1980 CART Series

Race #9 - California 500

The CART Series made their 9th stop of 1980 at the Ontario Motor Speedway, in Ontario, California, for the California 500.

Bobby Unser led the field to the Green as for the fourth race in a row as the two and half mile track was a demolition derby as ten cautions would fly while hot temperatures led to six drivers dropping out due to mechanical problems. Unser would dominate the day, losing the lead only during the last round of pit stops, before taking the lead back under caution. Back out front, Unser's lead grew lap-by-lap and would go on to lead all but three laps to score his third win of 1980.

Other Noticeables:
Bobby Unser scored his 3rd win of the year,
Unser led 2 times for 197 laps, including the final 25 laps,
It was the 4th win of his career in the CART Series and his first since Watkins Glen; 2 races ago,
Michael Chandler(30th), Jeff Heywood(31st) and Chip Mead(37th) made their CART Series debuts,
Johnny Rutherford, who finished 11th, kept his points lead, leading Bobby Unser by 794 points

1.11-Bobby Unser (197 laps led)
2.1-Rick Mears (2 laps led)
3.5-Al Unser (1 lap led)
4.34-Vern Schuppan
5.44-Greg Leffler
6.81-Dick Ferguson-1 lap
7.40-Tom Bagley-1 lap
8.66-Roger Rager-1 lap
9.28-Herm Johnson-1 lap
10.24-Sheldon Kinser-1 lap
11.4-Johnny Rutherford-1 lap
12.9-Tom Sneva-1 lap
13.47-Phil Caliva-1 lap
14.18-Dennis Firestone-2 laps
15.95-Larry Cannon-2 laps
16.41-Bill Alsup-3 laps
17.37-John Martin-3 laps
18.82-Rick Muther-3 laps
19.21-Mike Mosley-3 laps
20.29-Billy Engelhart-4 laps
21.20-Gordon Johncock-4 laps
22.38-Jerry Karl-5 laps
23.30-Larry Dickson-6 laps
24.43-Jerry Sneva-6 laps
25.46-Gary Bettenhausen-6 laps
26.92-John Mahler-9 laps
27.8-Dick Simon-9 laps
28.65-Bill Tempero-47 laps (Clutch)
29.2-Billy Vukovich Jr.-80 laps (Gearbox)
30.72-Michael Chandler-103 laps (Valve)
31.86-Jeff Heywood-110 laps (Accident)
32.15-Johnny Parsons-141 laps (Accident)
33.35-Spike Gehlhausen-151 laps (Clutch)
34.25-Danny Ongais-173 laps (Accident)
35.61-Tom Gloy-175 laps (Accident)
36.10-Pancho Carter-176 laps (Suspension)
37.91-Chip Mead-200 laps (Transmission)

Bobby Unser-1-172
Al Unser-173
Rick Mears-174-175
Bobby Unser-176-200

3 Lead Changes among 3 drivers

Caution Flags: 10 for 40 laps
Lap 8 (Car #43 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 18 (Cars #15, 82 and 41 Accident Backstretch),
Lap 25 (Cars #61 and 15 Accident Turn 2),
Lap 49 (Car #21 Spin Turn 4),
Lap 60 (Cars #2, 15, 29 and 43 Accident Backstretch),
Lap 93 (Car #86 Accident Turn 1),
Lap 121 (Car #18 Stalled Backstretch),
Lap 138 (Cars #95 and 46 Spin Turn 2),
Lap 146 (Car #92 Accident Turn 1)
Lap 174 (Cars #82 and 8 Accident Turn 2)

Margin of Victory: 15.049 Seconds

Time of Race: 4 Hours, 7 Minutes and 40 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 10th race of the season the Gould Grand Prix at the Michigan International Speedway.

Al Unser won the pole, with a time of 43.847 seconds, beating Danny Ongais by 0.199 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Al Unser won his 1st pole of the year,
Unser won his 3rd career pole in the CART Series and his first since 1979 at Phoenix; 10 races ago,
Johnny Rutherford, who won this race one year ago, will be starting 4th,
Rutherford, who will start 4th, has a 794 point lead over Bobby Unser

1.5-Al Unser
2.43-Danny Ongais
3.12-Mario Andretti
4.4-Johnny Rutherford
5.10-Pancho Carter
6.11-Bobby Unser
7.9-Tom Sneva
8.15-Johnny Parsons
9.81-Jerry Sneva
10.1-Rick Mears
11.61-Tom Gloy
12.59-Joe Saldana
13.40-Tom Bagley
14.95-Larry Cannon
15.69-Bob Frey
16.46-Gary Bettenhausen
17.44-Greg Leffler
18.65-Bill Tempero
19.41-Bill Alsup
20.24-Sheldon Kinser
21.77-Salt Walther
22.18-Dennis Firestone
23.35-Gordon Smiley
24.28-Herm Johnson
25.20-Gordon Johncock
26.2-Billy Vukovich Jr.

Race #10 - Gould Grand Prix

The CART Series made their 10th stop of 1980 at the Michigan International Speedway, in Brooklyn, Michigan, for the Gould Grand Prix.

Al Unser led the field to the Green as the fans in attendance were given a great show as the battle for the lead was a race long duel between Al and Danny Ongais as both drivers combined would lead 62 of the 75 laps, but during the final ten laps, their battle was slowed as they caught lap traffic, allowing for Al's brother Bobby to cut down a five second lead, and with three laps to go, Bobby passed his brother for the lead. As Danny Ongais passed Al on the last lap, Bobby had nothing stopping him, as he would go on to score his 5th CART Series win, and his fourth of 1980.

Other Noticeables:
Bobby Unser scored his 4th win of the year and second in a row,
Unser led 1 time for 3 laps, which were the final 3 laps,
It was the 5th win of his career in the CART Series and his first since Ontario; 1 race ago,
Bob Frey, who finished 13th, made his CART Series debut,
Johnny Rutherford, who finished 4th, kept his points lead, leading Bobby Unser by 674 points

1.11-Bobby Unser (3 laps led)
2.43-Danny Ongais (28 laps led)
3.5-Al Unser (34 laps led)
4.4-Johnny Rutherford
5.61-Tom Gloy
6.9-Tom Sneva
7.10-Pancho Carter
8.24-Sheldon Kinser
9.40-Tom Bagley
10.81-Jerry Sneva
11.44-Greg Leffler
12.77-Salt Walther
13.69-Bob Frey
14.46-Gary Bettenhausen
15.59-Joe Saldana
16.41-Bill Alsup-1 lap
17.12-Mario Andretti-1 lap
18.15-Johnny Parsons-1 lap
19.28-Herm Johnson-1 lap
20.35-Gordon Smiley-1 lap
21.65-Bill Tempero-1 lap
22.95-Larry Cannon-1 lap
23.2-Billy Vukovich Jr.-2 laps
24.20-Gordon Johncock-2 laps
25.1-Rick Mears-20 laps (Camshaft) (10 laps led)
26.18-Dennis Firestone-75 laps (Did Not Start)

Al Unser-1-3
Danny Ongais-4-23
Al Unser-24-45
Rick Mears-46-55
Danny Ongais-56-58
Al Unser-59
Danny Ongais-60-62
Al Unser-63-65
Danny Ongais-66
Al Unser-67-68
Danny Ongais-69
Al Unser-70-72
Bobby Unser-73-75

12 Lead Changes among 4 drivers

Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps

Margin of Victory: 0.800 Seconds

Time of Race: 1 Hour, 3 Minutes and 40 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 11th race of the season the Primera Copa Mexico 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Al Unser won the pole, with a time of 91.032 seconds, beating Bobby Unser by 0.100 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Al Unser won his 2nd pole of the year and second in a row,
Unser won his 4th career pole in the CART Series and his first since Michigan; 1 race ago,
Johnny Rutherford, who will start 16th, has a 674 point lead over Bobby Unser

1.5-Al Unser
2.11-Bobby Unser
3.1-Rick Mears
4.9-Tom Sneva
5.26-Jim McElreath
6.18-Dennis Firestone
7.41-Bill Alsup
8.28-Herm Johnson
9.24-Sheldon Kinser
10.10-Pancho Carter
11.88-Daniel Muniz
12.92-John Mahler
13.47-Phil Caliva
14.65-Bill Tempero
15.38-Jerry Karl
16.7-Johnny Rutherford
17.95-Larry Cannon
18.8-Dick Simon
19.91-Juan Carlos Bolanos
20.40-Tom Bagley
21.66-Roger Rager
22.25-Danny Ongais
23.20-Gordon Johncock
24.85-Michel Jourdain
25.81-Spike Gehlhausen