# 1978 Indianapolis 500

The 62nd 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1978. Danny Ongais dominated the early stages of the race but eventually dropped out with a blown engine. Al Unser Sr. dominated the second half, and held a large lead late in the race. However, Unser bent the front wing of his Lola during a pit stop on lap 180, causing his handling to go away over the final twenty laps. Second place Tom Sneva charged to catch Unser's crippled Lola but came up 8 seconds short at the finish line – the second-closest finish in Indy history to that point. Unser held off the challenge, and became a three-time winner of the 500. It was Al Unser's third Indy victory in the decade of the 1970s, and the fifth of nine overall victories by the Unser family.
Al Unser Sr. entered the month having won the 1977 California 500 at Ontario the previous September. Later in the 1978 season, Unser would go on to win the Pocono 500 and the California 500 again, sweeping the "triple crown" of Indy car racing for 1978. As of 2015 (the last year there was a "Triple Crown") Unser is the only driver in history to win all three 500-mile "triple crown" races in the same season, and coupled with the win at Ontario in 1977, set a record by winning four straight 500-mile Indy car races.
Second year driver Janet Guthrie finished ninth, and it was later revealed she drove with a fractured wrist. It was the highest finish for a female driver in Indy history until Danica Patrick finished in fourth place in 2005. During time trials, Tom Sneva, who had broken the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier a year earlier, bettered his own record. This time he managed to complete all four qualifying laps over 200 mph (320 km/h), setting once again new one-lap and four-lap track records.
Tony Hulman, the popular owner and president of the track since 1945, died the previous October. His widow Mary F. Hulman was named the chairperson of the board of the Speedway, and for the first time she delivered the famous starting command. Along with the death of Tony Hulman, the race was held just five weeks after eight USAC officials were killed in a plane crash. With dissent increasing among the participants about organizational issues and poor revenue, the 1978 race would be the final Indy 500 contested prior to the formation of CART and prior to the first open wheel "split."
Al Unser's victory was the first Indy triumph for the Cosworth DFX V8 engine. The British-based engine building company would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 for ten consecutive years.

## Race schedule

Race schedule – May, 1978 :
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Practice |
| 7 Practice | 8 Practice | 9 Practice | 10 Practice | 11 Practice | 12 Practice | 13 Time Trials |
| 14 Time Trials | 15 Practice | 16 Practice | 17 Practice | 18 Practice | 19 Practice | 20 Time Trials |
| 21 Time Trials | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 Carb Day | 26 Mini-Marathon | 27 Parade |
| 28 Indy 500 | 29 Memorial Day | 30 | 31 | | | |
| Color | Notes |
| Green | Practice |
| Dark Blue | Time trials |
| Silver | Race day |
| Red | Rained out* |
| Blank | No track activity |

## Practice and time trials

For 1978, the turbocharger "boost" settings were set at 80 inHg, the same regulations used in 1974–1975 and 1977. The first weekend of time trials was scheduled for May 13–14. Rain, however, washed out the entire first weekend. Pole qualifying was moved to Saturday May 20.

### Practice

On Wednesday May 10, Mario Andretti turned a practice lap of 201.838 mph (324.827 km/h), faster than the track record. Minutes later, Danny Ongais upped the best speed to 201.974 mph (325.046 km/h). On Thursday May 11, rookie Rick Mears also joined the coveted "200 mph club" in practice. Johnny Rutherford (199.2 mph (320.6 km/h)) and A. J. Foyt (199.158 mph (320.514 km/h)) were also within striking distance.
On Friday May 12, the final day of practice before pole qualifying was scheduled to be held, Mario Andretti shattered the unofficial track record, turning a lap of 203.482 mph (327.473 km/h). Also over 200 mph (320 km/h) were Mears, Rutherford, and Foyt. Tom Sneva, the driver who broke the 200 mph barrier a year earlier, was the slowest of the three Penske cars, managing only a 196.3 mph (315.9 km/h) lap during practice.
The rainout of time trials complicated the schedule for Mario Andretti. He was forced to leave the track and fly to Zolder for the Grand Prix of Belgium. Arrangements were being made for another driver to qualify the car for him, and he would return to the cockpit for race day. With no track activity possible at Indy for Sunday, A. J. Foyt flew to Talladega and finished third in the NASCAR Winston 500.
During the second week of practice, Pancho Carter and Tom Sneva joined the "200 mph club." Sneva had a hand-timed lap of about 203.1 mph (326.9 km/h), inching closer to Andretti's mark from the previous week. Danny Ongais destroyed his primary car in a crash in turn four on Tuesday May 16. He was not seriously injured, but would have to qualify with his back-up car.

### Pole Day – Saturday May 20

Pole day dawned with temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s. Qualifying started promptly at 11:00 a.m., with Johnny Rutherford first out on the track. He fell short of the 200 mph barrier on all four laps, and settled for an average of 197.098 mph (317.198 km/h). Since the first two days of time trials were rained out, pole qualifying would occur on third day (May 20). The field was allowed one trip through the original qualifying draw order. Each car would be guaranteed an opportunity for one attempt during pole round. As soon as they reached the end of the qualifying draw, the pole position round would be concluded, and the "Third Day" of qualifying would commence.
At 12:03 p.m., Tom Sneva took to the track. Following in his own footsteps from the previous year, he set new all-time one and four lap track records, becoming the first driver in Indy history to complete all four qualifying laps over 200 mph.
* Lap 1 – 44.20 seconds, 203.620 mph (327.695 km/h) (new 1-lap track record)
* Lap 2 – 44.43 seconds, 202.566 mph (325.998 km/h)
* Lap 3 – 44.60 seconds, 201.794 mph (324.756 km/h)
* Lap 4 – 44.85 seconds, 200.669 mph (322.945 km/h)
* Total – 2:58.08, 202.156 mph (325.339 km/h) (new 4-lap track record)
Due to changes in the rules in subsequent years, his one and four lap track records would stand until 1982. Sneva's four-lap average secured the pole position, his second pole in a row.
Sneva's Penske teammate, rookie Rick Mears, was the next car out. Mears completed three laps over 200 mph, and his four-lap average of 200.078 mph (321.994 km/h) was a rookie speed record, and would be good enough for the front row.
Janet Guthrie returned for her second start, and qualified strongly at 190.325 mph (306.298 km/h). At 12:39 p.m., Danny Ongais made it an "all 200 mph" front row, securing second starting position at 200.122 mph (322.065 km/h).
After practicing over 200 mph, A. J. Foyt was forced to wave off his run, and missed his chance at qualifying during the pole round. Mike Hiss was hired by Penske to drive substitute for Mario Andretti during time trials. Hiss qualified the car with a respectable speed of 194.647 mph (313.254 km/h) to rank 8th. However, on race day, Andretti would get back in the car, and he would be forced to line up in the 33rd starting position due to the driver switch.
Rain late in the day hampered the qualifying attempts. The trip through the original qualifying line exhausted at 5 p.m., and Tom Sneva officially secured the pole position. Several drivers including Bobby Unser, A. J. Foyt, and Pancho Carter, were unable to qualify during the pole round. At 5 p.m., the "third day" of time trials officially commenced, and those drivers would line up behind the cars from the pole round.
The day ended with the field filled to twenty cars. Bobby Unser finished his run in the rain as the lone "third day" qualifier. The track was closed for the day as soon as Unser returned to the pits at 5:11 p.m.

### Bump Day – Sunday May 21

The final day of time trials opened with 13 spots unfilled. A. J. Foyt at 200.120 mph (322.062 km/h) was the fastest driver of the day. His speed was tied for second-fastest, but as a final day qualifier, he would line up 20th.
Roger Rager was the only major on-track incident of the day. At 3:53 p.m., on his second warm-up lap, he hit the outside wall in turn four, suffering an injured hand. Rager would miss the race. After a wave off on Saturday, Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon went out for his second attempt. He spun and brushed the wall on his second qualifying lap, and had to abort the run. Later on his third and final attempt, he was too slow to bump his way into the field. Dick Simon brushed the wall on the main stretch shaking down a car for Bill Puterbaugh. The car lost two wheels and it was too late in the day for the car to be repaired.
In the final hour, there was one spot left in the field when Bob Harkey was preparing to make his attempt. Jim Hurtubise, who had once again entered his now-infamous Mallard/Offy front-engined car, had been denied the permission to qualify, due to lack of speed. USAC had decided to set a 180 mph (290 km/h) minimum speed in order to pass "final" inspection, receive the appropriate sticker, and be allowed to make a qualifying attempt. They deemed Hurtubise ineligible, claiming he had not broken 175 mph (282 km/h), despite some claiming he had lapped over 184 mph (296 km/h). Hurtubise considered the ruling a personal harassment, lies, and an effort by USAC, Goodyear, and the Speedway to single him out and keep him from qualifying. After being a popular fixture amongst the fans for many years, several episodes of antics had caused some to begin to view Hurtubise unfavorably. Hurtubise got into a heated exchange with chief steward Tom Binford, then proceeded to climb into Harkey's car, shouting "If I can't qualify, no one can!" After a few minutes, Hurtubise was coaxed out of the car, and Harkey climbed in to crank it up. With some encouragement from the crowd, Hurtubise then jumped in front of Harkey, preventing him from pulling out of the pits. He had to be restrained by safety patrol members, and Harkey managed to pull away. While Harkey was on the backstretch of his warm-up lap, Hurtubise jumped over the pit wall and ran out on the race track in order to disrupt and halt the qualifying attempt. Running down the main stretch, several guards chased after him. Hurtubise was tackled by John Martin and was then detained by police. By this time, the crowd's opinion had changed, and they began booing and jeering Hurtubise for going too far by disrupting qualifying. Hurtubise was banned from the track for the remainder of the month.
Harkey managed to finish his qualifying attempt without incident, but his speed was not fast enough to stand. Within twenty minutes, Harkey was bumped by Joe Saldana. The day closed with Cliff Hucul bumping Graham McRae with two minutes left in the day.
After missing time trials, Mario Andretti won the Grand Prix of Belgium. He traveled back to Indianapolis during the week, and would be back in time for Carburetion Day "tests."

## Starting lineup

| Row | Inside | Inside | Middle | Middle | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 1 | Tom Sneva Norton Spirit Team Penske Penske PC-6, Cosworth DFX 202.156 mph (325.339 km/h) | 25 | Danny Ongais Interscope Racing Ted Field Parnelli, Cosworth DFX 200.122 mph (322.065 km/h) | 71 | Rick Mears R CAM2 Motor Oil Team Penske Penske PC-6, Cosworth DFX 200.078 mph (321.994 km/h) |
| 2 | 4 | Johnny Rutherford W 1st National City Travelers Checks Team McLaren McLaren 77, Cosworth DFX 197.098 mph (317.198 km/h) | 2 | Al Unser W 1st National City Travelers Checks Chaparral Racing Lola 78, Cosworth DFX 196.474 mph (316.194 km/h) | 20 | Gordon Johncock W North American Van Lines Patrick Racing Wildcat 78, DGS 195.833 mph (315.163 km/h) |
| 3 | 6 | Wally Dallenbach Sr. Sugaripe Prune Jerry O'Connell McLaren 77, Cosworth DFX 195.228 mph (314.189 km/h) | 16 | Johnny Parsons 1st National City Travelers Checks Lindsey Hopkins Lightning, Offenhauser 194.280 mph (312.663 km/h) | 80 | Larry Dickson Polak Construction/Sta-On Car Glaze Russ Polak Penske PC-5, Offenhauser 193.434 mph (311.302 km/h) |
| 4 | 17 | Dick Simon La Machine Rolla Vollstedt Vollstedt, Offenhauser 192.967 mph (310.550 km/h) | 11 | Roger McCluskey National Auto Engineering Warner Hodgdon Eagle 76, AMC 192.256 mph (309.406 km/h) | 24 | Sheldon Kinser Thermo King Ralph Wilke Watson, Offenhauser 192.051 mph (309.076 km/h) |
| 5 | 40 | Steve Krisiloff Foreman Industries Patrick Racing Wildcat, DGS 191.255 mph (307.795 km/h) | 22 | Tom Bagley R Kent Oil Ralph Wilke Watson 77, Offenhauser 190.941 mph (307.290 km/h) | 51 | Janet Guthrie Texaco Star Janet Guthrie Wildcat, DGS 190.325 mph (306.298 km/h) |
| 6 | 19 | Spike Gehlhausen Hubler Chevrolet/WIRE Carl Gehlhausen Eagle 74, Offenhauser 190.325 mph (306.298 km/h) | 39 | John Mahler Tibon Carl Gehlhausen Eagle, Offenhauser 189.723 mph (305.330 km/h) | 43 | Tom Bigelow Armstrong Moulding Sherman Armstrong Wildcat 76, DGS 189.115 mph (304.351 km/h) |
| 7 | 48 | Bobby Unser W ARCO Graphite All American Racers Eagle 78, Cosworth DFX 194.658 mph (313.272 km/h) | 14 | A. J. Foyt W Gilmore/Citicorp A. J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote, Foyt V-8 200.122 mph (322.065 km/h) | 8 | Pancho Carter Budweiser Arizona Mechanics Lightning, Offenhauser 196.829 mph (316.766 km/h) |
| 8 | 77 | Salt Walther Dayton-Walther George Walther McLaren, Cosworth DFX 193.226 mph (310.967 km/h) | 84 | George Snider Gilmore/Citicorp A. J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote, Foyt V-8 192.627 mph (310.003 km/h) | 69 | Joe Saldana R Mr. Wize-Buys Carpet Dynamics Inc. Eagle 73, Offenhauser 190.809 mph (307.077 km/h) |
| 9 | 78 | Mike Mosley Alex XLNT Foods Alex Morales Lightning, Offenhauser 188.719 mph (303.714 km/h) | 26 | Jim McElreath Circle City Coal Jim McElreath Eagle 74, Offenhauser 188.058 mph (302.650 km/h) | 29 | Cliff Hucul Wendy's Hamburgers Hucul-Hunter-Arndt McLaren, Offenhauser 187.803 mph (302.240 km/h) |
| 10 | 88 | Jerry Karl Machinists Union Frank Fiore McLaren, Cosworth DFX 187.549 mph (301.831 km/h) | 47 | Phil Threshie R Circle Chevy/Tutwiler Phil Threshie Lightning, Offenhauser 187.520 mph (301.784 km/h) | 35 | Larry Rice R Bryant Heating/WIBC Patrick Santello Lightning, Offenhauser 187.393 mph (301.580 km/h) |
| 11 | 98 | Gary Bettenhausen Oberdorfer Grant King King 76, Offenhauser 187.324 mph (301.469 km/h) | 30 | Jerry Sneva Smock Materials Marv Schmidt McLaren, Offenhauser 187.266 mph (301.375 km/h) | 7 | Mario Andretti W Gould Charge Team Penske Penske PC-6, Cosworth DFX 194.329 mph (312.742 km/h)† |
Mike Hiss qualified Mario Andretti's car while Andretti was in Belgium to compete in the Belgian Grand Prix, a race Andretti would win. Andretti took over the car for race day. Due to the driver change, USAC rules stated the entry must start at the rear of the field (33rd).

### Alternates

* First alternate: Graham McRae (#33, #34) – Bumped
* Second alternate: Bob Harkey (#42) – Bumped

### Failed to qualify

* Al Loquasto (#86) – Bumped
* Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon (#85) – Too slow
* Bill Vukovich Jr. (#18, #93) – Incomplete qualifying run
* John Martin (#28) – Incomplete qualifying runs
* Bubby Jones (#18) – Incomplete qualifying runs
* Gary Irvin R (#9) – Incomplete qualifying run
* Roger Rager R (#9, #97) – Wrecked during qualifying attempt
* Mike Hiss (#7, #66) – qualified 8th, but turned the car over to Mario Andretti
* Lee Kunzman (#90)
* Bobby Olivero (#78)
* Eldon Rasmussen (#58)
* Jim Hurtubise – Barred from making a qualifying attempt due to lack of speed; detained by police after running out onto the track to disrupt time trials.
R = Indianapolis 500 rookie W = Former Indianapolis 500 winner

## Race summary
### Start

Race day dawned hot and humid, with temperatures in the high 80s (°F). After the death of Tony Hulman, the starting command was recited by his widow Mary F. Hulman. With Janet Guthrie in the field once again, the traditional command was again tweaked. This time command was worded "Lady and Gentlemen, start your engines!"
During the pace laps, Gary Bettenhausen pulled into the pits with mechanical trouble, and missed the start. At the green flag, Danny Ongais darted into the lead, with Tom Sneva falling in line behind him in second. Rick Mears suddenly faded and pulled to the outside, and was passed by several cars. Ongais completed the first lap at a record speed of 185.185 mph (298.026 km/h).
Sheldon Kinser stalled on the backstretch, and brought out the yellow light for three laps. Rick Mears ducked into the pits for an unscheduled stop. He had neglected to fasten his helmet strap properly, and nearly lost his helmet at the start of the race. He was able to properly fasten his helmet, and returned to the race.
The green came back out on lap 5, with Ongais pulling out to a comfortable lead. Cliff Hucul went to pits, and was out of the race with a broken oil line.

### First half

Mario Andretti quickly charged from last starting position to run as high as 13th in the early going. However, he was forced to pit to change a bad spark plug wire. He lost 8 laps, and was effectively out of contention for the rest of the day.
On lap 26, Spike Gehlhausen crashed exiting turn 2, and came to rest along the outside wall on the backstretch. Leader Danny Ongais was in the pits when the yellow came out, which gave the lead temporarily to Steve Krisiloff. However, under the yellow light condition, Krisiloff violated the PACER light rules, and was penalized one lap. That gave the lead to Tom Sneva. With Ongais in second right behind Sneva, the green light came back on down the backstretch on lap 31. Sneva led for barely a lap, and Ongais passed him for the lead the next time by.
Salt Walther dropped out with a bad clutch, and proceeded to rant his frustration of his chief mechanic Tommy Smith during a heated television interview. It was reported that Smith made a change to the throttling system the night before the race; while Walther's team worked on repairing the car, Smith reportedly left the track, having parted ways with the team.
Danny Ongais led 68 of the first 75 laps. The team reported that Ongais had lost his two-way radio, and was forced to communicate only by sign boards for the rest of the race.
Al Unser Sr. took the lead for the first time on lap 76. He held the lead at the halfway point. A. J. Foyt, who had charged near the front early on, started to fade, and after long pit stops, was laps down to the leaders. Janet Guthrie, on the other hand, was moving up into the top ten.

### Second half

Rookie Rick Mears dropped out after 103 laps with a blown engine. By lap 120, thirteen cars were out of the race, with hot conditions contributing to the attrition.
Al Unser Sr. led, with Danny Ongais and Tom Sneva in the top three. Unser continued to hold a small lead over Ongais, with his crew's efficient and quick pit stops increasing the margin.
Suddenly on lap 145, second place Danny Ongais came into the pits with smoke pouring from the car. After having led 71 laps (nearly half the race up to that point), Ongais was out with a blown engine.

### Finish

Al Unser Sr. led second place Tom Sneva by over 20 seconds. Those were the only two cars left on the lead lap. On lap 180, Unser came onto the pits for his final stop. Unser overshot his pit box by a few feet, and hit a spare tire with his front wing. The team decided not to change tires, and filled the car with fuel only. His stop was 17 seconds, his worst pit stop of the day.
One lap later, Tom Sneva pitted, taking fuel only. His pit stop, however, was not fast, and he did not immediately gain ground on Unser. With a 30-second lead, Unser had 19 laps to victory. However, his front wing was damaged from hitting the tire, and Unser's handling was starting to go away. Sneva began cutting away at his lead, by about a second per lap.
With three laps to go, Sneva had cut the lead to 14 seconds. Then with one lap to go, it was down to 10 seconds. On the final lap, third place Gordon Johncock slipped by Unser to get one of his laps back. Unser nursed the car around on the final lap, and won this third Indy 500. Second place for the second year in a row Tom Sneva finished 8.09 seconds behind, the second-closest finish in Indy history to that point.
Wally Dallenbach and A. J. Foyt both stalled on the course out of fuel, but both finished strongly, 5th and 7th, respectively. Janet Guthrie finished 9th, and revealed after the race that she drove with a fractured wrist. Two days before the race, she fell during a charity tennis match, suffering the injury.
Late in the race, the Patrick Racing Wildcats of Gordon Johncock and Steve Krisiloff were penalized one lap by stewards - Johncock for running over an air-hose, and Krisiloff for speeding too fast under caution. If the penalties had not happened, Johncock would have barely finished runner-up behind Al Unser, and Krisiloff would have still finished fourth, but would have been the only driver one lap down. George Bignotti announced his intentions to protest Johncock's penalty, claiming that officials overlooked Unser running over his air hose, and did not treat both drivers equally. However, post-race footage showed that Unser, although coming very close, did not run over his air hose, and the team declined to protest.

## Box score

| Finish | Grid | No | Name | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Status | Points |
| 1 | 5 | 2 | Al Unser W | Lola T500 | Cosworth DFX | 200 | Running | 1000 |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Tom Sneva | Penske PC-6 | Cosworth DFX | 200 | +8.09 | 800 |
| 3 | 6 | 20 | Gordon Johncock W | Wildcat 78 | DGS | 199 | Flagged | 700 |
| 4 | 13 | 40 | Steve Krisiloff | Wildcat | DGS | 198 | Flagged | 600 |
| 5 | 7 | 6 | Wally Dallenbach Sr. | McLaren 77 | Cosworth DFX | 195 | Out of fuel | 500 |
| 6 | 19 | 48 | Bobby Unser W | Eagle 78 | Cosworth DFX | 195 | Flagged | 400 |
| 7 | 20 | 14 | A. J. Foyt W | Coyote | Foyt V-8 | 191 | Flagged | 300 |
| 8 | 23 | 84 | George Snider | Coyote | Foyt V-8 | 191 | Flagged | 250 |
| 9 | 15 | 51 | Janet Guthrie | Wildcat | DGS | 190 | Flagged | 0 |
| 10 | 8 | 16 | Johnny Parsons | Lightning | Offenhauser | 186 | Flagged | 150 |
| 11 | 30 | 35 | Larry Rice R | Lightning | Offenhauser | 186 | Engine | 100 |
| 12 | 33 | 7 | Mario Andretti W | Penske PC-6 | Cosworth DFX | 185 | Flagged | 50 |
| 13 | 4 | 4 | Johnny Rutherford W | McLaren 77 | Cosworth DFX | 180 | Flagged | 25 |
| 14 | 28 | 88 | Jerry Karl | McLaren | Cosworth DFX | 176 | Flagged | 25 |
| 15 | 24 | 69 | Joe Saldana R | Eagle 73 | Offenhauser | 173 | Flagged | 25 |
| 16 | 31 | 98 | Gary Bettenhausen | King 76 | Offenhauser | 147 | Piston | 25 |
| 17 | 25 | 78 | Mike Mosley | Lightning | Offenhauser | 146 | Broken Gear | 20 |
| 18 | 2 | 25 | Danny Ongais | Parnelli | Cosworth DFX | 145 | Piston | 20 |
| 19 | 10 | 17 | Dick Simon | Vollstedt | Offenhauser | 138 | Wheel Bearing | 20 |
| 20 | 26 | 26 | Jim McElreath | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 132 | Engine | 20 |
| 21 | 18 | 43 | Tom Bigelow | Wildcat 76 | DGS | 107 | Connecting Rod | 15 |
| 22 | 9 | 80 | Larry Dickson | Penske PC-5 | Cosworth DFX | 104 | Oil Pressure | 15 |
| 23 | 3 | 71 | Rick Mears R | Penske PC-6 | Cosworth DFX | 103 | Engine | 15 |
| 24 | 21 | 8 | Pancho Carter | Lightning | Cosworth DFX | 92 | Exhaust Header | 15 |
| 25 | 11 | 11 | Roger McCluskey | Eagle 76 | AMC | 82 | Clutch | 10 |
| 26 | 17 | 39 | John Mahler | Eagle | Offenhauser | 58 | Timing gear | 10 |
| 27 | 14 | 22 | Tom Bagley R | Watson 77 | Offenhauser | 25 | Overheating | 10 |
| 28 | 22 | 77 | Salt Walther | McLaren | Cosworth DFX | 24 | Clutch | 10 |
| 29 | 16 | 19 | Spike Gehlhausen | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 23 | Crash T2 | 5 |
| 30 | 29 | 47 | Phil Threshie R | Lightning | Offenhauser | 22 | Oil Pressure | 5 |
| 31 | 32 | 30 | Jerry Sneva | McLaren | Offenhauser | 18 | Rear End | 5 |
| 32 | 12 | 24 | Sheldon Kinser | Watson | Offenhauser | 15 | Oil Pressure | 5 |
| 33 | 27 | 29 | Cliff Hucul | McLaren | Offenhauser | 4 | Oil Line | 5 |
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All cars utilized Goodyear tires.

### Race statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1–11 | Danny Ongais |
| 12 | Tom Sneva |
| 13–25 | Danny Ongais |
| 26–30 | Steve Krisiloff |
| 31 | Tom Sneva |
| 32–75 | Danny Ongais |
| 76–107 | Al Unser Sr. |
| 108–110 | Danny Ongais |
| 111–179 | Al Unser Sr. |
| 180 | Tom Sneva |
| 181– 200 | Al Unser Sr. |
Total laps led :
| Driver | Laps |
| Al Unser Sr. | 121 |
| Danny Ongais | 71 |
| Steve Krisiloff | 5 |
| Tom Sneva | 3 |
PACER Yellow Light Periods :
| 6 for 23 laps ||
| Laps | Reason |
| 2–4 | Steve Kinser tow-in |
| 9–11 | Steve Kinser tow-in |
| 26–31 | Spike Gehlhausen crash turn 2 |
| 48–51 | Debris |
| 84–85 | Debris |
| 114–118 | Rick Mears & Tom Bigelow tow-in |

### Points standings after the race

| Rank | Driver | Points | Difference | Position Change |
| 1 | Tom Sneva | 1725 | Leader | +1 |
| 2 | Gordon Johncock | 1688 | -37 | 0 |
| 3 | Al Unser | 1325 | -400 | +6 |
| 4 | Steve Krisiloff | 1150 | -575 | +1 |
| 5 | A. J. Foyt | 1078 | -647 | -1 |
| 6 | Danny Ongais | 1075 | -650 | -5 |
| 7 | Wally Dallenbach | 868 | -857 | -1 |
| 8 | Bobby Unser | 434 | -1291 | Outside top 20 |
| 9 | Bobby Olivero | 360 | -1365 | -2 |
| 9 | Dick Simon | 360 | -1365 | -1 |

## Broadcasting
### Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Paul Page served as anchor for the second year despite what happened on December 1, 1977. On that day while he was doing a helicopter traffic report, Page was nearly killed in an accident, as the helicopter he was riding aboard crashed near Speedway Senior High School in Speedway, Indiana. Page would fully recover to call the race. Lou Palmer reported from victory lane. Mike Hiss, who had served as a substitute driver for Mario Andretti during time trials, served as the "driver expert."
This would be the 31st and final year for Jim Shelton on the crew. After eleven previous appearances, Fred Agabashian also had departed from the crew.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network :
| Booth Announcers | Turn Reporters | Pit/garage reporters |
| Chief Announcer: Paul Page Driver expert: Mike Hiss Statistician: John DeCamp Historian: Donald Davidson | Turn 1: Ron Carrell Turn 2: Howdy Bell Backstretch: Darl Wible Turn 3: Doug Zink Turn 4: Jim Shelton | Jerry Baker (north pits) Chuck Marlowe (north-center pits) Luke Walton (south-center pits) Lou Palmer (south pits) Bob Forbes (garages) |

### Television

The race was carried in the United States on ABC Sports on a same-day tape delay basis. Billed as an "ABC Sports Exclusive," the race was introduced with the 1977 song African Symphony, written by Van McCoy, and performed by Saint Tropez. Jim McKay anchored the broadcast.
The broadcast has re-aired on ESPN Classic since May 2011.
The full race broadcast has been available since May 10, 2018 on the official IndyCar Series Youtube channel.
ABC Television :
| Booth Announcers | Pit/garage reporters |
| Host: Chris Schenkel Announcer: Jim McKay Color: Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki Bill Flemming Sam Posey |

## Gallery

* 1978 Corvette pace car
* Janet Guthrie's 1978 entry