1979 CART Series

The field has finished qualifying for the 4th race of the season the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A.J. Foyt won the pole, with a time of 33.439 seconds, beating Bobby Unser by 0.213 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
A.J. Foyt won his 1st pole of the year,
Foyt won his 1st career pole in the CART Series in his 1st start,
Rick Mears, who will start 4th, has a 207 point lead over Gordon Johncock

1.14-A.J. Foyt
2.12-Bobby Unser
3.36-Mike Mosley
4.9-Rick Mears
5.11-Tom Bagley
6.44-Tom Bigelow
7.46-Howdy Holmes
8.25-Danny Ongais
9.77-Salt Walther
10.19-Spike Gehlhausen
11.3-Gordon Johncock
12.7-Steve Krisiloff
13.4-Johnny Rutherford
14.1-Tom Sneva
15.22-Billy Vukovich Jr.
16.97-Phil Threshie
17.17-Dick Simon
18.80-Larry Dickson
19.69-Joe Saldana
20.31-Larry Rice
21.2-Al Unser
22.72-Roger McCluskey
23.10-Pancho Carter
24.34-Vern Schuppan
25.92-John Mahler
26.23-Jim McElreath
27.50-Eldon Rasmussen
28.29-Cliff Hucul
29.15-Johnny Parsons
30.45-Janet Guthrie
31.89-Lee Kunzman
32.6-Wally Dallenbach
33.59-George Snider
34.24-Sheldon Kinser
35.73-Jerry Sneva

Race #4 - Indianapolis 500

The CART Series made their 4th stop of 1979 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Speedway, Indiana, for the Indianapolis 500.

A.J. Foyt led the field to the green and would lead the first seven laps as the thirty five drivers in the field raced for the first time around the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the fans in attendance were giving the best showing to date of the CART Series. Points leader Rick Mears dominated the early stages before being trapped a lap down, allowing for A.J. Foyt and Bobby Unser to swap the lead for a good portion of the race. When the fifth caution of the day came out, Rick Mears was able to get back on the lead lap and alittle more then thirty laps later, Mears had retaken the lead and began to pull away.

Bobby Unser proved to be Mears's only serious challenger and with ten to go he took the lead but the course of the entire race changed when the last caution came out with eight laps to go. The field would get the green with four laps to go, and on the restart Bobby Unser jumped too early, resulting in one of the most controversial calls of the entire season, Unser was black flagged and despite him crossing the finish line first, the Checkered and the win was given to Rick Mears, making him the first driver to win after coming from a lap down and the first to win in back-to-back events.

Other Noticeables:
Rick Mears scored his 3rd win of the year and second in a row,
Mears led 7 times for 88 laps, including the final 4 laps,
It was the 3rd win of his career in the CART Series and his first since Atlanta; 1 race ago,
A.J. Foyt(2nd), Howdy Holmes(3rd), Billy Vukovich Jr.(7th), Phil Threshie(13th), Tom Bigelow(14th), Eldon Rasmussen(17th), Dick Simon(21st), Jerry Sneva(24th), Cliff Hucul(25th), Johnny Parsons(26th), Jim McElreath(27th), Janet Guthrie(29th), Roger McCluskey(30th), Larry Dickson(31st), Sheldon Kinser(32nd) and George Snider(35th) made their CART Series debuts,
Rick Mears, who finished 1st, kept his points lead, leading Danny Ongais by 929 points

1.9-Rick Mears (88 laps led)
2.14-A.J. Foyt (32 laps led)
3.46-Howdy Holmes
4.25-Danny Ongais
5.7-Steve Krisiloff
6.19-Spike Gehlhausen
7.22-Billy Vukovich Jr. (3 laps led)
8.3-Gordon Johncock
9.77-Salt Walther
10.4-Johnny Rutherford
11.12-Bobby Unser (77 laps led)
12.1-Tom Sneva-1 lap
13.97-Phil Threshie-1 lap
14.44-Tom Bigelow-1 lap
15.92-John Mahler-1 lap
16.36-Mike Mosley-1 lap
17.50-Eldon Rasmussen-1 lap
18.69-Joe Saldana-1 lap
19.2-Al Unser-2 laps
20.6-Wally Dallenbach-2 laps
21.17-Dick Simon-2 laps
22.31-Larry Rice-2 laps
23.89-Lee Kunzman-3 laps
24.73-Jerry Sneva-3 laps
25.29-Cliff Hucul-3 laps
26.15-Johnny Parsons-3 laps
27.23-Jim McElreath-5 laps
28.34-Vern Schuppan-5 laps
29.45-Janet Guthrie-7 laps
30.72-Roger McCluskey-8 laps (Accident)
31.80-Larry Dickson-10 laps (Accident)
32.24-Sheldon Kinser-79 laps (Header)
33.11-Tom Bagley-126 laps (Valve)
34.10-Pancho Carter-145 laps (Transmission)
35.59-George Snider-168 laps (Clutch)

A.J. Foyt-1-7
Rick Mears-8-9
A.J. Foyt-10
Rick Mears-11-24
A.J. Foyt-25-36
Rick Mears-37-55
Billy Vukovich Jr.-56-57
Rick Mears-58-64
Bobby Unser-65-80
A.J. Foyt-81-83
Bobby Unser-84-101
A.J. Foyt-102-106
Bobby Unser-107-127
Billy Vukovich Jr.-128
Bobby Unser-129-143
A.J. Foyt-144-145
Rick Mears-146-169
A.J. Foyt-170-171
Rick Mears-172-189
Bobby Unser-190-196
Rick Mears-197-200

20 Lead Changes among 4 drivers

Caution Flags: 8 for 32 laps
Lap 19 (Car #10 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 63 (Car #31 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 72 (Car #80 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 87 (Car #1 Spin Turn 2),
Lap 100 (Car #89 Spin Backstretch),
Lap 117 (Car #15 Spin Frontstretch),
Lap 133 (Car #50 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 192 (Car #29 Spin Turn 4)

Margin of Victory: 3.546 Seconds

Time of Race: 3 Hours, 59 Minutes and 28 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 5th race of the season the Trenton Twin Indy #1 at the Trenton Speedway.

Bobby Unser won the pole, with a time of 40.809 seconds, beating Tom Sneva by 0.105 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Bobby Unser won his 1st pole of the year,
Unser won his 1st career pole in the CART Series in his 5th start,
Rick Mears, who will start 15th, has a 929 point lead over Danny Ongais

1.12-Bobby Unser
2.1-Tom Sneva
3.40-Wally Dallenbach
4.7-Steve Krisiloff
5.10-Pancho Carter
6.20-Gordon Johncock
7.2-Al Unser
8.92-John Mahler
9.4-Johnny Rutherford
10.19-Spike Gehlhausen
11.41-Bill Alsup
12.11-Tom Bagley
13.21-Lee Kunzman
14.36-Mike Mosley
15.9-Rick Mears
16.25-Danny Ongais
17.35-Larry Rice
18.69-Joe Saldana

Race #5 - Trenton Twin Indy #1

The CART Series made their 5th stop of 1979 at the Trenton Speedway, in Trenton, New Jersey, for the Trenton Twin Indy #1.

Bobby Unser led the field to the green and would quickly pull away from the rest of the pack. Having lost the Indianapolis 500 just days earlier by jumping the final restart, Unser was looking for redemption as he completely dominated the field just like he had done at Indy but once again luck wasn't on his side. During pit stops, Unser's crew had trouble getting a wheel off costing him time and allowing for his brother Al Unser to take the lead.

With his brother battling Wally Dallenbach for second, Al was able to keep lap traffic between him and everyone else, and would go on to score his first ever CART Series win.

Other Noticeables:
Al Unser scored his 1st win of the year,
Unser led 1 time for 25 laps, including the final 25 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the CART Series in his 5th start,
Rick Mears, who finished 15th, kept his points lead, leading Danny Ongais by 834 points

1.2-Al Unser (25 laps led)
2.40-Wally Dallenbach
3.12-Bobby Unser (42 laps led)
4.20-Gordon Johncock
5.25-Danny Ongais
6.92-John Mahler
7.1-Tom Sneva
8.10-Pancho Carter
9.7-Steve Krisiloff
10.41-Bill Alsup
11.21-Lee Kunzman
12.11-Tom Bagley
13.69-Joe Saldana
14.19-Spike Gehlhausen-1 lap
15.9-Rick Mears-1 lap
16.4-Johnny Rutherford-1 lap
17.36-Mike Mosley-1 laps
18.35-Larry Rice-2 laps

Bobby Unser-1-42
Al Unser-43-67

1 Lead Change among 2 drivers

Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps

Margin of Victory: 4.072 Seconds

Time of Race: 55 Minutes and 1 Second