1980 Indianapolis 500
The 64th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 1980. Johnny Rutherford won the pole position, led 118 laps, and won the race by a commanding 29.92 second margin. After failing to finish the race the year before (with Al Unser behind the wheel), Jim Hall's radical new Chaparral 2K ground effects chassis was a heavy favorite entering the month, and drove a flawless race. Rutherford, the winner in 1974 and 1976, became the sixth driver to win the Indy 500 three times.
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | USAC | ||||
| Season | 1980 USAC season 1980 CART season | ||||
| Date | May 25, 1980 | ||||
| Winner | Johnny Rutherford | ||||
| Winning team | Jim Hall Racing | ||||
| Average speed | 142.862 mph (229.914 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Johnny Rutherford | ||||
| Pole speed | 192.256 mph (309.406 km/h) | ||||
| Fastest qualifier | Johnny Rutherford | ||||
| Rookie of the Year | Tim Richmond | ||||
| Most laps led | Johnny Rutherford (118) | ||||
| Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
| National anthem | Purdue band | ||||
| "Back Home Again in Indiana" | Dr. Richard Smith | ||||
| Starting command | Mary F. Hulman | ||||
| Pace car | Pontiac Firebird Trans Am | ||||
| Pace car driver | Johnnie Parsons | ||||
| Starter | Duane Sweeney | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 350,000 | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | ABC | ||||
| Announcers | Host: Chris Schenkel Lap-by-lap: Jim McKay Color Analyst: Jackie Stewart | ||||
| Nielsen ratings | 13.8 / 27 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
Tom Sneva broke an Indy 500 record by becoming the first driver to start last (33rd) and lead the race. Sneva led two times for 16 laps, and finished the race in second position. Sneva likewise became the first driver in Indy history to start last and finish second (a feat tied by Scott Goodyear in 1992). It was Sneva's third runner-up finish in four years, matching Bill Holland's achievement exactly 30 years earlier in 1947, 1948 and 1950. Sneva's efforts were often branded afterwards with a "bridesmaid" reference, until he would finally go on to win the race in 1983.
The starting lineup featured 10 rookies, a sharp contrast from 1979, which had only one.
For the first time in Indy history, the three drivers that started in the eleventh and final row finished in the top eight — Tom Sneva 2nd, Gary Bettenhausen 3rd, and Tom Bigelow 8th.