| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 1 of 14 in the 1979 IndyCar season | |
 Map of the Track | |
| Date | March 11, 1979 |
| Official name | Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 |
| Location | Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona, United States |
| Course | Tri-Oval 1.000 mi / 1.610 km |
| Distance | 150 laps 150.000 mi / 241.500 km |
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 12.7 miles per hour (20.4 km/h)[1] |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Bobby Unser (Roger Penske) |
| Time | 24.714 |
| Podium | |
| First | Gordon Johncock (Pat Patrick) |
| Second | Rick Mears (Roger Penske) |
| Third | Johnny Rutherford (Bruce McLaren) |
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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
Results
| Pos | Sta | # | Driver | Owner | Laps | Time/Retired | Led | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 20 |  Gordon Johncock |
Pat Patrick | 150 | 1:15:23.016 | 33 | 300 |
| 2 | 5 | 9 | Rick Mears |
Roger Penske | 150 | - | 0 | 240 |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | Johnny Rutherford |
Bruce McLaren | 150 | - | 0 | 210 |
| 4 | 10 | 2 | Al Unser |
Chaparral Cars | 150 | - | 0 | 180 |
| 5 | 1 | 12 | Bobby Unser |
Roger Penske | 149 | + 1 Lap | 84 | 150 |
| 6 | 7 | 36 | Mike Mosley |
Dan Gurney | 148 | + 2 Laps | 0 | 120 |
| 7 | 6 | 40 | Wally Dallenbach |
Pat Patrick | 147 | + 3 Laps | 0 | 90 |
| 8 | 9 | 11 | Tom Bagley |
Bobby Hillin | 145 | + 5 Laps | 0 | 75 |
| 9 | 17 | 21 | Lee Kunzman |
Conqueste Racing Team | 143 | + 7 Laps | 0 | 60 |
| 10 | 19 | 35 | Larry Rice |
Private | 143 | + 7 Laps | 0 | 45 |
| 11 | 21 | 41 | Bill Alsup |
Bill Alsup | 141 | + 9 Laps | 0 | 30 |
| 12 | 15 | 77 | Salt Walther |
Walmotors | 139 | + 11 Laps | 0 | 15 |
| 13 | 13 | 69 | Joe Saldana |
Hoffman Racing | 139b | + 11 Laps | 0 | 8 |
| 14 | 18 | 28 | Tom Frantz |
Tom Frantz | 139 | + 11 Laps | 0 | 8 |
| 15 | 4 | 25 | Danny Ongais |
Ted Field | 128 | Engine | 33 | 8 |
| 16 | 11 | 7 | Steve Krisiloff |
Fletcher Racing | 63 | Gearbox | 0 | 8 |
| 17 | 2 | 1 | Tom Sneva |
Jerry O'Connell Racing | 43 | Engine | 0 | 6 |
| 18 | 14 | 19 | Spike Gehlhausen |
Carl Gehlhausen | 12 | Water Line | 0 | 6 |
| 19 | 16 | 92 | John Mahler |
Intercomp | 12 | Piston | 0 | 6 |
| 20 | 12 | 10 | Pancho Carter |
Alex Morales | 7 | Gearbox | 0 | 6 |
| 21 | 20 | 34 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Vern Schuppan |
Herb Wysard | 2 | U-Joint | 0 | 5 |
Caution flag breakdown
| 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
| 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.
| 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
- ↑ Weather information for the 1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ "Historical: CART's first race at Phoenix". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
- ↑ "The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 12, 1979 · 19". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
- ↑ "Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan on March 12, 1979 · Page 22". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-10-01.