1980 INDIANAPOLIS 500

The 64th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 1980. Johnny Rutherford won the pole position, led 118 laps, and won the race by a commanding 29.92 second margin. After failing to finish the race the year before (with Al Unser behind the wheel), Jim Hall's radical new Chaparral 2K ground effects chassis drove a flawless race, and was a heavy favorite entering the month.^[1] Rutherford, the winner in 1974 and 1976, became the sixth driver to win the Indy 500 three times.
Tom Sneva broke an Indy 500 record by becoming the first driver to start last (33rd) and lead the race. Sneva led two times for 16 laps, and finished the race in second position. Sneva likewise became the first driver in Indy history to start last and finish second (a feat tied by Scott Goodyear in 1992). It was Sneva's third runner-up finish in four years, matching Bill Holland's achievement exactly 30 years earlier in 1947, 1948 and 1950. Sneva's efforts were often branded afterwards with a "bridesmaid" reference, until he would finally go on to win the race in 1983.
The starting lineup featured 10 rookies, a sharp contrast from 1979, which had only one.^[2]
For the first time in Indy history, the three drivers that started in the eleventh and final row finished in the top eight — 2nd, 3rd, and 8th, respectively. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Indianapolis_500

Starting Lineup:

Row	Inside	Middle	Outside
1	Johnny Rutherford (W)	Mario Andretti (W)	Bobby Unser (W)
2	Spike Gehlhausen	Jerry Sneva	Rick Mears (W)
3	Johnny Parsons	Pancho Carter	Al Unser (W)
4	Roger Rager (R)	Jim McElreath	A.J. Foyt (W)
5	Tom Bagley	Larry Cannon	Dick Ferguson (R)
6	Danny Ongais	Gordon Johncock (W)	Don Whittington (R)
7	Tim Richmond (R)	Gordon Smiley (R)	George Snider
8	Billy Engelhart (R)	Greg Leffler (R)	Dennis Firestone (R)
9	Hurley Haywood (R)	Mike Mosley	Bill Whittington (R)
10	Jerry Karl	Dick Simon	Bill Vukovich II
11	Tom Bigelow	Gary Bettenhausen	Tom Sneva

Other Drivers on Entry List:

Al Loquasto

Bill Alsup

Bill Puterbaugh

Bill Tempero

Bob Harkey

Buddie Boys

Dana Carter

Frank Weiss

Herm Johnson

Howdy Holmes

Jan Sneva

Janet Guthrie

Jim Hurtubise

Joe Saldana

John Mahler

John Martin

John Wood

Larry Dickson

Lee Kunzman

Pete Halsmer

Phil Caliva

Phil Threshie

Rich Vogler

Rick Muther

Roger Mears

Ron Shuman

Salt Walther

Sheldon Kinser

Tom Frantz

Tony Bettenhausen, Jr.

Vern Schuppan

Lap-by-Lap Summery:

Green Flag: Johnny Rutherford Leads Lap 1

Lap 4: Caution #1 Car #95 Larry Cannon Tow-In

Lap 6: Green Flag 

Lap 10: Caution #2 Car #26 Dick Ferguson and Car #94 Bill Whittington Crashed in Turn 2

Lap 16: Roger Rager took the lead 

Lap 18: Green Flag: George Snider Took the lead on the restart

Lap 19: Gordon Johncock Took the lead

Lap 21: Caution #3 Car #35 Spike Gelhausen Crashed in Turn 1

Lap 24: Green Flag 

Lap 25: Bobby Unser Took the lead

Lap 30: Caution #4 Car #40 Tom Bagley Tow-in

Lap 31: Gordon Johncock Took the lead

Lap 33: Green Flag 

Lap 36: Pancho Carter Took the lead

Lap 40: Johnny Rutherford Took the lead

Lap 45: Caution #5 Car #15 Johnny Parsons Jr. Tow-in

Lap 47: Mario Andretti Took the lead

Lap 49: Green Flag 

Lap 57: Caution #6 Car #23 Jim McElreath and Car #66 Roger Rager Crashed between Turns 1 and 2; Pancho Carter Took the lead

Lap 58: Johnny Rutherford Took the lead

Lap 62: Green Flag 

Lap 72: Caution #7 Car #12 Mario Andretti Tow-in

Lap 73: Tim Richmond Took the lead

Lap 74: Tom Sneva Took the lead

Lap 75: Green Flag 

Lap 85: Caution #8 Car #96 Don Whittington Spun in Turn 4; Bobby Unser Took the lead

Lap 90: Green Flag 

Lap 104: Johnny Rutherford Took the lead

Lap 114: Rick Mears Took the lead

Lap 117: Bobby Unser Took the lead 

Lap 118: Caution #9 Car #8 Dick Simon Lost a wheel; Johnny Rutherford Took the lead

Lap 124: Green Flag 

Lap 132: Caution #10 Car #7 Jerry Sneva Crashed in Turn 1

Lap 137: Green Flag 

Lap 142: Caution #11 Car #18 Dennis Firestone Tow-in

Lap 143: Tom Sneva Took the lead

Lap 146: Green Flag 

Lap 148: Johnny Rutherford Took the lead

Lap 157: Caution #12 Debris on the track

Lap 159: Green Flag 

Lap 172: Rick Mears Took the lead

Lap 177: Caution #13 Car #14 A.J. Foyt Tow-in

Lap 179: Green Flag: Johnny Rutherford Took the lead on the restart

Lap 200: Checkered Flag Johnny Rutherford wins his Third Indy 500

Race Results: 

Finish	Driver	Laps	Status	Prize Money
1	Johnny Rutherford	200	142.862	$318,820
2	Tom Sneva	200	142.524	$128,945
3	Gary Bettenhausen	200	142.485	$86,945
4	Gordon Johncock	200	142.482	$56,495
5	Rick Mears	199	Running	$45,505
6	Pancho Carter	199	Running	$39,175
7	Danny Ongais	199	Running	$37,414
8	Tom Bigelow	198	Running	$44,707
9	Tim Richmond	197	Out of fuel	$43,447
10	Greg Leffler	197	Running	$39,047
11	Billy Engelhart	193	Running	$32,303
12	Bill Vukovich II	192	Running	$31,087
13	Don Whittington	178	Running	$30,928
14	A.J. Foyt	173	Valve	$29,512
15	George Snider	169	Engine	$30,351
16	Dennis Firestone	137	Transmission	$28,776
17	Jerry Sneva	130	Accident	$30,271
18	Hurley Haywood	126	Fire	$28,273
19	Bobby Unser	126	Turbo	$37,432
20	Mario Andretti	71	Engine	$33,611
21	Jerry Karl	64	Clutch	$26,747
22	Dick Simon	58	Lost wheel	$26,411
23	Roger Rager	55	Accident	$26,503
24	Jim McElreath	54	Accident	$26,323
25	Gordon Smiley	47	Turbo	$26,771
26	Johnny Parsons	44	Piston	$26,597
27	Al Unser	33	Cylinder	$25,151
28	Tom Bagley	29	Pump	$25,983
29	Spike Gehlhausen	20	Accident	$26,143
30	Bill Whittington	9	Accident	$24,361
31	Dick Ferguson	9	Accident	$26,647
32	Mike Mosley	5	Gasket	$24,591
33	Larry Cannon	2	Camshaft	$25,063