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1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150

First round of the 1979 CART season

First round of the 1979 CART season

FieldValue
CountryUnited States
RaceArizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150
ImagePhoenix-international-raceway-2011.svg
CaptionMap of the Track
DateMarch 11
Year1979
Official nameArizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150
Race_No1
Season_No14
SeriesCART
LocationPhoenix International Raceway
Avondale, Arizona, United States
CourseTri-Oval
Course_mi1.000
Course_km1.610
Distance_laps150
Distance_mi150.000
Distance_km241.500
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 80.1 F; wind speeds reaching up to 12.7 mph
Pole_DriverBobby Unser
Pole_TeamRoger Penske
Pole_Time24.714
Pole_CountryUnited States
First_DriverGordon Johncock
First_TeamPat Patrick
First_CountryUnited States
Second_DriverRick Mears
Second_TeamRoger Penske
Second_CountryUnited States
Third_DriverJohnny Rutherford
Third_TeamBruce McLaren
Third_CountryUnited States

Country = United States Avondale, Arizona, United States

The 1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 was the first round of the 1979 CART season, held on March 11, at Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona. It marked the debut of the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of Indy car racing.

Race

Summary

In the inaugural race for the new sanctioning body, 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. 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. 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.

Results

PosSta#DriverOwnerLapsTime/RetiredLedPts123456789101112131415161718192021
220USA Gordon JohncockPat Patrick1501:15:23.01633300
59USA Rick MearsRoger Penske150-0240
34USA Johnny RutherfordBruce McLaren150-0210
102USA Al UnserChaparral Cars150-0180
112USA Bobby UnserRoger Penske149+ 1 Lap84150
736USA Mike MosleyDan Gurney148+ 2 Laps0120
640USA Wally DallenbachPat Patrick147+ 3 Laps090
911USA Tom BagleyBobby Hillin145+ 5 Laps075
1721USA Lee KunzmanConqueste Racing Team143+ 7 Laps060
1935USA Larry RicePrivate143+ 7 Laps045
2141USA Bill AlsupBill Alsup141+ 9 Laps030
1577USA Salt WaltherWalmotors139+ 11 Laps015
1369USA Joe SaldanaHoffman Racing139b+ 11 Laps08
1828USA Tom FrantzTom Frantz139+ 11 Laps08
425USA Danny OngaisTed Field128Engine338
117USA Steve KrisiloffFletcher Racing63Gearbox08
21USA Tom SnevaJerry O'Connell Racing43Engine06
1419USA Spike GehlhausenCarl Gehlhausen12Water Line06
1692USA John MahlerIntercomp12Piston06
1210USA Pancho CarterAlex Morales7Gearbox06
2034AUS Vern SchuppanHerb Wysard2U-Joint05

Caution flag breakdown

ConditionFrom LapTo Lap# Of LapsReasonGreenYellowGreenYellowGreenYellowGreenYellowGreen
122
364Vern Schuppan off at turn 1
7148
15162stalled car
176852
69768debris
7712852
12913911Danny Ongais oil on track
14015011

16.7% of race run under caution.

Lap leader breakdown

LeaderFrom LapTo Lap# Of LapsBobby UnserGordon JohncockBobby UnserDanny OngaisGordon Johncock
16464
65662
678620
8711933
12015031

Points standings after this race

Note: Only the top ten positions are listed.

RankDriverPointsDiff12345678910
Gordon Johncock300
Rick Mears240-60
Johnny Rutherford210-90
Al Unser180-120
Bobby Unser150-150
Mike Mosley120-180
Wally Dallenbach90-210
Tom Bagley75-225
Lee Kunzman60-240
Larry Rice45-255

References

References

  1. [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
  2. "Historical: CART's first race at Phoenix".
  3. "The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 12, 1979 · 19". Newspapers.com.
  4. "Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan on March 12, 1979 · Page 22". Newspapers.com.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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