1980 IndyCar season

1980 IndyCar season
PPG Indy Car World Series
Season
Races	12
Start date	April 13
End date	November 8
Awards
Drivers' champion	Johnny Rutherford
Constructors' Cup	Penske
Manufacturers' Cup	Cosworth
Nations' Cup	United States
Rookie of the Year	Dennis Firestone
Indianapolis 500 winner	Johnny Rutherford
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
1979	1981

The 1980 IndyCar season, the second in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 12 races, beginning in Ontario, California on April 13 and concluding in Avondale, Arizona on November 8. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Johnny Rutherford. Rookie of the Year was Dennis Firestone. The entire season, including the 64th Indianapolis 500, was to be co-sanctioned by the both the USAC and CART, however the USAC withdrew from the agreement after the fifth race.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1980 CART World Series.

Team	Chassis	Engine	Tires	No	Drivers
Sugaripe Prune	McLaren	Cosworth	G	7/9	Tom Sneva
Chaparral Cars Inc.	Chaparral	Cosworth	G	4	Johnny Rutherford
Team Penske	Penske Phoenix	Cosworth	G	1	Rick Mears
				11	Bobby Unser
				12	Mario Andretti
				20	Gordon Johncock
				61	Tom Gloy
Patrick Racing	Penske Wildcat Phoenix	Cosworth	G	20	Gordon Johncock
				40	Tom Bagley
				60	Gordon Smiley
Fletcher Racing	Penske Phoenix	Cosworth	G	35/55	Spike Gehlhausen
				70	Gordon Smiley
All American Racers	Eagle	Cosworth	G	48	Mike Mosley
Longhorn Racing	Longhorn	Cosworth	G	5	Al Unser
Alsup Racing	Penske McLaren	Cosworth	G	41	Bill Alsup
				47	Phil Caliva
Galles Racing	Penske McLaren	Cosworth Chevrolet	G	23/26 81	Dick Ferguson
King Racing	McLaren King	Cosworth Chevrolet	G	72/86 97	Roger Mears
				97	Billie Harvey Jerry Miller
1st National Bank of Peru	Anteres	Offy	G	50	Jan Sneva
Hoffman Racing	Penske Lightning Spyder	Cosworth Offy	G	59/69	Joe Saldana
				79	Bob Frey
Stanton Barrett	Penske	Cosworth	G	75	Ron Shuman
Mergard Racing	Eagle	Offy	G	42	John Wood
Leader Card	Watson	Offy Cosworth	G	2/24	Billy Vukovich II
				24	Sheldon Kinser
Menard Racing	Lightning	Offy	G	28	Herm Johnson
Wood Power	Eagle	Chevrolet	G	15/65	Bill Tempero
Alex Foods	Penske	Cosworth	G	10	Pancho Carter
Del Ray Marine Agajanian-Faas	King	Chevrolet	G	98	Bob Harkey Tony Bettenhausen Jr
The Enterprise	Wildcat	Offy	G	22	Ross Davis
Pacific Coast Racing	Penske Lightning	Cosworth Offy	G	38/82	Rick Muther
				86	Al Loquasto  Jeff Heywood
Gilmore Racing	Parnelli	Cosworth	G	14	A.J. Foyt
				16	George Snider
Armstrong Mould O'Hanlon Racing	Wildcat Lola Orbiter McLaren March	DGS Cosworth Chevrolet	G	7/43/81	Jerry Sneva
				43	Tom Bigelow Howdy Holmes Danny Ongais
				44	Greg Leffler
				46	Gary Bettenhausen
				75	Bruce Hill
				81	Cliff Hucul Lee Kunzman
Interscope Racing	Parnelli	Cosworth	G	25	Danny Ongais
Richmond Racing Mach I Racing	Penske	Cosworth	G	21	Tim Richmond
Beaudoin Racing	McLaren	Cosworth	G	29	Billy Engelhart
Sun Systems	Penske	Cosworth	G	94	Bill Whittington
				96	Don Whittington
Scientific Drilling	Penske	Cosworth	G	18	Dennis Firestone
Guarantee	Lightning	Chevrolet	G	99	Hurley Haywood
Tonco Trailer	McLaren Gerhardt Karl	Chevrolet	G	38	Jerry Karl
Simon Racing	Vollstedt	Offy	G	8	Dick Simon
Advance Clean Sweep	Wildcat	Chevrolet	G	66	Roger Rager
McElreath Racing	Penske	Cosworth	G	23/97	Jim McElreath
Hopkins Racing	Lightning	Offy Cosworth	G	15/51	Johnny Parsons
Kraco Racing	Wildcat	DGS Offy	G	95	Larry Cannon
Vetrock Racing	Eagle	Offy	G	71	Dean Vetrock
Machinists Union	IAM	Chevrolet	G	30	Phil Threshie Larry Dickson
Cargo Master	Manta	Offy	G	50	Dick Ferguson
Parts Washer Service	Eagle Penske	Offy	G	91	Chip Mead
				92	John Mahler
Texaco Star	Lightning	Offy	G	55	Janet Guthrie
Vita Fresh Orange Juice Medlin Racing	Eagle	Offy	G	32	Tony Bettenhausen Jr
Wysard Motor Co.	Wildcat McLaren	DGS Cosworth	G	34	Vern Schuppan Pete Halsmer
J J Enterprises	Wildcat	Cosworth DGS	G	36/37	John Martin
BFM Enterprises	Manta	Offy	G	50	Milt Harper
National Engineering	McLaren	Cosworth	G	72	Michael Chandler
Walmotor	Penske	Cosworth	G	77	Salt Walther
Pronosticos Deportivos	Penske	Cosworth	G	88	Daniel Muñiz
-Private Entry-	Penske	Cosworth	G	91	Juan Carlos Bolaños
Shade Tree Racing	Eagle	Offy	G	85	Michel Jourdain
Psachie	Penske	Cosworth	G	55	Josele Garza
Rhoades Racing	Eagle	RAM	G	-	Larry Rice

Calendar

Rd	Sanctioning	Race Name	Circuit	City/Location	Date
1	Joint CART/USAC (CRL)	Datsun Twin 200	Ontario Motor Speedway	Ontario, California	April 13
2	Joint CART/USAC (CRL)	Indianapolis 500-Mile Race	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Indianapolis, Indiana	May 26
3	Joint CART/USAC (CRL)	Gould Rex Mays Classic 150	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	June 8
4	Joint CART/USAC (CRL)	True Value 500	Pocono Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania	June 22
5	Joint CART/USAC (CRL)	Red Roof Inns 150	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	July 13
6	CART	Norton 200	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	July 20
7	CART	Kent Oil 150	Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York	August 3
8	CART	Tony Bettenhausen 500	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	August 10
9	CART	California 500	Ontario Motor Speedway	Ontario, California	August 31
10	CART	Gould Grand Prix 150	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	September 20
11	CART	I Copa México 150	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	Mexico City, Mexico	October 26
12	CART	Miller High Life 150	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	November 8

Full Series Results

Race Results

Rd	Name	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
1	Datsun Twin 200	Johnny Rutherford	Unknown	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral	Report
2	Indianapolis 500	Johnny Rutherford	Unknown	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral	Report
3	Gould-Rex Mays 150	Gordon Johncock	Unknown	Bobby Unser	Penske Racing	Report
4	True Value 500	Bobby Unser	Unknown	Bobby Unser	Penske Racing	Report
5	Red Roof Inns 150	Al Unser	Unknown	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral	Report
6	Norton 200	Bobby Unser	Unknown	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral	Report
7	Kent Oil 150	Al Unser	Unknown	Bobby Unser	Penske Racing	Report
8	Tony Bettenhausen 500	Johnny Rutherford	Unknown	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral	Report
9	California 500	Bobby Unser	Unknown	Bobby Unser	Penske Racing	Report
10	Gould Grand Prix 150	Mario Andretti	Unknown	Mario Andretti	Penske Racing	Report
11	I Copa Mexico 150	Bobby Unser	Unknown	Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Report
12	Miller High Life 150	Mario Andretti	Unknown	Tom Sneva	Sugaripe Prune	Report

Points Breakdown

Points were awarded on the following basis:

Final driver standings

Pos Driver ONT IND MIL POC MDO MIC WGL MIL ONT MIC MEX PHX Pts 1 Johnny Rutherford 1 1 2 2 1 1 5 1 2 4 Ret Ret 4,723 2 Bobby Unser Ret Ret 1 1 Ret 2 1 3 1 2 2 DNQ 3,714 3 Tom Sneva 2 2 6 3 Ret 6 4 Ret Ret 6 4 1 2,930 4 Rick Mears Ret 5 5 12 Ret 4 2 2 3 3 1 7 2,866 5 Pancho Carter Ret 6 4 6 7 3 7 Ret 7 7 Ret Ret 1,855 6 Gordon Johncock 3 4 3 DNQ 2 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1,572 7 Bill Alsup 7 9 4 3 10 8 Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 1,214 8 Al Unser Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 13 4 5 3 Ret 1,153 9 Gary Bettenhausen 3 12 Ret Ret 9 11 WD Ret Ret 3 1,057 10 Vern Schuppan 5 5 Ret 10 806 11 Tom Bagley 5 Ret Ret Ret 8 6 4 Ret 8 Ret Ret 794 12 Dennis Firestone Ret Ret 14 6 DNS 5 5 743 13 Sheldon Kinser Ret 11 7 Ret 16 Ret Ret 12 14 7 4 697 14 Tom Gloy 6 5 9 680 15 Danny Ongais 7 Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 11 Ret 601 16 Mario Andretti Ret Ret 1 2 580 17 Spike Gehlhausen 4 Ret 12 5 Ret Ret 473 18 Roger Rager Ret Ret 8 Ret 8 11 Ret Ret 381 19 Rick Muther Ret 18 Ret Ret 10 8 356 20 Bill Tempero Ret 16 Ret 17 15 6 Ret 16 8 Ret 331 21 Dick Ferguson 8 Ret DNQ 13 9 315 22 Howdy Holmes 15 8 Ret 11 13 314 23 Larry Cannon Ret DNQ 9 Ret DNQ Ret Ret 9 Ret 299 24 Herm Johnson Ret 17 11 11 13 13 Ret 8 272 24 Roger Mears 9 4 16 Ret 272 26 Tom Bigelow 8 14 260 27 Billy Engelhart 11 10 13 10 Ret Ret 246 28 Jim McElreath Ret Ret 12 9 6 240 29 Jerry Karl Ret 14 15 Ret 15 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 215 30 Tim Richmond 9 DNQ Ret Ret 209 31 Dick Simon Ret 13 Ret Ret 17 7 Ret Ret Ret Ret 185 32 Greg Leffler 10 Ret 15 Ret 184 33 Gordon Smiley 6 Ret Ret DNQ 176 34 Lee Kunzman 10 150 35 Jerry Sneva Ret 8 14 Ret Ret 11 Ret 149 36 Pete Halsmer Ret 6 128 37 Bill Vukovich II 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 96 38 Cliff Hucul 7 90 39 Phil Caliva Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 70 40 Jan Sneva 10 60 41 John Martin Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 56 41 Mike Mosley Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 56 43 Joe Saldana Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 50 44 A.J. Foyt WD Ret Ret 45 45 Ron Shuman 11 40 46 Johnny Parsons Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret 36 47 John Mahler DNQ Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret 35 48 Don Whittington 13 25 48 John Wood 12 Ret DNQ 25 48 Mike Chandler Ret 25 48 George Snider Ret DNQ 25 52 Hurley Haywood Ret 20 53 Phil Threshie Ret Ret DNQ 15 54 Larry Dickson Ret Ret 10 55 Daniel Muñiz Ret 8 55 Jerry Miller Ret 8 57 Billie Harvey 19 6 57 Bob Frey DNQ 17 6 57 Juan Carlos Bolaños Ret 6 57 Michel Jourdain, Sr. Ret DNQ 6 57 Ross Davis Ret 6 57 Salt Walther 18 6 63 Al Loquasto Ret 5 63 Bill Whittington Ret 5 63 Chip Mead Ret 5 63 Tony Bettenhausen Jr DNQ Ret DNQ 5 63 Jeff Heywood Ret 5 Pos Driver ONT IND MIL POC MDO MIC WGL MIL ONT MIC MEX PHX Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Finished, in points Blue Finished, no points Not classified (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate Excluded (EX) In-line notation Bold Pole position Rookie of the Year Rookie

Driver Breakdown

Pos	Driver	Team	Entries	Wins	Podiums	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points
1	Rutherford	Chaparral Cars Inc.	12	5	8	10	10	3	4,723
2	B. Unser	Team Penske	11	4	8	8	8	3	3,714
3	T. Sneva	Sugaripe Prune	12	1	4	6	9	0	2,930
4	Ri. Mears	Team Penske	12	1	5	8	9	0	2,866
5	Carter	Alex Foods	12	0	1	2	8	0	1,855
6	Johncock	Patrick Racing Team Penske	11	0	3	5	5	1	1,572
7	Alsup	Alsup Racing	11	0	1	2	7	0	1,214
8	A. Unser	Longhorn Racing	12	0	1	3	4	2	1,153
9	G. Bettenhausen	Armstrong Mould	9	0	2	2	3	0	1,149
10	Schuppan	Wysard Motor Co.	4	0	0	2	3	0	806
11	Bagley	Patrick Racing	11	0	0	2	5	0	794
12	Firestone	Scientific Drilling	6	0	0	2	3	0	743
13	Kinser	Leader Card	11	0	0	1	3	0	697
14	Gloy	Team Penske	3	0	0	1	3	0	680
15	Ongais	Armstrong Mould Interscope Racing	9	0	0	1	2	0	601
16	Andretti	Team Penske	4	1	2	2	2	3	580
17	Gehlhausen	Fletcher Racing	6	0	0	2	2	0	473
18	Rager	Advance Clean Sweep	8	0	0	0	2	0	381
19	Muther	Pacific Coast Racing	6	0	0	0	2	0	356
20	Tempero	Wood Power	10	0	0	0	2	0	331
21	Ferguson	Galles Racing Cargo Master	4	0	0	0	2	0	315
22	Holmes	Armstrong Mould O'Hanlon Racing	5	0	0	0	1	0	314
23	Cannon	Kraco Racing	7	0	0	0	2	0	299
24	Johnson	Menard Racing	8	0	0	0	1	0	272
24	Ro. Mears	King Racing	4	0	0	1	2	0	272
26	Bigelow	Armstrong Mould	2	0	0	0	1	0	260
27	Engelhart	Beaudoin Racing	6	0	0	0	2	0	246
28	McElreath	McElreath Racing	5	0	0	0	2	0	240
29	Karl	Tonco Trailer	10	0	0	0	1	0	215
30	Richmond	Richmond Racing Mach I Racing	3	0	0	0	1	0	209
31	Simon	Simon Racing	10	0	0	0	1	0	185
32	Leffler	Armstrong Mould	4	0	0	0	1	0	184
33	Smiley	Patrick Racing Fletcher Racing	3	0	0	0	1	0	176
34	Kunzman	O'Hanlon Racing	1	0	0	0	1	0	150
35	Je. Sneva	Armstrong Mould O'Hanlon Racing	7	0	0	0	1	0	149
36	Halsmer	Wysard Motor Co.	2	0	0	0	1	0	128
37	Vukovich II	Leader Card	7	0	0	0	0	0	96
38	Hucul	Armstrong Mould	1	0	0	0	1	0	90
39	Caliva	Alsup Racing	5	0	0	0	0	0	70
40	Ja. Sneva	1st National Bank of Peru	1	0	0	0	1	0	60
41	Martin	JJ Enterprises	5	0	0	0	0	0	56
41	Mosley	All American Racers	5	0	0	0	0	0	56
43	Saldana	Hoffman Racing	5	0	0	0	0	0	50
44	Foyt	Gilmore Racing	3	0	0	0	0	0	45
45	Shuman	Stanton Barrett	1	0	0	0	0	0	40
46	Parsons	Hopkins Racing	4	0	0	0	0	0	36
47	Mahler	Parts Washer Service	5	0	0	0	0	0	35
48	D. Whittington	Sun Systems	1	0	0	0	0	0	25
48	Wood	Mergard Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	25
48	Chandler	National Engineering	1	0	0	0	0	0	25
48	Snider	Gilmore Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	25
52	Haywood	Guarantee	1	0	0	0	0	0	20
53	Threshie	Machinists Union	2	0	0	0	0	0	15
54	Dickson	Machinists Union	2	0	0	0	0	0	10
55	Muñiz	Pronosticos Deportivos	1	0	0	0	0	0	8
55	Miller	King Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	8
57	Harvey	King Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	6
57	Frey	Hoffman Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	6
57	Bolaños	- Private Entry -	1	0	0	0	0	0	6
57	Jourdain	Shade Tree Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	6
57	Davis	The Enterprise	1	0	0	0	0	0	6
57	Walther	Walmotor	1	0	0	0	0	0	6
63	Loquasto	Pacific Coast Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	5
63	B. Whittington	Sun Systems	1	0	0	0	0	0	5
63	Mead	Parts Washer Service	1	0	0	0	0	0	5
63	T. Bettenhausen Jr.	Vita Fresh Orange Juice Medlin Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	5
63	Heywood	Pacific Coast Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	5

References

• Åberg, Andreas. "PPG Indy Car World Series 1980". Driver Database. http://www.driverdb.com/standings/5-1980/. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
• "1980 PPG Indy Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1980.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
• "Official Box Score: 64th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1980/. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 

See also

• 1980 Indianapolis 500
• 1980 USAC Championship Car season