1978 IROC Series

Race 1

The IROC Series made their 1st stop of 1978 at the Michigan International Speedway, in Brooklyn, Michigan.

NASCAR star Darrell Waltrip led the field to the Green Flag in and he would quickly begin to show of his skills, keeping all eleven drivers behind him for the first sixteen laps before fellow NASCAR star Cale Yarborough would take command. Like previous Michigan races, the racing action was intense but the race finish would be decided by fuel mileage as drivers pitted mere laps before the end of the race.

One driver that took a gamble was Al Unser, who was struggling to stay inside the Top 10, decided to take fuel only and would take the lead with only five laps to go. Having scored his first ever IROC win just one year prior at the same track when Buddy Baker suffered a flat tire with five to go, Unser would once again lead the final five laps and would hold off a hard charging Cale Yarborough to win at Michigan for the second year in a row.

Other Noticeables:
Al Unser scored his 1st win of the year,
Unser led 2 times for 6 laps, including the final 5 laps,
It was the 2nd win of his career in the IROC Series and his first since 1977 also at Michigan; 5 races ago,
Darrell Waltrip(4th), Gunnar Nilsson(5th), Tom Sneva(11th) and Jacky Ickx(12th) made their IROC Series debuts,
Al Unser, who finished 1st, is the points leader, leading Cale Yarborough by 1 point

1.2-Al Unser (6 laps led)
2.8-Cale Yarborough (26 laps led)
3.1-Richard Petty (2 laps led)
4.4-Darrell Waltrip (16 laps led)
5.5-Gunnar Nilsson
6.6-Gordon Johncock
7.9-Al Holbert
8.3-Johnny Rutherford
9.7-Mario Andretti
10.12-Benny Parsons
11.11-Tom Sneva-1 lap
12.10-Jacky Ickx-1 lap

Darrell Waltrip-1-16
Cale Yarborough-17-42
Al Unser-43
Richard Petty-44-45
Al Unser-46-50

4 Lead Changes among 4 drivers

Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps

Margin of Victory: 0.152 Seconds

Time of Race: 44 Minutes and 27 Seconds

To keep things fair with actual IROC rules, the starting lineup for the second race will be the race results of the first event but inverted.

Here is how the field will line up for the second race of the season at the Riverside International Raceway.

1.1-Jacky Ickx
2.9-Tom Sneva
3.8-Benny Parsons
4.11-Mario Andretti
5.10-Johnny Rutherford
6.2-Al Holbert
7.4-Gordon Johncock
8.5-Gunnar Nilsson
9.6-Darrell Waltrip
10.12-Richard Petty
11.3-Cale Yarborough
12.7-Al Unser

Race 2

The IROC Series made their 2nd stop of 1978 at the Riverside International Raceway, in Riverside, California.

FIA star Jacky Ickx led the field to the green flag and would lead the first eight laps as for the first time in years Bobby Unser wasn't entered in this event leading to a packed crowd at Riverside for an IROC Series race. Fellow FIA star Mario Andretti would quickly drive up from his 4th starting spot and took the lead on Lap 9 and appeared on his way to his first career IROC Series win, but with ten laps to go it was another FIA star who would show his talents.

Gunnar Nilsson, who was making only his second career start, drove past Mario Andretti and had to hold off a fierce challenge from Richard Petty and Al Unser in the remaining laps to score a very surprising win.

Other Noticeables:
Gunnar Nilsson scored his 1st win of the year,
Nilsson led 1 time for 10 laps, including the final 10 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the IROC Series in his 2nd start,
Al Unser, who finished 3rd, kept his points lead, leading Gunnar Nilsson by 3 points

1.5-Gunnar Nilsson (10 laps led)
2.12-Richard Petty
3.7-Al Unser
4.10-Johnny Rutherford
5.8-Benny Parsons
6.1-Jacky Ickx (8 laps led)
7.6-Darrell Waltrip
8.11-Mario Andretti (12 laps led)
9.4-Gordon Johncock
10.3-Cale Yarborough
11.2-Al Holbert-11 laps (Accident)
12.9-Tom Sneva-24 laps (Accident)

Jacky Ickx-1-8
Mario Andretti-9-20
Gunnar Nilsson-21-30

2 Lead Changes among 3 drivers

Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps

Margin of Victory: 0.319 Seconds

Time of Race: 55 Minutes and 13 Seconds

To keep things fair with actual IROC rules, the starting lineup for the third race will be the point standings but inverted.

Here is how the field will line up for the third race of the season at the Riverside International Raceway.

1.14-Tom Sneva
2.2-Al Holbert
3.1-Jacky Ickx
4.4-Gordon Johncock
5.8-Benny Parsons
6.11-Mario Andretti
7.10-Johnny Rutherford
8.6-Darrell Waltrip
9.15-Cale Yarborough
10.12-Richard Petty
11.5-Gunnar Nilsson
12.7-Al Unser