The 63rd 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 1979. Second-year driver Rick Mears took the lead for the final time with 18 laps to go, and won his first of four Indy 500 races. Brothers Al and Bobby Unser combined to lead 174 laps, but Al dropped out, and Bobby slipped to 5th place at the finish nursing mechanical issues.
The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was part of the 1979 USAC National Championship. However, many of the participants entered the race only as a one-off, and instead broke off and took part in the inaugural 1979 SCCA/CART Indy Car Series. It was the beginning of the first open-wheel "split."
The month of May 1979 was filled with controversy on and off the track. A court injunction was issued after USAC denied entries by the start-up CART series. During time trials, several cars were disqualified due to illegal wastegate exhaust pipes. Qualifying closed with the traditional 33 cars in the field. However, the day before the race a special qualifying session was held to allow certain entries a last chance to qualify. Two additional cars were added to the field, for a total of 35 cars (the most since 1933).
The high tensions and numerous technical squabbles during the month attracted considerable negative criticism from sports writers and media.
Among those in attendance was former president Gerald Ford. Ford also served as the grand marshal of the 500 Festival Parade.[1] The 1979 race is also notable in that it was the first to utilize the pace car during caution periods. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Indianapolis_500
Starting Lineup:
| Row | Inside | Middle | Outside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rick Mears |
Tom Sneva |
Al Unser (W) |
| 2 | Bobby Unser (W) |
Gordon Johncock (W) |
A.J. Foyt (W) |
| 3 | Wally Dallenbach Sr. |
Johnny Rutherford (W) |
Johnny Parsons |
| 4 | Sheldon Kinser |
Lee Kunzman |
Mike Mosley |
| 5 | Howdy Holmes (R) |
Janet Guthrie |
Tom Bagley |
| 6 | Salt Walther |
Pancho Carter |
 Cliff Hucul |
| 7 | Jim McElreath |
Dick Simon |
Jerry Sneva |
| 8 |  Vern Schuppan |
Larry Rice |
Larry Dickson |
| 9 | Roger McCluskey |
Joe Saldana |
Danny Ongais |
| 10 | Steve Krisiloff |
Phil Threshie |
Tom Bigelow |
| 11 | Spike Gehlhausen |
John Mahler |
Eldon Rasmussen |
| 12 | Bill Vukovich II |
George Snider |
Other Drivers on Entry List:
| Al Loquasto |
| Bill Alsup |
| Bill Engelhart |
| Bill Puterbaugh |
| Billy Scott |
| Bob Harkey |
| Dana Carter |
| Dick Ferguson |
| Earle Canavan |
| Ed Finley |
| Frank Weiss |
| Gary Bettenhausen |
| Hurley Haywood |
| Jan Opperman |
| Jerry Karl |
| Jerry Miller |
| Jim Hurtubise |
| John Martin |
| Larry Cannon |
| Larry McCoy |
| Neil Bonnett |
| Roger Rager |
| Todd Gibson |
| Tom Frantz |
| Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. |
| Woody Fisher |
Lap by Lap Summery:
Green Flag: Al Unser leads lap 1
Lap 25: Rick Mears Takes the lead
Lap 28: Caution #1 Car #29 Cliff Hucul Tow-in; A.J. Foyt Took The Lead.
Lap 29: Al Unser Takes the lead
Lap 31: Green Flag
Lap 43: Caution #2 Car #24 Sheldon Kinser Tow-in
Lap 48: Green Flag
Lap 70: Bobby Unser Takes the lead
Lap 74: Rick Mears Takes the lead
Lap 77: Al Unser Takes the lead
Lap 94: Caution #3 Car #80 Larry Dickson Tow-in
Lap 97: Bobby Unser Takes the lead
Lap 98: Green Flag
Lap 103: Caution #4 Car #97 Phil Threshie Tow-in
Lap 107: Green Flag
Lap 156: Caution #5 Car #31 Larry Rice Crashed in Turn 2
Lap 162: Green Flag
Lap 182: Rick Mears Takes the lead
Lap 191: Caution #6 Car #1 Tom Sneva Crashed in Turn 4
Lap 195: Green Flag
Lap 200: Checkered Flag: Rick Mears Wins his First Indy 500
Race Results:
| Finish | Driver | Laps | Status | Prize Money |
| 1 | Rick Mears | 200 | 158.899 | $270,401 |
| 2 | A.J. Foyt | 200 | 158.26 | $107,291 |
| 3 | Mike Mosley | 200 | 158.228 | $65,031 |
| 4 | Danny Ongais | 199 | Running | $41,197 |
| 5 | Bobby Unser | 199 | Running | $62,319 |
| 6 | Gordon Johncock | 197 | Running | $34,815 |
| 7 | Howdy Holmes | 195 | Running | $38,503 |
| 8 | Bill Vukovich II | 194 | Running | $31,305 |
| 9 | Tom Bagley | 193 | Running | $26,927 |
| 10 | Spike Gehlhausen | 192 | Running | $26,366 |
| 11 | Steve Krisiloff | 192 | Running | $25,713 |
| 12 | Salt Walther | 191 | Running | $24,739 |
| 13 | Roger McCluskey | 191 | Running | $26,392 |
| 14 | Tom Bigelow | 190 | Running | $25,817 |
| 15 | Tom Sneva | 188 | Accident | $30,578 |
| 16 | Joe Saldana | 186 | Running | $24,467 |
| 17 | Phil Threshie | 172 | Running | $24,634 |
| 18 | Johnny Rutherford | 168 | Running | $30,729 |
| 19 | Larry Rice | 142 | Accident | $21,053 |
| 20 | Pancho Carter | 129 | Wheel bearing | $21,656 |
| 21 | Vern Schuppan | 111 | Transmission | $20,537 |
| 22 | Al Unser | 104 | Transmission | $39,646 |
| 23 | Eldon Rasmussen | 89 | Header pipe | $19,433 |
| 24 | Larry Dickson | 86 | Fuel pump | $19,149 |
| 25 | John Mahler | 66 | Fuel pump | $18,894 |
| 26 | Dick Simon | 57 | Clutch | $19,267 |
| 27 | Wally Dallenbach | 43 | Lost wheel | $19,768 |
| 28 | Sheldon Kinser | 40 | Piston | $18,297 |
| 29 | Cliff Hucul | 22 | Rod | $21,605 |
| 30 | Lee Kunzman | 18 | Scavenger pump | $18,042 |
| 31 | Jerry Sneva | 16 | Piston | $18,357 |
| 32 | Johnny Parsons | 16 | Piston | $18,900 |
| 33 | George Snider | 7 | Fuel pump | $18,921 |
| 34 | Janet Guthrie | 3 | Piston | $18,121 |
| 35 | Jim McElreath | 0 | Valves | $18,671 |
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