1979 USAC Championship Car season

The 1979 USAC Championship Car season consisted of seven races, beginning in Ontario, California on March 25 and concluding in West Allis, Wisconsin on August 12. The USAC National Champion was A. J. Foyt and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Rick Mears. With the exception of the Indianapolis 500, most top drivers instead competed in races sanctioned by CART.

1979 USAC Championship Car season
USAC National Championship Trail
Season
Races7
Start dateMarch 25
End dateAugust 12
Awards
National champion A. J. Foyt
Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears

During the summer of 1979, after the California 500 switched alliances mid-season to become a CART series race, USAC proposed a Labor Day weekend race meet that would consist of a USAC Stock Car/Championship Car doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A 250-mile stock car race on Saturday would be followed by a 250-mile Indy car race on Sunday.[1][2] However, the plan never materialized.

Confirmed entries
Team Chassis Engine No Drivers Rounds
Agajanian-King Racers Kingfish 73 Chevrolet 97 Phil Threshie 3–5
Jerry Miller 7
98 Gary Bettenhausen 3–5
George Snider 7
AMI Racing Lola T500B Cosworth 43[N 1] Tom Bigelow All
44 Roger McCluskey 4–7
45 Janet Guthrie 1, 3, 5, 7
George Snider 1–2
Wildcat Mk. II DGS 46 Gary Bettenhausen 1–2, 6–7
Howdy Holmes 3, 5
Greg Leffler 4
B/M Enterprises Antares 72 Offenhauser 50 Frank Weiss 1, 3–5, 7
Eldon Rasmussen 3
Beaudoin Racing Wildcat Mk. II DGS 83 Billy Engelhart 3
Beith Racing Eagle 72 Offenhauser 28 Billy Scott 3
Bruce Crower Eagle 74 Chevrolet 57 Jerry Sneva 1–3, 5[N 2]
Fiore Racing McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 88 Ken Nichols 1
Gibson Racing Eagle 74 DGS 75 Todd Gibson 1–3
Gilmore Racing Parnelli VPJ6CT
Coyote IV[N 3]		 Cosworth
Foyt[N 3]		 14 A. J. Foyt All
Hodgdon Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth 72 Roger McCluskey 1, 3
Spirit 78 AMC 73 Neil Bonnett 3
Jerry Sneva 3
Hucul Racing McLaren M16E Offenhauser 29 Cliff Hucul All
Jim Hurtubise Mallard 71 Offenhauser 56 Jim Hurtubise 3
Joe Hunt Eagle 73 Offenhauser 99 Bob Harkey 1
Leader Card Watson 77 Offenhauser 22 Bill Vukovich II All
Watson 78 24 Sheldon Kinser All
Watson 79 40 George Snider 3[N 4]
Lindsey Hopkins Lightning Mk1/79
Lightning X-15[N 5]		 Offenhauser 15 Johnny Parsons 1–5, 7
51 Hurley Haywood 1, 3
George Snider 5
Loquasto Racing McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 86 Al Loquasto 5
McElreath Racing Eagle 73/74
Penske PC-6/78[N 6]		 Chevrolet 26 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 2
Offenhauser
Cosworth[N 7]		 Jim McElreath 5–7
23 1–3
Phil Threshie 6
Medlin Racing Cicada Mk.IV Offenhauser 35 Bill Puterbaugh 3–4, 7
Mergard Racing Eagle 72 Offenhauser 42 Herm Johnson 7
Polak Racing Penske PC-5/77 Cosworth 80 Larry Dickson 3–7
Rager Racing Eagle 68 Chevrolet 66 Roger Rager 3–4, 6–7
Rasmussen Racing Rascar 72 Foyt
Chevrolet[N 8]		 58 Eldon Rasmussen 1–3, 5[N 9]
Raymond Reimer March 73A Chevrolet 93 Larry McCoy 3
Dana Carter 6
Jan Sneva 7
Rhoades Competition McLaren M16E Offenhauser 20 John Martin 3, 5
Robert LaWarre Eagle 68 Chevrolet 60 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 4–5
McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 86 6–7
Thunder Racing McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 30 Larry Dickson 1–2
Dana Carter 3–5
Vollstedt Racing Vollstedt 77 Offenhauser 17 Dick Simon 1, 3–7
Vollstedt 73 27 John Martin 1
AMC George Snider 4
Bob Harkey 5
Wayne Woodward Eagle 72 Offenhauser 42 Dick Ferguson 1
Eagle 74 81 Dana Carter 1
Dick Ferguson[N 10] 2–3
Jerry Sneva 4–7
William R. Compton McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 38 Jerry Karl All
CART entrants - ineligible to score points.
Alex Morales Co. Lightning Mk1/77 Offenhauser 10 Pancho Carter 3
All American Racers Eagle 78 MkII Cosworth 36 Mike Mosley 3
Cannon Racing Team Wildcat Mk. I DGS 95 Larry Cannon 3
Chaparral Racing Chaparral 2K Cosworth 2 Al Unser 3
Conqueste Racing Parnelli VPJ6CT Cosworth 89 Lee Kunzman 3
Fletcher Racing Lightning Mk1/77 Cosworth 7 Steve Krisiloff 3
Frantz Auto Body Wildcat Mk. I DGS 16 Tom Frantz 3
Gehlhausen-Reath Racing Wildcat Mk. I[N 11] Cosworth 19[N 12] Spike Gehlhausen 3
Eagle 74 Offenhauser Bob Harkey 3
Bill Alsup 3
39 Al Loquasto 3
Hoffman Auto Racing Lightning Mk1/77 Offenhauser 59 George Snider 3[N 13]
Eagle 72 Offenhauser 69 Joe Saldana 3
Intercomp Racing Eagle 72 Offenhauser 92 John Mahler 3
Interscope Racing Parnelli VPJ6CT Cosworth 25 Danny Ongais[N 14] 3, 5
Jerry O'Connell Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth 1 Tom Sneva 3
Longhorn Racing Penske PC-6/78 Cosworth 11 Tom Bagley 3
Patrick Racing Penske PC-6/78 Cosworth 3 Gordon Johncock 3
6 Wally Dallenbach 3
Penske Racing Penske PC-6/78 Cosworth 9 Rick Mears 3
Penske PC-7/79 12 Bobby Unser 3
68 Bill Alsup 3[N 15]
S&M Electric Lightning Mk1/77 Offenhauser 31 Larry Rice 3
Team McLaren McLaren M24B Cosworth 4 Johnny Rutherford 3
Walmotor Penske PC-6/78 Cosworth 77 Salt Walther 3
WASP Racing McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 41 Bill Alsup 3[N 16]
Wysard Motor Co. Wildcat Mk. II DGS 34 Vern Schuppan 3

Schedule and results

All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Rnd Date Race Name Length Track Location Pole Position Winning Driver
1 March 25 Datsun Twin 200 200 mi (320 km) Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario, California A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt
2 April 8 Coors 200 200 mi (320 km) Texas World Speedway College Station, Texas A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt
3 May 27 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes 500 mi (800 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana Rick MearsA Rick MearsA
4 June 10 Rex Mays Classic 150 mi (240 km) Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway West Allis, Wisconsin A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt
5 June 24 Music 500 at Pocono 500 mi (800 km) Pocono International Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt
6 August 5 Lubrilon Grand Prix 200 mi (320 km) Texas World Speedway College Station, Texas A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt
7 August 12 Tony Bettenhausen 200 200 mi (320 km) Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway West Allis, Wisconsin Tom Bigelow Roger McCluskey
September 2B California 500 500 mi (800 km) Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario, California — —

^A Non-USAC drivers
^B Originally scheduled as a USAC race, but was switched mid-season to a CART series race.

Final points standings

The CART drivers were not eligible for points.

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems
Pos Driver ONT
 TXS1
 INDY
 MIL1
 POC
 TXS2
 MIL2
 Pts
1 A. J. Foyt 1* 1* 2 1* 1* 1* 12* 3320
2 Bill Vukovich II 3 6 8 2 6 6 3 1770
3 Tom Bigelow 6 12 14 3 8 2 2 1305
4 Larry Dickson 16 3 24 4 3 11 Wth 1225
5 Gary Bettenhausen 18 2 DNQ 6 9 5 6 1008
6 Jim McElreath 9 14 35 2 9 Wth 975
7 Jerry Sneva 21 13 31 5 4 12 10 851
8 Dick Simon 7 26 13 5 7 17 766
9 Roger McCluskey 12 13 17 14 4 1 716
10 Sheldon Kinser 4 8 28 15 15 3 14 673
11 Cliff Hucul 5 4 29 7 11 16 19 653
12 Howdy Holmes  RY  7 7 600
13 Johnny Parsons 2 16 32 14 21 4 598
14 George Snider 8 5 33 18 25 11 361
15 Janet Guthrie Wth 34 19 5 225
16 Frank Weiss 20 Wth 8 23 7 218
17 Tony Bettenhausen Jr.  R  9 9 13 13 15 185
18 Dana Carter  R  10 DNQ 11 22 10 165
19 Phil Threshie 17 16 16 8 153
20 Al Loquasto DNQ 10 150
21 Todd Gibson 14 7 DNQ 130
22 Jerry Karl DNS 10 DNQ 12 17 14 18 113
23 Herm Johnson 8 100
24 Eldon Rasmussen 11 15 23 20 85
25 Jerry Miller  R  9 80
26 Roger Rager DNQ 10 15 16 65
27 Dick Ferguson  R  17 11 DNQ 48
28 John Martin 15 DNQ 18 30
29 Bob Harkey 19 Wth 24 23
30 Bill Puterbaugh DNQ 19 13 10
31 Ken Nichols 13 10
32 Jan Sneva  R  20 8
- Rick Mears 1 0
- Mike Mosley 3 0
- Danny Ongais 4 12 0
- Bobby Unser 5* 0
- Gordon Johncock 6 0
- Tom Bagley 9 0
- Spike Gehlhausen 10 0
- Steve Krisiloff 11 0
- Salt Walther 12 0
- Tom Sneva 15 0
- Joe Saldana 16 0
- Johnny Rutherford 18 0
- Larry Rice 19 0
- Pancho Carter 20 0
- Vern Schuppan 21 0
- Al Unser 22 0
- John Mahler 25 0
- Wally Dallenbach Sr. 27 0
- Lee Kunzman 30 0
- Larry McCoy DNQ 0
- Bill Alsup DNQ 0
- Larry Cannon DNQ 0
- Billy Engelhart DNQ 0
- Tom Frantz DNQ 0
- Hurley Haywood DNQ 0
- Jim Hurtubise DNQ 0
- Billy Scott DNQ 0
- Neil Bonnett Wth 0
- Greg Leffler Wth 0
Pos Driver ONT
 TXS1
 INDY
 MIL1
 POC
 TXS2
 MIL2
 Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th-10th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish
(Ret)
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie

See also

Footnotes
  1. Raced as #44 at the Indianapolis 500.
  2. Jerry Sneva switched to Hodgdon Racing for the second weekend of Indy 500 time trials, and to Wayne Woodward for the Pocono 500 qualifying.
  3. Used at the first Texas World race.
  4. Snider switched to Hoffman Auto Racing for a special qualifying session for bumped cars at the Indy 500, after the #40 was withdrawn due to a blown engine.
  5. Used by Parsons at the 500 events and both Milwaukee races.
  6. Used by McElreath at the Indy 500.
  7. Used by McElreath at the Indy 500, and by Threshie.
  8. Used at Pocono.
  9. Rasmussen switched to B/M Enterprises after a crash during Indy 500 practice.
  10. Jan Opperman took some laps for his refresher test at the Indy 500.
  11. Car loaned by Patrick Racing at the Indy 500 for Gehlhausen.
  12. Gehlhausen was bumped from the Indy 500 field and loaned the #90 car from Patrick Racing, which he qualified. Later, the #19 was allowed to requalify in a special session, but it also failed to qualify with other drivers. For race day, the #90 was renumbered as #19.
  13. Eligible to score points at the Indy 500, as he had competed with USAC teams earlier in the year.
  14. George Snider practiced with the car at Indianapolis as a standby for a possible qualifying attempt after Ongais suffered a concussion in a crash.
  15. Alsup switched to Gehlhausen-Reath at the special qualifying session for bumped cars at the Indy 500, after his Penske ride was disqualified for a technical infringement.
  16. Alsup switched to a Penske Racing back-up car for Bump Day at the Indy 500.

References
  1. Miller, Robin (July 10, 1979). "September Race At Speedway?". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved July 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Miller, Robin (July 12, 1979). "Labor Day Show At IMS Just A Joke - Or Is It?". The Indianapolis Star. p. 34. Retrieved July 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.