1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150
| 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 |
| 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
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'Connel | 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 |  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 standigs 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 |