The 61st International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1977. Considered one of the most historically significant editions of the Indianapolis 500, several sidebar stories complemented the unprecedented accomplishment of race winner A. J. Foyt. Foyt became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. As of 2015, Foyt's record has been tied by Al Unser and Rick Mears, but still stands as an Indy record. It was this race that saw the last time the winning car had both a body, and engine built entirely within the United States.
The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was part of the 1977 USAC National Championship Trail. After rain-shortened races in three of the past four years (1973, 1975, 1976), the 1977 race was run the full distance under hot and sunny conditions.
Two major stories headlined qualifying. During time trials, pole position winner Tom Sneva became the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier at the Speedway. On the final day of time trials, Janet Guthrie broke the gender barrier by becoming the first female driver to qualify for the Indy 500.
During the summer of 1976, the entire track was repaved in asphalt. It marked the first time since the bricks were laid in the fall of 1909 that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was repaved in its entirety. The surface was allowed to cure over the winter, and during a tire test in March, Gordon Johncock ran a lap of 200.401 mph, an unofficial track record.[1]
This would be the final Indy 500 for track owner Tony Hulman, who would die of heart failure on October 27, 1977. IMS Radio Network anchor Sid Collins did not call the race for the first time since 1951. Collins committed suicide on May 2,[2] just before opening day, after being diagnosed with ALS. Collins was replaced by new "voice of the 500" Paul Page.
Other historical milestones during the month included the first grandson of a former driver entering (Teddy Pilette) and the first father and son combination attempting to qualify for the same race (Jim and James McElreath, Jr.). However, neither Pilette nor McElreath, Jr. succeeded in making the field. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Indianapolis_500
Starting Lineup:
| Row 1 | Tom Sneva | Bobby Unser | Al Unser | |
| Row 2 | A.J. Foyt | Gordon Johncock | Mario Andretti | |
| Row 3 | Danny Ongais | Pancho Carter | Mike Mosley | |
| Row 4 | Wally Dallenbach | Johnny Parsons | Sheldon Kinser | |
| Row 5 | George Snider | Bobby Olivero | Al Loquasto | |
| Row 6 | Jerry Sneva | Johnny Rutherford | Roger McCluskey | |
| Row 7 | Lloyd Ruby | Jim McElreath | Gary Bettenhausen | |
| Row 8 | Tom Bigelow | Bill Vukovich II | Lee Kunzman | |
| Row 9 | Steve Krisiloff | Janet Guthrie | Cliff Hucul | |
| Row 10 | Bill Puterbaugh | Clay Regazzoni | Dick Simon | |
| Row 11 | John Mahler | Eldon Rasmussen | Bubby Jones | |
| Other Drivers on Entry List: | ||||
| Alan Jones | ||||
| Bill Simpson | ||||
| Bob Harkey | ||||
| Duke Cook | ||||
| Ed Crombie | ||||
| Ed Finley | ||||
| Elliott Forbes-Robinson | ||||
| Gary Irvin | ||||
| Graham McRae | ||||
| James McElreath | ||||
| Jerry Grant | ||||
| Jerry Karl | ||||
| Jim Hurtubise | ||||
| Joe Saldana | ||||
| John Martin | ||||
| Larry Cannon | ||||
| Larry Dickson | ||||
| Larry McCoy | ||||
| Mel Kenyon | ||||
| Rick Mears | ||||
| Salt Walther | ||||
| Spike Gehlhausen | ||||
| Teddy Pilette | ||||
| Todd Gibson | ||||
| Tom Frantz | ||||
| Vern Schuppan | ||||
| Woody Fisher | ||||
| Race Results: | ||||
| Finish | Driver | Laps | Status | Prize Money |
| 1 | A.J. Foyt | 200 | 161.331 | $259,791 |
| 2 | Tom Sneva | 200 | 160.918 | $109,947 |
| 3 | Al Unser | 199 | Running | $67,232 |
| 4 | Wally Dallenbach | 199 | Running | $41,192 |
| 5 | Johnny Parsons | 193 | Running | $33,170 |
| 6 | Tom Bigelow | 192 | Running | $30,466 |
| 7 | Lee Kunzman | 191 | Running | $29,129 |
| 8 | Roger McCluskey | 191 | Running | $27,256 |
| 9 | Steve Krisiloff | 191 | Running | $26,653 |
| 10 | Jerry Sneva | 187 | Running | $26,617 |
| 11 | Gordon Johncock | 184 | Crankshaft | $45,014 |
| 12 | Bill Puterbaugh | 170 | Valve | $22,890 |
| 13 | Eldon Rasmussen | 168 | Running | $21,093 |
| 14 | John Mahler | 157 | Running | $20,668 |
| 15 | Pancho Carter | 156 | Engine | $21,679 |
| 16 | Gary Bettenhausen | 138 | Clutch | $19,718 |
| 17 | Bill Vukovich II | 110 | Wing strut | $19,885 |
| 18 | Bobby Unser | 94 | Oil leak | $22,130 |
| 19 | Mike Mosley | 91 | Timing gear | $19,154 |
| 20 | Danny Ongais | 90 | Header | $21,257 |
| 21 | Bubby Jones | 78 | Valve | $17,388 |
| 22 | Cliff Hucul | 72 | Gearbox | $17,747 |
| 23 | Jim McElreath | 71 | Turbocharger | $22,434 |
| 24 | George Snider | 65 | Valve | $16,650 |
| 25 | Bobby Olivero | 57 | Piston | $17,245 |
| 26 | Mario Andretti | 47 | Header | $17,468 |
| 27 | Lloyd Ruby | 34 | Accident | $16,619 |
| 28 | Al Loquasto | 28 | Magneto | $17,448 |
| 29 | Janet Guthrie | 27 | Timing gear | $16,556 |
| 30 | Clay Regazzoni | 25 | Fuel cell | $15,643 |
| 31 | Dick Simon | 24 | Overheating | $16,458 |
| 32 | Sheldon Kinser | 14 | Piston | $15,101 |
| 33 | Johnny Rutherford | 12 | Gearbox | $19,472 |
| Lap Leaders: | ||||
| 1 17 | Al Unser | |||
| 18-21 | Gordon Johncock | |||
| 22-23 | A.J. Foyt | |||
| 24-25 | George Snider | |||
| 26 | Bill Vukovich II | |||
| 27-51 | A.J. Foyt | |||
| 52-68 | Gordon Johncock | |||
| 69-70 | Bobby Unser | |||
| 71-93 | Gordon Johncock | |||
| 94-96 | Tom Sneva | |||
| 97-179 | Gordon Johncock | |||
| 180-182 | A.J. Foyt | |||
| 183-184 | Gordon Johncock | |||
| 185-200 | A.J. Foyt |
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