The 1978 Indianapolis 500 was the 62nd running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. The event was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, United States on Sunday, 28 May 1978. Tom Sneva started on pole position and Al Unser was the race winner.
1978 Indianapolis 500 Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Started | Laps | Total Time | Laps Led | Status | Avg. Speed | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Al Unser | Lola | Cosworth | Goodyear | 5 | 200 | 3:05:54.99 | 121 | Running | 161.363 | $290,364 |
| 2 | 1 | Tom Sneva | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 1 | 200 | +8.09 | 3 | Running | 161.244 | $112,704 |
| 3 | 20 | Gordon Johncock | Wildcat | DGS | Goodyear | 6 | 199 | 0 | Running | $61,769 | ||
| 4 | 40 | Steve Krisiloff | Wildcat | DGS | Goodyear | 13 | 198 | 5 | Running | $39,504 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Wally Dallenbach | McLaren | Cosworth | Goodyear | 7 | 195 | 0 | Running | $35,632 | ||
| 6 | 48 | Bobby Unser | Eagle | Cosworth | Goodyear | 19 | 195 | 0 | Running | $29,478 | ||
| 7 | 14 | A.J. Foyt | Coyote | Foyt | Goodyear | 20 | 191 | 0 | Running | $29,628 | ||
| 8 | 84 | George Snider | Coyote | Foyt | Goodyear | 23 | 191 | 0 | Running | $25,818 | ||
| 9 | 51 | Janet Guthrie | Wildcat | DGS | Goodyear | 15 | 190 | 0 | Running | $24,115 | ||
| 10 | 16 | Johnny Parsons | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 8 | 186 | 0 | Running | $26,129 | ||
| 11 | 35 | Larry Rice | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 30 | 186 | 0 | Engine | $24,276 | ||
| 12 | 7 | Mario Andretti | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 33 | 185 | 0 | Running | $23,252 | ||
| 13 | 4 | Johnny Rutherford | McLaren | Cosworth | Goodyear | 4 | 180 | 0 | Running | $31,805 | ||
| 14 | 88 | Jerry Karl | McLaren | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 28 | 176 | 0 | Running | $20,930 | ||
| 15 | 69 | Joe Saldana | Eagle | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 24 | 173 | 0 | Running | $20,691 | ||
| 16 | 98 | Gary Bettenhausen | Kingfish | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 31 | 147 | 0 | Engine | $20,130 | ||
| 17 | 78 | Mike Mosley | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 25 | 146 | 0 | Turbocharger | $20,247 | ||
| 18 | 25 | Danny Ongais | Parnelli | Cosworth | Goodyear | 2 | 145 | 71 | Blown engine | $33,242 | ||
| 19 | 17 | Dick Simon | Vollstedt | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 10 | 138 | 0 | Wheel bearing | $18,516 | ||
| 20 | 26 | Jim McElreath | Eagle | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 26 | 132 | 0 | Engine | $19,119 | ||
| 21 | 43 | Tom Bigelow | Wildcat | DGS | Goodyear | 18 | 107 | 0 | Rod | $18,000 | ||
| 22 | 80 | Larry Dickson | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 9 | 104 | 0 | Oil pressure | $22,659 | ||
| 23 | 71 | Rick Mears | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 3 | 103 | 0 | Engine | $22,396 | ||
| 24 | 8 | Pancho Carter | Lightning | Cosworth | Goodyear | 21 | 92 | 0 | Header | $20,262 | ||
| 25 | 11 | Roger McCluskey | Eagle | AMC | Goodyear | 11 | 82 | 0 | Clutch | $18,707 | ||
| 26 | 39 | John Mahler | Eagle | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 17 | 58 | 0 | Timing gear | $16,330 | ||
| 27 | 22 | Tom Bagley | Watson | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 14 | 25 | 0 | Oil leak | $16,281 | ||
| 28 | 77 | Salt Walther | McLaren | Cosworth | Goodyear | 22 | 24 | 0 | Clutch | $16,560 | ||
| 29 | 19 | Spike Gehlhausen | Eagle | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 16 | 23 | 0 | Accident | $15,968 | ||
| 30 | 47 | Phil Threshie | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 29 | 22 | 0 | Oil pressure | $15,705 | ||
| 31 | 30 | Jerry Sneva | McLaren | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 32 | 18 | 0 | Transmission | $18,120 | ||
| 32 | 24 | Sheldon Kinser | Watson | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 12 | 15 | 0 | Oil pressure | $15,813 | ||
| 33 | 29 | Cliff Hucul | McLaren | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 27 | 4 | 0 | Oil line | $15,534 |