1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150

Last updated

Flag of the United States.svg 1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150
Race details
Race 1 of 14 in the 1979 CART season
Phoenix-international-raceway-2011.svg
Map of the Track
DateMarch 11, 1979
Official name Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150
Location Phoenix International Raceway
Avondale, Arizona, United States
CourseTri-Oval
1.000 mi / 1.610 km
Distance150 laps
150.000 mi / 241.500 km
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 12.7 miles per hour (20.4 km/h) [1]
Pole position
Driver Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Unser  (Roger Penske)
Time24.714
Podium
First Flag of the United States.svg Gordon Johncock  (Pat Patrick)
Second Flag of the United States.svg Rick Mears  (Roger Penske)
Third Flag of the United States.svg Johnny Rutherford  (Bruce McLaren)

The 1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 was the first round of the 1979 CART season, held on March 11, at Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona. It marked the debut of the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of Indy car racing.

Contents

Race

Summary

In the inaugural race for the new sanctioning body, Bobby Unser won the pole with Tom Sneva starting in second. Johnny Rutherford started third, Danny Ongais started fourth, and Rick Mears rounded out the top five starters.

From his pole position, Bobby Unser led almost all of the first 86 laps, only giving up the lead for pit stops. The first caution of the day flew on lap 2, after Vern Schuppan broke a joint and went off track in the first turn. [2] The second caution flew due to a stalled car at lap 15, and the third due to debris picked up when Gordon Johncock left the pits on lap 69. After Unser was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop due to tire problems, Danny Ongais took the lead on lap 87, and held it for the next 33 laps, but soon after giving up the lead to Johncock retired with a blown engine, bringing out the final caution of the day. [3] Johncock went on to win the race, with Rick Mears finishing second, Johnny Rutherford third, Al Unser fourth, and Bobby Unser rounding out the top five.

There was some confusion in the final few laps, with Al Unser listed as running higher than he actually was. [4]

Results

PosSta#DriverOwnerLapsTime/RetiredLedPts
1220 Flag of the United States.svg Gordon Johncock Pat Patrick 1501:15:23.01633300
259 Flag of the United States.svg Rick Mears Roger Penske 150-0240
334 Flag of the United States.svg Johnny Rutherford Bruce McLaren 150-0210
4102 Flag of the United States.svg Al Unser Chaparral Cars 150-0180
5112 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Unser Roger Penske 149+ 1 Lap84150
6736 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Mosley Dan Gurney 148+ 2 Laps0120
7640 Flag of the United States.svg Wally Dallenbach Pat Patrick 147+ 3 Laps090
8911 Flag of the United States.svg Tom Bagley Bobby Hillin 145+ 5 Laps075
91721 Flag of the United States.svg Lee Kunzman Conqueste Racing Team 143+ 7 Laps060
101935 Flag of the United States.svg Larry Rice Private143+ 7 Laps045
112141 Flag of the United States.svg Bill Alsup Bill Alsup 141+ 9 Laps030
121577 Flag of the United States.svg Salt Walther Walmotors 139+ 11 Laps015
131369 Flag of the United States.svg Joe Saldana Hoffman Racing 139b+ 11 Laps08
141828 Flag of the United States.svg Tom Frantz Tom Frantz 139+ 11 Laps08
15425 Flag of the United States.svg Danny Ongais Ted Field 128Engine338
16117 Flag of the United States.svg Steve Krisiloff Fletcher Racing 63Gearbox08
1721 Flag of the United States.svg Tom Sneva Jerry O'Connell Racing 43Engine06
181419 Flag of the United States.svg Spike Gehlhausen Carl Gehlhausen 12Water Line06
191692 Flag of the United States.svg John Mahler Intercomp 12Piston06
201210 Flag of the United States.svg Pancho Carter Alex Morales 7Gearbox06
212034 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Vern Schuppan Herb Wysard 2U-Joint05

Caution flag breakdown

ConditionFrom LapTo Lap# Of LapsReason
Green122
Yellow364Vern Schuppan off at turn 1
Green7148
Yellow15162stalled car
Green176852
Yellow69768debris
Green7712852
Yellow12913911Danny Ongais oil on track
Green14015011

16.7% of race run under caution.

Lap leader breakdown

LeaderFrom LapTo Lap# Of Laps
Bobby Unser16464
Gordon Johncock65662
Bobby Unser678620
Danny Ongais8711933
Gordon Johncock12015031

Points standings after this race

Note: Only the top ten positions are listed.

RankDriverPointsDiff
1Gordon Johncock300
2Rick Mears240-60
3Johnny Rutherford210-90
4Al Unser180-120
5Bobby Unser150-150
6Mike Mosley120-180
7Wally Dallenbach90-210
8Tom Bagley75-225
9Lee Kunzman60-240
10Larry Rice45-255

References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ↑ "Historical: CART's first race at Phoenix". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  3. ↑ "The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 12, 1979 · 19". Newspapers.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan on March 12, 1979 · Page 22". Newspapers.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
Previous race:
- First Race of Series -		 SCCA/CART Indy Car Series
1979 season 		Next race:
1979 Gould Twin Dixie 125
Previous race:
- Not Held -		 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 Next race:
1979 Miller High Life 150
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