The 1979 Indianapolis 500 was the 63rd running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. The event was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, United States on Sunday, 28 May 1979. Rick Mears started on pole position and was the race winner.
1979 Indianapolis 500 Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Started | Laps | Total Time | Laps Led | Status | Avg. Speed | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Rick Mears | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 1 | 200 | 3:08:47.97 | 25 | Running | 158.899 | $270,401 |
| 2 | 14 | A.J. Foyt | Parnelli | Cosworth | Goodyear | 6 | 200 | +45.69 | 1 | Running | 158.26 | $107,291 |
| 3 | 36 | Mike Mosley | Eagle | Cosworth | Goodyear | 12 | 200 | 0 | Running | 158.228 | $65,031 | |
| 4 | 25 | Danny Ongais | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 27 | 199 | 0 | Running | $41,197 | ||
| 5 | 12 | Bobby Unser | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 4 | 199 | 89 | Running | $62,319 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Gordon Johncock | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 5 | 197 | 0 | Running | $34,815 | ||
| 7 | 46 | Howdy Holmes | Wildcat | Cosworth | Goodyear | 13 | 195 | 0 | Running | $38,503 | ||
| 8 | 22 | Bill Vukovich II | Watson | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 34 | 194 | 0 | Running | $31,305 | ||
| 9 | 11 | Tom Bagley | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 15 | 193 | 0 | Running | $26,927 | ||
| 10 | 19 | Spike Gehlhausen | Wildcat | Cosworth | Goodyear | 31 | 192 | 0 | Running | $26,366 | ||
| 11 | 7 | Steve Krisiloff | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 28 | 192 | 0 | Running | $25,713 | ||
| 12 | 77 | Salt Walther | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 16 | 191 | 0 | Running | $24,739 | ||
| 13 | 72 | Roger McCluskey | McLaren | Cosworth | Goodyear | 25 | 191 | 0 | Running | $26,392 | ||
| 14 | 44 | Tom Bigelow | Lola | Cosworth | Goodyear | 30 | 190 | 0 | Running | $25,817 | ||
| 15 | 1 | Tom Sneva | McLaren | Cosworth | Goodyear | 2 | 188 | 0 | Accident | $30,578 | ||
| 16 | 69 | Joe Saldana | Eagle | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 26 | 186 | 0 | Running | $24,467 | ||
| 17 | 97 | Phil Threshie | King | Chevrolet | Goodyear | 29 | 172 | 0 | Running | $24,634 | ||
| 18 | 4 | Johnny Rutherford | McLaren | Cosworth | Goodyear | 8 | 168 | 0 | Running | $30,729 | ||
| 19 | 31 | Larry Rice | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 23 | 142 | 0 | Accident | $21,053 | ||
| 20 | 10 | Pancho Carter | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 17 | 129 | 0 | Wheel bearing | $21,656 | ||
| 21 | 34 | Vern Schuppan | Wildcat | DGS | Goodyear | 22 | 111 | 0 | Transmission | $20,537 | ||
| 22 | 2 | Al Unser | Chaparral | Cosworth | Goodyear | 3 | 104 | 85 | Transmission | $39,646 | ||
| 23 | 50 | Eldon Rasmussen | Antares | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 33 | 89 | 0 | Header pipe | $19,433 | ||
| 24 | 80 | Larry Dickson | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 24 | 86 | 0 | Fuel pump | $19,149 | ||
| 25 | 92 | John Mahler | Eagle | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 32 | 66 | 0 | Fuel pump | $18,894 | ||
| 26 | 17 | Dick Simon | Vollstedt | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 20 | 57 | 0 | Clutch | $19,267 | ||
| 27 | 6 | Wally Dallenbach | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 7 | 43 | 0 | Lost wheel | $19,768 | ||
| 28 | 24 | Sheldon Kinser | Watson | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 10 | 40 | 0 | Piston | $18,297 | ||
| 29 | 29 | Cliff Hucul | McLaren | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 18 | 22 | 0 | Rod | $21,605 | ||
| 30 | 89 | Lee Kunzman | Parnelli | Cosworth | Goodyear | 11 | 18 | 0 | Scavenger pump | $18,042 | ||
| 31 | 73 | Jerry Sneva | Spirit | AMC | Goodyear | 21 | 16 | 0 | Piston | $18,357 | ||
| 32 | 15 | Johnny Parsons | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 9 | 16 | 0 | Piston | $18,900 | ||
| 33 | 59 | George Snider | Lightning | Offenhauser | Goodyear | 35 | 7 | 0 | Fuel pump | $18,921 | ||
| 45 | Janet Guthrie | Lola | Cosworth | Goodyear | 14 | 3 | 0 | Piston | $18,121 | |||
| 23 | Jim McElreath | Penske | Cosworth | Goodyear | 19 | 0 | 0 | Valves | $18,671 |