1978 Indianapolis 500

Tom Sneva won his second-consecutive pole position.

Pole day dawned with temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s. Qualifying started promptly at 11:00 a.m., with Johnny Rutherford first out on the track. He fell short of the 200 mph barrier on all four laps, and settled for an average of 197.098 mph.

At 12:03 p.m., Tom Sneva took to the track. Following in his own footsteps from the previous year, he set new all-time one and four lap track records. This time becoming the first driver in Indy history to complete all four qualifying laps over 200 mph.

• Lap 1 – 44.20 seconds, 203.620 mph (new 1-lap track record)
• Lap 2 – 44.43 seconds, 202.566 mph
• Lap 3 – 44.60 seconds, 201.794 mph
• Lap 4 – 44.85 seconds, 200.669 mph
• Total – 2:58.08, 202.156 mph (new 4-lap track record)

Due to changes in the rules in subsequent years, his one and four lap track records would stand until 1982. Sneva's four-lap average secured the pole position, his second pole in a row.

Sneva's Penske teammate, rookie Rick Mears, was the next car out. Mears completed three laps over 200 mph, and his four-lap average of 200.078 mph was a rookie speed record, and would be good enough for the front row.

Janet Guthrie returned for her second start, and qualified strongly at 190.325 mph. At 12:39 p.m., Danny Ongais made it an "all 200 mph" front row, securing second starting position at 200.122 mph.

After practicing over 200 mph, A. J. Foyt was forced to wave off his run, and missed his chance to qualify in the pole round. Mike Hiss was hired by Penske to drive substitute for Mario Andretti during time trials. He qualified the car with a respectable speed of 194.647 mph (8th). However, on race day, Andretti would get back in the car, and he would be forced to line up in the 33rd starting position due to the driver switch.

Rain late in the day hampered the qualifying attempts. The trip through the original qualifying line exhausted at 5 p.m., and Tom Sneva officially secured the pole position. Several drivers including Bobby Unser, A. J. Foyt, and Pancho Carter, were unable to qualify during the pole round. At 5 p.m., the "third day" of time trials officially commenced, and those drivers would line up behind the cars from the pole round.

The day ended with the field filled to twenty cars. Bobby Unser finished his run as a "third day" qualifier in the rain. The track was closed for the day as soon as Unser returned to the pits at 5:11 p.m.

Jim Hurtubise drew controversy on Bump Day.

The final day of time trials opened with 13 spots unfilled. A. J. Foyt (200.120 mph) was the fastest of the day. His speed was tied for second-fastest, but as a final day qualifier, he would line up 20th.

Roger Rager was the only major on-track incident of the day. On his second warm-up lap, he hit the outside wall in turn four, suffering an injured hand. He would miss the race. Larry Cannon brushed the wall on his second qualifying lap, and Dick Simon brushed the wall on the main stretch shaking down a car for Bill Puterbaugh. The car lost two wheels and it was too late in the day for the car to be repaired.

In the final hour, there was one spot left in the field when Bob Harkey was preparing to make his attempt. Jim Hurtubise, who had once again entered his now-infamous Mallard/Offy front-engined car, had been denied the permission to qualify, due to lack of speed. USAC had decided to set a 180 mph minimum speed in order to pass "final" inspection, receive the appropriate sticker, and be allowed to make a qualifying attempt. They deemed Hurtubise ineligible, claiming he had not broken 175 mph,[4][5] despite some claiming he had lapped over 184 mph.[4] Hurtubise considered the ruling a personal harassment, lies, and an effort by USAC, Goodyear, and the Speedway to single him out and keep him from qualifying.[5] After being a popular fixture amongst the fans for many years, several episodes of antics had caused some to begin to view Hurtubise unfavorably.[6] Hurtubise got into a heated exchange with chief steward Tom Binford, then proceeded to climb into Harkey's car, shouting "If I can't qualify, no one can!"[6] After a few minutes, Hurtubise was coaxed out of the car, and Harkey climbed in to crank it up. With some encouragement from the crowd, Hurtubise then jumped in front of Harkey, preventing him from pulling out of the pits.[4] He had to be restrained by safety patrol members, and Harkey managed to pull away. While Harkey was on the backstretch of his warm-up lap,[5] Hurtubise jumped over the pit wall and ran out on the race track in order to disrupt and halt the qualifying attempt.[4] Running down the main stretch, several guards chased after him. Hurtubise was tackled by John Martin and was then detained by police.[4][6] By this time, the crowd's opinion had changed, and they began booing and jeering Hurtubise for going too far by disrupting qualifying. Hurtubise was banned from the track for the remainder of the month.[5]

Harkey managed to finish his qualifying attempt without incident, but his speed was not fast enough to stand. Within twenty minutes, Harkey was bumped by Joe Saldana. The day closed with Cliff Hucul bumping Graham McRae with two minutes left in the day.

After missing time trials, Mario Andretti won the Grand Prix of Belgium. He traveled back to Indianapolis during the week, and would be back in time for Carburetion Day "tests."

Row	Inside			Middle			Outside
1	1		Tom Sneva Norton Spirit Special Team Penske Penske PC-6, Cosworth DFX 202.156 mph (325.339 km/h)	25		Danny Ongais Interscope Racing Special Ted Field Parnelli, Cosworth DFX 200.122 mph (322.065 km/h)	71		Rick Mears  R  CAM2 Motor Oil Special Team Penske Penske PC-6, Cosworth DFX 200.078 mph (321.994 km/h)
2	4		Johnny Rutherford  W  1st National City Travelers Checks Special Team McLaren McLaren 77, Cosworth DFX 197.098 mph (317.198 km/h)	2		Al Unser  W  1st National City Travelers Checks Special Chaparral Racing Lola 78, Cosworth DFX 196.474 mph (316.194 km/h)	20		Gordon Johncock  W  North American Van Lines Special Patrick Racing Wildcat 78, DGS 195.833 mph (315.163 km/h)
3	6		Wally Dallenbach Sr. Sugaripe Prune Special Jerry O'Connell McLaren 77, Cosworth DFX 195.228 mph (314.189 km/h)	16		Johnny Parsons 1st National City Travelers Checks Special Lindsey Hopkins Lightning, Offenhauser 194.280 mph (312.663 km/h)	80		Larry Dickson Polak Construction/Sta-On Car Glaze Special Russ Polak Penske PC-5, Offenhauser 193.434 mph (311.302 km/h)
4	17		Dick Simon La Machine Special Rolla Vollstedt Vollstedt, Offenhauser 192.967 mph (310.550 km/h)	11		Roger McCluskey National Auto Engineering Special Warner Hodgdon Eagle 76, AMC 192.256 mph (309.406 km/h)	24		Sheldon Kinser Thermo King Special Ralph Wilke Watson, Offenhauser 192.051 mph (309.076 km/h)
5	40		Steve Krisiloff Foreman Industries Special Patrick Racing Wildcat, DGS 191.255 mph (307.795 km/h)	22		Tom Bagley  R  Kent Oil Special Ralph Wilke Watson 77, Offenhauser 190.941 mph (307.290 km/h)	51		Janet Guthrie Texaco Star Special Janet Guthrie Wildcat, DGS 190.325 mph (306.298 km/h)
6	2		Spike Gehlhausen Hubler Chevrolet/WIRE Special Carl Gehlhausen Eagle 74, Offenhauser 190.325 mph (306.298 km/h)	39		John Mahler Tibon Special Carl Gehlhausen Eagle, Offenhauser 189.723 mph (305.330 km/h)	43		Tom Bigelow Armstrong Moulding Special Sherman Armstrong Wildcat 76, DGS 189.115 mph (304.351 km/h)
7	48		Bobby Unser  W  ARCO Graphite Special All American Racers Eagle 78, Cosworth DFX 194.658 mph (313.272 km/h)	14		A.J. Foyt  W  Gilmore/Citicorp Special A.J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote, Foyt V-8 200.122 mph (322.065 km/h)	8		Pancho Carter Budweiser Special Arizona Mechanics Lightning, Offenhauser 196.829 mph (316.766 km/h)
8	77		Salt Walther Dayton-Walther Special George Walther McLaren, Cosworth DFX 193.226 mph (310.967 km/h)	84		George Snider Gilmore/Citicorp Special A.J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote, Foyt V-8 192.627 mph (310.003 km/h)	69		Joe Saldana  R  Mr. Wize-Buys Carpet Special Dynamics Inc. Eagle 73, Offenhauser 190.809 mph (307.077 km/h)
9	78		Mike Mosley Alex XLNT Foods Special Alex Morales Lightning, Offenhauser 188.719 mph (303.714 km/h)	26		Jim McElreath Circle City Coal Special Jim McElreath Eagle 74, Offenhauser 188.058 mph (302.650 km/h)	29		Cliff Hucul Wendy's Hamburgers Special Hucul-Hunter-Arndt McLaren, Offenhauser 187.803 mph (302.240 km/h)
10	88		Jerry Karl Machinists Union Special Frank Fiore McLaren, Cosworth DFX 187.549 mph (301.831 km/h)	87		Phil Threshie  R  Circle Chevy/Tutwiler Special Phil Threshie Lightning, Offenhauser 187.520 mph (301.784 km/h)	35		Larry Rice  R  Bryant Heating/WIBC Special Patrick Santello Lightning, Offfenhauser 187.393 mph (301.580 km/h)
11	98		Gary Bettenhausen Oberdorfer Special Grant King King 76, Offenhauser 187.324 mph (301.469 km/h)	30		Jerry Sneva Smock Materials Special Marv Schmidt McLaren, Offenhauser 187.266 mph (301.375 km/h)	7		Mario Andretti  W  Gould Charge Special Team Penske Penske PC-6, Cosworth DFX 194.329 mph (312.742 km/h)
[7][8][9]

  Driver Mike Hiss qualified Mario's car for him while he was in Belgium winning the Belgian Grand Prix. After qualifying Mike Hiss stepped aside from the ride so Mario would race the car on race day. Because of the driver change USAC rules stated the entry must start at the rear of the field (33rd)

• First alternate: Graham McRae (#33, #34) – Bumped
• Second alternate: Bob Harkey (#42) – Bumped

• Al Loquasto (#86) – Bumped
• Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon (#85) – Too slow
• Bill Vukovich, Jr. (#18, #93) – Incomplete qualifying run
• John Martin (#28) – Incomplete qualifying runs
• Bubby Jones (#18) – Incomplete qualifying runs
• Gary Irvin  R  (#9) – Incomplete qualifying run
• Roger Rager  R  (#9, #97) – Wrecked during qualifying attempt
• Mike Hiss (#7, #66) – qualified 8th, but turned the car over to Mario Andretti
• Lee Kunzman (#90)
• Bobby Olivero (#78)
• Eldon Rasmussen (#58)
• Jim Hurtubise – Barred from making a qualifying attempt due to lack of speed; detained by police after running out onto the track to disrupt time trials.

 R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie
 W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner

Race day dawned hot and humid, with temperatures in the high 80s (°F). After the death of Tony Hulman, the starting command was recited by his widow Mary F. Hulman. With Janet Guthrie in the field once again, the traditional command was again tweaked. This time command was worded "Lady and Gentlemen, start your engines!"

During the pace laps, Gary Bettenhausen pulled into the pits with mechanical trouble, and missed the start. At the green flag, Danny Ongais darted into the lead, with Tom Sneva falling in line behind him in second. Rick Mears suddenly faded and pulled to the outside, and was passed by several cars. Ongais completed the first lap at a record speed of 185.185 mph.

Sheldon Kinser stalled on the backstretch, and brought out the yellow light for three laps. Rick Mears ducked into the pits for an unscheduled stop. He had neglected to fasten his helmet strap properly, and nearly lost his helmet at the start of the race. He was able to properly fasten his helmet, and returned to the race.[10]

The green came back out on lap 5, with Ongais pulling out to a comfortable lead. Cliff Hucul went to pits, and was out of the race with a broken oil line.

Mario Andretti quickly charged from last starting position to run as high as 13th in the early going. However, he was forced to pit to change a bad spark plug wire. He lost 8 laps, and was effectively out of contention for the rest of the day.

On lap 26, Spike Gehlhausen crashed exiting turn 2, and came to rest along the outside wall on the backstretch. Leader Danny Ongais was in the pits when the yellow came out, which gave the lead temporarily to Steve Krisiloff. However, under the yellow light condition, Krisiloff violated the PACER light rules, and was penalized one lap. That gave the lead to Tom Sneva. With Ongais in second right behind Sneva, the green light came back on down the backstretch on lap 31. Sneva led for barely a lap, and Ongais passed him for the lead the next time by.

Salt Walther dropped out with a bad clutch, and proceeded to rant his frustration of his chief mechanic Tommy Smith during a heated television interview.

Danny Ongais led 68 of the first 75 laps. The team reported that Ongais had lost his two-way radio, and was forced to communicate only by sign boards for the rest of the race.

Al Unser Sr. took the lead for the first time on lap 76. he held the lead at the halfway point. A. J. Foyt, who had charged near the front early on, started to fade, and after long pit stops, was laps down to the leaders. Janet Guthrie, on the other hand, was moving up into the top ten.

Rookie Rick Mears dropped out after 103 laps with a blown engine. By lap 120, thirteen cars were out of the race, with hot conditions contributing to the attrition.

Al Unser Sr. led, with Danny Ongais and Tom Sneva in the top three. Unser continued to hold a small lead over Ongais, with his crew's efficient and quick pit stops increasing the margin.

Suddenly on lap 145, second place Danny Ongais came into the pits with smoke pouring from the car. After having led 71 laps (nearly half the race up to that point), Ongais was out with a blown engine.

Al Unser Sr. led second place Tom Sneva by over 20 seconds. Those were the only two cars left on the lead lap. On lap 180, Unser came onto the pits for his final stop. Unser overshot his pit box by a few feet, and hit a spare tire with his front wing. The team decided not to change tires, and filled the car with fuel only. His stop was 17 seconds, his worst pit stop of the day.

One lap later, Tom Sneva pitted, taking fuel only. His pit stop, however, was not fast, and he did not immediately gain ground on Unser. With a 30-second lead, Unser had 19 laps to victory. However, his front wing was damaged from hitting the tire, and Unser's handling was starting to go away. Sneva began cutting away at his lead, by about a second per lap.

With three laps to go, Sneva had cut the lead to 14 seconds. Then with one lap to go, it was down to 10 seconds. On the final lap, third place Gordon Johncock slipped by Unser to get one of his laps back. Unser nursed the car around on the final lap, and won this third Indy 500. Second place for the second year in a row Tom Sneva finished 8.09 seconds behind, the second-closest finish in Indy history to that point.

Wally Dallenbach and A. J. Foyt both stalled on the course out of fuel, but both finished strongly, 5th and 7th, respectively. Janet Guthrie finished 9th, and revealed after the race that she drove with a fractured wrist. Two days before the race, she fell during a charity tennis match, suffering the injury.

Finish	Grid	No	Name	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Led	Status	Points
1	5	2	Al Unser  W	Lola 78	Cosworth DFX	200	121	Running	1000
2	1	1	Tom Sneva	Penske PC-6	Cosworth DFX	200	3	Running	800
3	6	20	Gordon Johncock  W	Wildcat 78	DGS	199	0	Flagged	700
4	13	40	Steve Krisiloff	Wildcat	DGS	198	5	Flagged	600
5	7	6	Wally Dallenbach Sr.	McLaren 77	Cosworth DFX	195	0	Out of fuel	500
6	19	48	Bobby Unser  W	Eagle 78	Cosworth DFX	195	0	Flagged	400
7	20	14	A. J. Foyt  W	Coyote	Foyt V-8	191	0	Flagged	300
8	23	84	George Snider	Coyote	Foyt V-8	191	0	Flagged	250
9	15	51	Janet Guthrie	Wildcat	DGS	190	0	Flagged	0
10	8	16	Johnny Parsons	Lightning	Offenhauser	186	0	Flagged	150
11	30	35	Larry Rice  R	Lightning	Offenhauser	186	0	Engine	100
12	33	7	Mario Andretti  W	Penske PC-6	Cosworth DFX	185	0	Flagged	50
13	4	4	Johnny Rutherford  W	McLaren 77	Cosworth DFX	180	0	Flagged	25
14	28	88	Jerry Karl	McLaren	Cosworth DFX	176	0	Flagged	25
15	24	69	Joe Saldana  R	Eagle 73	Offenhauser	173	0	Flagged	25
16	31	98	Gary Bettenhausen	King 76	Offenhauser	147	0	Piston	25
17	25	78	Mike Mosley	Lightning	Offenhauser	146	0	Broken Gear	20
18	2	25	Danny Ongais	Parnelli	Cosworth DFX	145	71	Piston	20
19	10	17	Dick Simon	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	138	0	Wheel Bearing	20
20	26	26	Jim McElreath	Eagle 74	Offenhauser	132	0	Engine	20
21	18	43	Tom Bigelow	Wildcat 76	DGS	107	0	Connecting Rod	15
22	9	80	Larry Dickson	Penske PC-5	Cosworth DFX	104	0	Oil Pressure	15
23	3	71	Rick Mears  R	Penske PC-6	Cosworth DFX	103	0	Engine	15
24	21	8	Pancho Carter	Lightning	Cosworth DFX	92	0	Exhaust Header	15
25	11	11	Roger McCluskey	Eagle 76	AMC	82	0	Clutch	10
26	17	39	John Mahler	Eagle	Offenhauser	58	0	Timing gear	10
27	14	22	Tom Bagley  R	Watson 77	Offenhauser	25	0	Overheating	10
28	22	77	Salt Walther	McLaren	Cosworth DFX	24	0	Clutch	10
29	16	19	Spike Gehlhausen	Eagle 74	Offenhauser	23	0	Crash T2	5
30	29	47	Phil Threshie  R	Lightning	Offenhauser	22	0	Oil Pressure	5
31	32	30	Jerry Sneva	McLaren	Offenhauser	18	0	Rear End	5
32	12	24	Sheldon Kinser	Watson	Offenhauser	15	0	Oil Pressure	5
33	27	29	Cliff Hucul	McLaren	Offenhauser	4	0	Oil Line	5
[11][12]

 R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie
 W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Paul Page served as anchor for the second year despite what happened on December 1, 1977. On that day while he was doing a helicopter traffic report, Page was nearly killed in an accident, as the helicopter he was riding aboard crashed near Speedway Senior High School in Speedway, Indiana.[16] Page would fully recover to call the race. Lou Palmer reported from victory lane. Mike Hiss, who had served as a substitute driver for Mario Andretti during time trials, served as the "driver expert."

This would be the 31st and final year for Jim Shelton on the crew. After eleven previous appearances, Fred Agabashian also had departed from the crew.

The race was carried in the United States on ABC Sports on a same-day tape delay basis. Billed as an "ABC Sports Exclusive", the race was introduced with the 1977 song African Symphony, written by Van McCoy, and performed by Saint Tropez.[17] Jim McKay anchored the broadcast.

The broadcast has re-aired on ESPN Classic since May 2011.

The full race broadcast has been available since May 10, 2018 on the official IndyCar Series Youtube channel.[18]

• 1978 USAC Championship Car season

• 1978 Indianapolis 500 Official Track Report
• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
• 1978 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network