speeds dropped off for the day, with A. J. Foyt having the best lap of the day at 189.036 mph (304.224 km/h). 1966 Indianapolis Indy 500 Newspaper -50th Souvenir Edition framed front page $14.00 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 500 Winners 1911-2003 Large Coffee Cup Mug Souvenir Tune in to RTV6 News at 6 p.m. and watch for the daily trivia question and answer, then click here to enter the answer to be entered daily for your chance to win tickets to the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29. Mears won his first 500 with a 45-second lead over second place AJ Foyt, who coasted across the finish line when his engine quit. He pulled out to a commanding lead, and proceeded to lead the first 24 laps. Rather than wave off, he managed to control the engine with the kill switch, and completed the four laps without incident.[14]. Accessibility Policy
Bill Vukovich II, who was one of only two drivers to make the field during the special Saturday qualifying session, charged all the way from 34th starting position to 8th at the finish. At 4:32 p.m., Foyt's run of 189.613 mph (305.153 km/h) was far short of being fast enough for the pole, but secured him a spot in row 2. [4][7] Among the drivers affected were Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Danny Ongais, Gordon Johncock, Steve Krisiloff, and Wally Dallenbach – some of the top names in the sport. Indicates driver eligible for USAC Championship Trail points only. Turn 4: Darl Wible.
On April 19, however, the USAC board of directors voted unanimously to reject the entries of six key teams: Penske, Patrick, McLaren, Fletcher, Chaparral, and Gurney. Bobby Unser continued to practice in the back-up car, but insisted it was to test nose configurations and not being prepared for another driver. On May 19 (the third day of time trials) the cars of Dick Ferguson, Steve Krisiloff, and Tom Bigelow were disqualified and fined $5,000 because they "had altered their wastegate exhaust pipes by the addition of restrictions which significantly affect the air flow."
The standard pipe diameter was typically 2 inches. Of the 33 cars thus qualified, 31 took practice laps. Want tickets to this year's race? Howdy Holmes blew an engine, Mike Mosley blew a transmission, and Salt Walther suffered a broken oil scavenger pump. Mike Mosley was storming down the frontstretch at full speed, but Foyt nipped him at the finish line by 2.3 seconds to hold on to second position. The month of May 1979 was filled with controversy on and off the track.
DRIVEN BY RICK MEARS, #10 ALEX XLNT FOODS LIGHTNING/OFFY The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network.
Color: Jackie Stewart, Special Qualifying Session – Saturday May 26, Participated in the special qualifying session, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, "President Ford Had Unique Connection To Indianapolis 500", "INDYCAR: CART/USAC Memories – Indy 1979", "Heywood Fails; Sneva, Bigelow Gain Indy FieldA Washout For Bonnett", https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/indy500/history/historical-stats/race-stats/starting-grids/1979, https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1979-03/UO, https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1979_Indianapolis_500/R, http://www.champcarstats.com/races/197904-u3.htm, Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats, Wickens Makes a Splash, Bourdais Makes His Comeback, End of An Era & Rossi's Mistake, Hunter-Reay's Win, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1979_Indianapolis_500&oldid=948218068, May 1979 sports events in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. DRIVEN BY PANCHO CARTER, #11 DAIRY QUEEN PENSKE/COSWORTH It was the 6th time a Ford was selected to pace the field of America’s then premiere race, and the second Mustang. USAC Champ Car Series race number 3 of 7 Sunday, May 27, 1979 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, IN 200 laps on a 2.500 mile paved track (500.0 miles) They utilized a larger diameter wastegate pipe, but welded a washer inside of it that had a circular opening of exactly 1.470 inches.
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