1980 Pocono 500

IndyCar motor race, held in 1980 August 2023 April 2023 USA Pocono 500 1980pocono500program.jpg June 22 1980 USAC Championship Car 1980 True Value 500 4th Long Pond, Pennsylvania Permanent racing facility 2.5 4.023 200 500 804.672 Temperatures up to 80 F C; wind speeds up to 12 mph km/h1980 Pocono 500 weather information https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/pa/avoca/KAVP/date/1980-6-22 Wunderground April 25, 2023 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing 185.491 mph USA Bobby Unser Team Penske USA Johnny Rutherford Chaparral Cars USA Tom Sneva Jerry O'Connell USA The 1980 Pocono 500 was an IndyCar Series motor race held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, on Sunday June 22, 1980. Branded as the 1980 True Value 500 for sponsorship reasons, it was the tenth running of the event. The event was part of both the 1980 USAC Championship Car season and the 1980 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. Bobby Unser won the race driving for Team Penske. It was Unser's first Pocono 500 win and the third for Penske. Background After the controversial battle in 1979 between USAC and CART the landscape of Indy car racing was starting to settle into a more civilized fashion. During the offseason, USAC published their 1980 schedule, which featured such races as the Indianapolis 500, Talladega, and Charlotte.USAC Announces 1980 Schedule https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5716090// Robin Miller Robin Miller (journalist) The Indianapolis Star 31 Newspapers.com December 27, 1979 June 29, 2016 Under an agreement between USAC and CART, the season was to be jointly sanctioned by both series. While USAC withdrew from the agreement after five races, Pocono was one of the few races where the joint-sanctioning took place. In the aftermath of the 1979 Pocono 500, Pocono Raceway was in bad financial shape. They filed an antitrust lawsuit against CART seeking damages in August 1979, but needed additional money. In February 1980, it was announced that Pocono would be rented by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the entire 1980 season and all of the races would be promoted by Indianapolis. The infusion of cash was necessary to pay off creditors. Pocono personnel would continue to work at the track but additional personnel from Indianapolis would come in.Indy Leases Pocono Track https://ibb.co/zf1C2w6 https://web.archive.org/web/20230424233603/https://ibb.co/zf1C2w6 usurped April 24, 2023 24 April 2023 The Daily Item February 6, 1980 Driving Jim Hall's radical new Chaparral 2K ground effects chassis, Johnny Rutherford won the 1980 Indianapolis 500 in easy fashion. Practice Driving for Dan Gurney, Mike Mosley posted the fastest practice speed in Tuesday's practice session at 183.599 mph. Mosley looked to overcome his 32nd-place finish at Indianapolis and provide a boost to the financially strapped Gurney team. Bobby Unser was second at 183.113 mph and Mario Andretti third at 182.113 mph. A.J. Foyt was fourth at 180.723 mph. Rick Mears was fifth at 179.354 mph. Indianapolis champion, Johnny Rutherford's fastest speed was 178.620 mph.https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-1980-pocono-500-1st-practice/136712089/ New York Daily News New York Associated Press Mosley Posts Fastest Pocono Practice Time June 18, 1980 70 On Wednesday, A. J. Foyt posted the fastest practice speed at 185.460 mph, but competitors questioned if it was a matter of showmanship and running a turbocharger popoff valve outside of legal levels. Mario Andretti was second at 184.351 mph. "There's no way," Andretti said. "Foyt was running 215-220 down the straightaway. There's no way in hell. I did 184 and I'm running 199 on the straights, tops." Suspicious of Foyt's speed, USAC awarded Andretti the prize for fastest practice lap, a dinner for two at a restaurant in Tannersville.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-1980-pocono-500-2nd-pra/136712172/ The Morning Call Pennsylvania Associated Press Foyt Has Fun But Andretti Wins Dinner June 19, 1980 49 Crewman for Herm Johnson, Greg Nelson, was transported to a local hospital by helicopter when the external starter he was using struck him in the face, suffering lacerations of the mouth and jaw.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-1980-pocono-500-2nd-pra/136712172/ The Morning Call Pennsylvania Associated Press Foyt Has Fun But Andretti Wins Dinner June 19, 1980 49 Time Trials On Thursday morning, Mike Mosley posted the fastest practice speed at 185.682 mph and asserted himself as a favorite for the pole.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34959512/the-indianapolis-star/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Bobby U Takes Pocono Pole June 20, 1980 39 In the morning three-hour practice session, several cars crashed in separate incidents. Gordon Johncock hit the wall in turn two and Pancho Carter crashed trying to avoid the debris. An hour later, Johncock's Patrick Racing teammate Tom Bagley crashed as well in the same spot. The Patrick team had only one backup car at the track, and Johncock did not like the handling of it when he took practice laps. Bagley qualified the backup while the Patrick team considered bringing another car from Indianapolis for Johncock. Johncock declined, saying the rush would put the crew under too much pressure and withdrew from the race.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-recorder-1980-pocono-500-day-2/136713061/ Times Recorder Ohio Associated Press Field Complete For Pocono 500 June 21, 1980 11 It was the first time Johncock missed an IndyCar race since Mosport in 1978.https://www.newspapers.com/article/standard-speaker-1980-pocono-500-day-1-q/136712688/ Standard Speaker Pennsylvania Associated Press Pocono 500 Pole Spot to Bobby Unser June 20, 1980 25 Johnny Rutherford crashed in turn two when he came upon slow cars running in the racing line and swerved to avoid. The car that he won with at Indianapolis was damaged and he switched to a backup car.https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-1980-pocono-500/136712297/ Newsday New York Associated Press Day Qualifies as Eventful June 20, 1980 127 Mario Andretti and Spike Gehlhausen spun and avoided contact with the wall. Bobby Unser won the pole with an average speed of 185.491 mph. A.J. Foyt qualified second at an average speed of 184.729 mph. It was reported that Foyt's straightaway speeds were 20 mph faster than anyone else. Some competitors, including Bobby Unser, accused Foyt of using Nitrous Oxide, with Unser saying "You can't prove it, but he was cheating. He doesn't have to do that. It's a shame because he knocked Mike Mosley off the front row."https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34960001/the-indianapolis-news/ Indianapolis News Pennsylvania Associated Press Ninth Time Charm for Bobby Unser June 23, 1980 19https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34959812/the-indianapolis-news/ Indianapolis News Indiana Associated Press No Way AJ Was Cheating, Says Mech June 23, 1980 20 Johnny Parsons suffered a hard crash during qualifying. Driving the same chassis that Janet Guthrie failed to qualify at Indianapolis with, Parsons cut a right-front tire on his second qualifying lap and hit the turn two wall. Parsons was uninjured but his car was demolished.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34959512/the-indianapolis-star/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Bobby U Takes Pocono Pole June 20, 1980 39 In Friday's final day of qualifying, only Herm Johnson and Phil Threshie posted speeds to fill the 33 car field.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-recorder-1980-pocono-500-day-2/136713061/ Times Recorder Ohio Associated Press Field Complete For Pocono 500 June 21, 1980 11 Race At the start of the race, A.J. Foyt extended his lead. After one lap, Gary Bettenhausen fell out of the race with clutch problems. Three laps later, Gary's younger brother Tony Bettenhausen Jr. blew an engine and stalled on track, bringing out the first caution.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6t0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7KAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5492%2C2067020 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press No Kidding Around for Bobby Unser June 23, 1980 22 On lap 11, Dennis Firestone and Al Loquasto crashed in turn three to bring out the second caution. Howdy Holmes, Roger Rager, and Jim McElreath crashed in turn three on lap 26. Holmes was the only one able to continue. The only time Foyt gave up the lead was during pit stop cycles, which allowed Danny Ongais, Bobby Unser, and Mario Andretti to take turns in the lead.  On lap 83, AJ Foyt passed Mario Andretti to put the fourth-placed car one lap down. One lap later, Foyt fell out of the race, while leading, with a blown engine. He had led 67 laps.  Bobby Unser inherited the lead upon Foyt's retirement, and held it with the exception of pitstops until lap 158. Pancho Carter spun in turn three on lap 151 and brought out the final caution flag of the race. Two laps after the restart, Rutherford passed Unser for the lead on lap 159. Five laps later, Unser passed Rutherford on the frontstretch and retook the lead. After 163 laps, Rick Mears lost an engine while running third and retired from the race. On his final pitstop, Rutherford stalled the car leaving the pits with a blown clutch and the car had to be push started. Unser led the final 37 laps and won by a margin of 21 seconds over Rutherford.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34960001/the-indianapolis-news/ Indianapolis News Pennsylvania Associated Press Ninth Time Charm for Bobby Unser June 23, 1980 19 After the race, Mario Andretti accused AJ Foyt of cheating. "There was no way he could have pulled out and passed us the way he was doing it if everything was legal. No way, it's not in the car, my friends."https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6t0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7KAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3178%2C2070451 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press I'll Just Try Again - Andretti June 23, 1980 22 Andretti questioned whether Foyt had exceeded the legal level of turbo boost, saying, "there's no way he could be running with 48 inches."https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34959812/the-indianapolis-news/ Indianapolis News Indiana Associated Press No Way AJ Was Cheating, Says Mech June 23, 1980 20 Foyt claimed his speed was due to aggressive engine tuning to keep up with ground-effects cars. "We knew it would be marginal. We were turning excessive RPMs, but we had to do that to keep up with the ground-effects racers. I knew it would be touch and go. I knew it would be a gamble, and the engine just broke."https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6t0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7KAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3178%2C2070451 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press I'll Just Try Again - Andretti June 23, 1980 22 Box score FinishGridNo Car numberNameEntrantChassisEngineLapsTime/StatusLed Laps ledPoints 1 1 11 USA Bobby Unser Penske Racing Penske PC-9 Cosworth 200 3:18:4.810 116 1000 2 5 4 USA Johnny Rutherford Chaparral Racing Chaparral 2K Cosworth 200 +21.03 6 800 3 10 9 USA Tom Sneva Jerry O'Connell Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth 198 +2 Laps 0 700 4 8 41 USA Bill Alsup Alsup Racing Penske PC-7 Cosworth 194 +6 Laps 0 600 5 27 34 AUS Vern Schuppan Wysard Motor Co. Wildcat Mk2 DGS 193 +7 Laps 0 500 6 14 10 USA Pancho Carter Alex Morales Motorsports Lightning Cosworth 193 +7 Laps 4 400 7 17 24 USA Sheldon Kinser Leader Card Racers Watson Cosworth 192 +8 Laps 2 300 8 19 43 USA Howdy Holmes Armstrong Mould Racing Team Lola T500 Cosworth 190 +10 Laps 0 250 9 24 95 USA Larry Cannon Kraco Racing Wildcat Mk1 DGS 188 +12 Laps 0 200 10 26 81 USA Lee Kunzman O'Hanlon Racing Team McLaren M24 Cosworth 183 +17 Laps 0 150 11 32 28 USA Herm Johnson Cliff-Menard Racing Lightning Offenhauser 182 +18 Laps 0 100 12 7 1 USA Rick Mears Penske Racing Penske PC-9 Cosworth 163 Engine 0 50 13 20 29 USA Billy Engelhart Beaudoin Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth 133 Turbocharger 0 25 14 6 7 USA Jerry Sneva Armstrong Mould Racing Team Lola T500 Cosworth 117 Ignition 0 25 15 23 38 USA Jerry Karl William Compton McLaren M16E Chevrolet 112 +88 Laps 0 25 16 28 47 ITA Phil Caliva Alsup Racing McLaren M16C Offenhauser 110 Ignition 0 25 17 3 12 USA Mario Andretti Penske Racing Penske PC-9 Cosworth 105 Transmission 4 20 18 9 25 USA Danny Ongais Interscope Racing Parnelli VPJ6B Cosworth 99 Clutch 1 20 19 2 14 USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Parnelli VPJ6C Cosworth 85 Valve 67 20 20 21 37 USA John Martin J&J Enterprises Wildcat Mk1 DGS 78 Gearbox 0 20 21 16 8 USA Dick Simon Vollstedt Enterprises Vollstedt Offenhauser 74 Gearbox 0 15 22 22 59 USA Joe Saldana Hoffman Racing Lightning Offenhauser 73 Piston 0 15 23 4 48 USA Mike Mosley All American Racers Eagle 80 Chevrolet 45 Piston 0 15 24 12 5 USA Al Unser Longhorn Racing Longhorn LR01 Cosworth 34 Handling 0 15 25 33 30 USA Phil Threshie Machinists Union Racing IAM 001 Chevrolet 26 Transmission 0 10 26 15 66 USA Roger Rager Roger Rager Wildcat Mk3 Chevrolet 25 Crash 0 10 27 29 97 USA Jim McElreath McElreath Racing King Chevrolet 25 Crash 0 10 28 13 2 USA Bill Vukovich II Leader Card Racers Watson Offenhauser 23 Piston 0 10 29 11 40 USA Tom Bagley Patrick Racing Wildcat Mk4 Cosworth 16 Handling 0 5 30 18 18 AUS Dennis Firestone Scientific Drilling Controls Racing Penske PC-6 Cosworth 10 Crash 0 5 31 30 86 USA Al Loquasto Pacific Coast Racing Lightning Cosworth 10 Suspension 0 5 32 31 32 USA Tony Bettenhausen Jr. Medlin Racing Eagle Offenhauser 4 Piston 0 5 33 25 46 USA Gary Bettenhausen Armstrong Mould Racing Team Wildcat Mk2 DGS 1 Clutch 0 5 Source:1980 True Value 5001980 Pocono 500 - Round 4 Race Statistics Average Speed: 151.454 mph km/h on Lead changes: 16 among 7 drivers Lap Leaders FromLap ToLap TotalLaps Leader 1 8 8 A.J. Foyt 9 9 1 Mario Andretti 10 12 3 A.J. Foyt 13 14 2 Sheldon Kinser 15 18 4 Pancho Carter 19 26 8 A.J. Foyt 27 27 1 Danny Ongais 28 53 26 A.J. Foyt 54 57 4 Bobby Unser 58 60 3 Mario Andretti 61 82 22 A.J. Foyt 83 135 53 Bobby Unser 136 136 1 Johnny Rutherford 137 158 22 Bobby Unser 159 163 5 Johnny Rutherford 164 200 37 Bobby Unser Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 US Johnny Rutherford 2440 2 US Tom Sneva 1940 3 US Bobby Unser 1326 4 US Gordon Johncock 1090 5 US Pancho Carter 988 Television For the first time since the 1974 race, the Pocono 500 was televised on ABC Wide World of Sports. The race aired on July 26, paired with USA vs West Germany Gymnastics. Al Michaels and Jackie Stewart called the race with Chris Economaki reporting from the pits.1980 Pocono 500 ABC References 2 Category:Pocono 500 Pocono 500 Pocono 500