1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150
{{Short description|First round of the 1979 IndyCar season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox American championship car race report|
Country = United States
| Race = Phoenix 1
| Image = Phoenix-international-raceway-2011.svg
| Caption = Map of the Track
| Date = March 11
| Year = 1979
| Official name = Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150
| Race_No = 1
| Season_No = 14
| Series = IndyCar
| Location = Phoenix International Raceway
Avondale, Arizona, United States
| Course = Tri-Oval
| Course_mi = 1.000
| Course_km = 1.610
| Distance_laps = 150
| Distance_mi = 150.000
| Distance_km = 241.500
| Weather = Temperatures reaching up to {{convert|80.1|F|C}}; wind speeds reaching up to {{convert|12.7|mph|km/h}}[https://www.almanac.com/weather/history/AZ/Phoenix/1979-03-11 Weather information for the 1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150] at The Old Farmers' Almanac
| Pole_Driver = Bobby Unser
| Pole_Team = Roger Penske
| Pole_Time = 24.714
| Pole_Country = United States
| First_Driver = Gordon Johncock
| First_Team = Pat Patrick
| First_Country = United States
| Second_Driver = Rick Mears
| Second_Team = Roger Penske
| Second_Country= United States
| Third_Driver = Johnny Rutherford
| Third_Team = Bruce McLaren
| Third_Country = United States
}}
The 1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 was the first round of the 1979 IndyCar season, held on March 11, at Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona. It marked the debut of the new Championship Automobile Racing Teams, or CART, era of IndyCar racing.
Race
= Summary =
In the inaugural race for the new series, 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.{{Cite web|url=https://motorsportstribune.com/historical-carts-first-race-at-phoenix/|title=Historical: CART's first race at Phoenix|website=Motorsports Tribune|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-01}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/281892944/|title=The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 12, 1979 · 19|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-10-01|language=en}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/209464052/|title=Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan on March 12, 1979 · Page 22|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-10-01|language=en}}
= Results =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" | ||||||||
| Pos | Sta | # | Driver | Owner | Laps | Time/Retired | Led | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1
| 2 | 20 | {{flagicon|USA}} Gordon Johncock | 150 | 1:15:23.016 | 33 | 300 | ||||||||
| 2
| 5 | 9 | {{flagicon|USA}} Rick Mears | 150 | style="text-align:center;"| - | 0 | 240 | ||||||||
| 3
| 3 | 4 | {{flagicon|USA}} Johnny Rutherford | 150 | style="text-align:center;"| - | 0 | 210 | ||||||||
| 4
| 10 | 2 | {{flagicon|USA}} Al Unser | 150 | style="text-align:center;"| - | 0 | 180 | ||||||||
| 5
| 1 | 12 | {{flagicon|USA}} Bobby Unser | 149 | + 1 Lap | 84 | 150 | ||||||||
| 6
| 7 | 36 | {{flagicon|USA}} Mike Mosley | 148 | + 2 Laps | 0 | 120 | ||||||||
| 7
| 6 | 40 | {{flagicon|USA}} Wally Dallenbach | 147 | + 3 Laps | 0 | 90 | ||||||||
| 8
| 9 | 11 | {{flagicon|USA}} Tom Bagley | 145 | + 5 Laps | 0 | 75 | ||||||||
| 9
| 17 | 21 | {{flagicon|USA}} Lee Kunzman | 143 | + 7 Laps | 0 | 60 | ||||||||
| 10
| 19 | 35 | {{flagicon|USA}} Larry Rice | Private | 143 | + 7 Laps | 0 | 45 | ||||||||
| 11
| 21 | 41 | {{flagicon|USA}} Bill Alsup | 141 | + 9 Laps | 0 | 30 | ||||||||
| 12
| 15 | 77 | {{flagicon|USA}} Salt Walther | 139 | + 11 Laps | 0 | 15 | ||||||||
| 13
| 13 | 69 | {{flagicon|USA}} Joe Saldana | 139b | + 11 Laps | 0 | 8 | ||||||||
| 14
| 18 | 28 | {{flagicon|USA}} Tom Frantz | 139 | + 11 Laps | 0 | 8 | ||||||||
| 15
| 4 | 25 | {{flagicon|USA}} Danny Ongais | 128 | Engine | 33 | 8 | ||||||||
| 16
| 11 | 7 | {{flagicon|USA}} Steve Krisiloff | 63 | Gearbox | 0 | 8 | ||||||||
| 17
| 2 | 1 | {{flagicon|USA}} Tom Sneva | 43 | Engine | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| 18
| 14 | 19 | {{flagicon|USA}} Spike Gehlhausen | 12 | Water Line | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| 19
| 16 | 92 | {{flagicon|USA}} John Mahler | 12 | Piston | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| 20
| 12 | 10 | {{flagicon|USA}} Pancho Carter | 7 | Gearbox | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| 21
| 20 | 34 | {{flagicon|AUS}} Vern Schuppan | 2 | U-Joint | 0 | 5 |
= Caution flag breakdown =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" | ||||
| Condition | From Lap | To Lap | # Of Laps | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green
| 1 | 2 | 2 | | ||||
| Yellow
| 3 | 6 | 4 | Vern Schuppan off at turn 1 | ||||
| Green
| 7 | 14 | 8 | | ||||
| Yellow
| 15 | 16 | 2 | stalled car | ||||
| Green
| 17 | 68 | 52 | | ||||
| Yellow
| 69 | 76 | 8 | debris | ||||
| Green
| 77 | 128 | 52 | | ||||
| Yellow
| 129 | 139 | 11 | Danny Ongais oil on track | ||||
| Green
| 140 | 150 | 11 | |
16.7% of race run under caution.
= Lap leader breakdown =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" | |||
| Leader | From Lap | To Lap | # Of Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Unser
| 1 | 64 | 64 | |||
| Gordon Johncock
| 65 | 66 | 2 | |||
| Bobby Unser
| 67 | 86 | 20 | |||
| Danny Ongais
| 87 | 119 | 33 | |||
| Gordon Johncock
| 120 | 150 | 31 |
= Points standings after this race =
Note: Only the top ten positions are listed.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" | |||
| Rank | Driver | Points | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1
| Gordon Johncock | 300 | | |||
| 2
| Rick Mears | 240 | -60 | |||
| 3
| Johnny Rutherford | 210 | -90 | |||
| 4
| Al Unser | 180 | -120 | |||
| 5
| Bobby Unser | 150 | -150 | |||
| 6
| Mike Mosley | 120 | -180 | |||
| 7
| Wally Dallenbach | 90 | -210 | |||
| 8
| Tom Bagley | 75 | -225 | |||
| 9
| Lee Kunzman | 60 | -240 | |||
| 10
| Larry Rice | 45 | -255 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070512212749/http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/ResultsIndex.asp?ID=591 Full Weekend Times & Results]
- [http://racing-reference.info/race/1979_Arizona_Republic_Jimmy_Bryan_150 racing-reference]{{dead link|date=February 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{CART World Series race report|
Name_of_race = Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 |
Year_of_race = 1979 |
Previous_race_in_season = - First Race of Series - |
Next_race_in_season = 1979 Gould Twin Dixie 125 |
Previous_year's_race = - Not Held - |
Next_year's_race = 1979 Miller High Life 150
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1979 Arizona Republic Jimmy Bryan 150}}
Arizona Republic Jimmy Bryan 150, 1979