# 1979 USAC Championship Car season

The 1979 USAC Championship Car season consisted of seven races, beginning in Ontario, California on March 25 and concluding in West Allis, Wisconsin on August 12. The USAC National Champion was A. J. Foyt and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Rick Mears. With the exception of the Indianapolis 500, most top drivers instead competed in races sanctioned by CART.
During the summer of 1979, after the California 500 switched alliances mid-season to become a CART series race, USAC proposed a Labor Day weekend race meet that would consist of a USAC Stock Car/Championship Car doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A 250-mile stock car race on Saturday would be followed by a 250-mile Indy car race on Sunday. However, the plan never materialized.

## Confirmed entries

| Team | Chassis | Engine | No | Drivers | Rounds |
| Agajanian-King Racers | Kingfish 73 | Chevrolet | 97 | Phil Threshie | 3–5 |
| Agajanian-King Racers | Kingfish 73 | Chevrolet | 97 | Jerry Miller | 7 |
| Agajanian-King Racers | Kingfish 73 | Chevrolet | 98 | Gary Bettenhausen | 3–5 |
| Agajanian-King Racers | Kingfish 73 | Chevrolet | 98 | George Snider | 7 |
| AMI Racing | Lola T500B | Cosworth | 43 | Tom Bigelow | All |
| AMI Racing | Lola T500B | Cosworth | 44 | Roger McCluskey | 4–7 |
| AMI Racing | Lola T500B | Cosworth | 45 | Janet Guthrie | 1, 3, 5, 7 |
| AMI Racing | Lola T500B | Cosworth | 45 | George Snider | 1–2 |
| AMI Racing | Wildcat Mk. II | DGS | 46 | Gary Bettenhausen | 1–2, 6–7 |
| AMI Racing | Wildcat Mk. II | DGS | 46 | Howdy Holmes | 3, 5 |
| AMI Racing | Wildcat Mk. II | DGS | 46 | Greg Leffler | 4 |
| B/M Enterprises | Antares 72 | Offenhauser | 50 | Frank Weiss | 1, 3–5, 7 |
| B/M Enterprises | Antares 72 | Offenhauser | 50 | Eldon Rasmussen | 3 |
| Beaudoin Racing | Wildcat Mk. II | DGS | 83 | Billy Engelhart | 3 |
| Beith Racing | Eagle 72 | Offenhauser | 28 | Billy Scott | 3 |
| Bruce Crower | Eagle 74 | Chevrolet | 57 | Jerry Sneva | 1–3, 5 |
| Fiore Racing | McLaren M16C/D | Offenhauser | 88 | Ken Nichols | 1 |
| Gibson Racing | Eagle 74 | DGS | 75 | Todd Gibson | 1–3 |
| Gilmore Racing | Parnelli VPJ6CT Coyote IV | Cosworth Foyt | 14 | A. J. Foyt | All |
| Hodgdon Racing | McLaren M24 | Cosworth | 72 | Roger McCluskey | 1, 3 |
| Hodgdon Racing | Spirit 78 | AMC | 73 | Neil Bonnett | 3 |
| Hodgdon Racing | Spirit 78 | AMC | 73 | Jerry Sneva | 3 |
| Hucul Racing | McLaren M16E | Offenhauser | 29 | Cliff Hucul | All |
| Jim Hurtubise | Mallard 71 | Offenhauser | 56 | Jim Hurtubise | 3 |
| Joe Hunt | Eagle 73 | Offenhauser | 99 | Bob Harkey | 1 |
| Leader Card | Watson 77 | Offenhauser | 22 | Bill Vukovich II | All |
| Leader Card | Watson 78 | Offenhauser | 24 | Sheldon Kinser | All |
| Leader Card | Watson 79 | Offenhauser | 40 | George Snider | 3 |
| Lindsey Hopkins | Lightning Mk1/79 Lightning X-15 | Offenhauser | 15 | Johnny Parsons | 1–5, 7 |
| Lindsey Hopkins | Lightning Mk1/79 Lightning X-15 | Offenhauser | 51 | Hurley Haywood | 1, 3 |
| Lindsey Hopkins | Lightning Mk1/79 Lightning X-15 | Offenhauser | 51 | George Snider | 5 |
| Loquasto Racing | McLaren M16C/D | Offenhauser | 86 | Al Loquasto | 5 |
| McElreath Racing | Eagle 73/74 Penske PC-6/78 | Chevrolet | 26 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | 2 |
| McElreath Racing | Eagle 73/74 Penske PC-6/78 | Offenhauser Cosworth | 26 | Jim McElreath | 5–7 |
| McElreath Racing | Eagle 73/74 Penske PC-6/78 | Offenhauser Cosworth | 23 | Jim McElreath | 1–3 |
| McElreath Racing | Eagle 73/74 Penske PC-6/78 | Offenhauser Cosworth | 23 | Phil Threshie | 6 |
| Medlin Racing | Cicada Mk.IV | Offenhauser | 35 | Bill Puterbaugh | 3–4, 7 |
| Mergard Racing | Eagle 72 | Offenhauser | 42 | Herm Johnson | 7 |
| Polak Racing | Penske PC-5/77 | Cosworth | 80 | Larry Dickson | 3–7 |
| Rager Racing | Eagle 68 | Chevrolet | 66 | Roger Rager | 3–4, 6–7 |
| Rasmussen Racing | Rascar 72 | Foyt Chevrolet | 58 | Eldon Rasmussen | 1–3, 5 |
| Raymond Reimer | March 73A | Chevrolet | 93 | Larry McCoy | 3 |
| Raymond Reimer | March 73A | Chevrolet | 93 | Dana Carter | 6 |
| Raymond Reimer | March 73A | Chevrolet | 93 | Jan Sneva | 7 |
| Rhoades Competition | McLaren M16E | Offenhauser | 20 | John Martin | 3, 5 |
| Robert LaWarre | Eagle 68 | Chevrolet | 60 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | 4–5 |
| Robert LaWarre | McLaren M16C/D | Offenhauser | 86 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | 6–7 |
| Thunder Racing | McLaren M16C/D | Offenhauser | 30 | Larry Dickson | 1–2 |
| Thunder Racing | McLaren M16C/D | Offenhauser | 30 | Dana Carter | 3–5 |
| Vollstedt Racing | Vollstedt 77 | Offenhauser | 17 | Dick Simon | 1, 3–7 |
| Vollstedt Racing | Vollstedt 73 | Offenhauser | 27 | John Martin | 1 |
| Vollstedt Racing | Vollstedt 73 | AMC | 27 | George Snider | 4 |
| Vollstedt Racing | Vollstedt 73 | AMC | 27 | Bob Harkey | 5 |
| Wayne Woodward | Eagle 72 | Offenhauser | 42 | Dick Ferguson | 1 |
| Wayne Woodward | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 81 | Dana Carter | 1 |
| Wayne Woodward | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 81 | Dick Ferguson | 2–3 |
| Wayne Woodward | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 81 | Jerry Sneva | 4–7 |
| William R. Compton | McLaren M16C/D | Offenhauser | 38 | Jerry Karl | All |
| CART entrants - ineligible to score points. ||||||
| Alex Morales Co. | Lightning Mk1/77 | Offenhauser | 10 | Pancho Carter | 3 |
| All American Racers | Eagle 78 MkII | Cosworth | 36 | Mike Mosley | 3 |
| Cannon Racing Team | Wildcat Mk. I | DGS | 95 | Larry Cannon | 3 |
| Chaparral Racing | Chaparral 2K | Cosworth | 2 | Al Unser | 3 |
| Conqueste Racing | Parnelli VPJ6CT | Cosworth | 89 | Lee Kunzman | 3 |
| Fletcher Racing | Lightning Mk1/77 | Cosworth | 7 | Steve Krisiloff | 3 |
| Frantz Auto Body | Wildcat Mk. I | DGS | 16 | Tom Frantz | 3 |
| Gehlhausen-Reath Racing | Wildcat Mk. I | Cosworth | 19 | Spike Gehlhausen | 3 |
| Gehlhausen-Reath Racing | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 19 | Bob Harkey | 3 |
| Gehlhausen-Reath Racing | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 19 | Bill Alsup | 3 |
| Gehlhausen-Reath Racing | Eagle 74 | Offenhauser | 39 | Al Loquasto | 3 |
| Hoffman Auto Racing | Lightning Mk1/77 | Offenhauser | 59 | George Snider | 3 |
| Hoffman Auto Racing | Eagle 72 | Offenhauser | 69 | Joe Saldana | 3 |
| Intercomp Racing | Eagle 72 | Offenhauser | 92 | John Mahler | 3 |
| Interscope Racing | Parnelli VPJ6CT | Cosworth | 25 | Danny Ongais | 3, 5 |
| Jerry O'Connell Racing | McLaren M24 | Cosworth | 1 | Tom Sneva | 3 |
| Longhorn Racing | Penske PC-6/78 | Cosworth | 11 | Tom Bagley | 3 |
| Patrick Racing | Penske PC-6/78 | Cosworth | 3 | Gordon Johncock | 3 |
| Patrick Racing | Penske PC-6/78 | Cosworth | 6 | Wally Dallenbach | 3 |
| Penske Racing | Penske PC-6/78 | Cosworth | 9 | Rick Mears | 3 |
| Penske Racing | Penske PC-7/79 | Cosworth | 12 | Bobby Unser | 3 |
| Penske Racing | Penske PC-7/79 | Cosworth | 68 | Bill Alsup | 3 |
| S&M Electric | Lightning Mk1/77 | Offenhauser | 31 | Larry Rice | 3 |
| Team McLaren | McLaren M24B | Cosworth | 4 | Johnny Rutherford | 3 |
| Walmotor | Penske PC-6/78 | Cosworth | 77 | Salt Walther | 3 |
| WASP Racing | McLaren M16C/D | Offenhauser | 41 | Bill Alsup | 3 |
| Wysard Motor Co. | Wildcat Mk. II | DGS | 34 | Vern Schuppan | 3 |

## Schedule and results

All races running on Oval/Speedway.
| Rnd | Date | Race Name | Length | Track | Location | Pole Position | Winning Driver |
| 1 | March 25 | Datsun Twin 200 | 200 mi (320 km) | Ontario Motor Speedway | Ontario, California | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt |
| 2 | April 8 | Coors 200 | 200 mi (320 km) | Texas World Speedway | College Station, Texas | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt |
| 3 | May 27 | International 500 Mile Sweepstakes | 500 mi (800 km) | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana | Rick Mears | Rick Mears |
| 4 | June 10 | Rex Mays Classic | 150 mi (240 km) | Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt |
| 5 | June 24 | Music 500 at Pocono | 500 mi (800 km) | Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt |
| 6 | July 29 | Lubrilon Grand Prix | 200 mi (320 km) | Texas World Speedway | College Station, Texas | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt |
| 7 | August 12 | Tony Bettenhausen 200 | 200 mi (320 km) | Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin | Tom Bigelow | Roger McCluskey |
| | September 2 | California 500 | 500 mi (800 km) | Ontario Motor Speedway | Ontario, California | — | — |
^A Non-USAC drivers ^B Originally scheduled as a USAC race, but was switched mid-season to a CART series race.

## Final points standings

The CART drivers were not eligible for points.
| Pos | Driver | ONT | TXS1 | INDY | MIL1 | POC | TXS2 | MIL2 | Pts |
| 1 | A. J. Foyt | 1* | 1* | 2 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 12* | 3320 |
| 2 | Bill Vukovich II | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1770 |
| 3 | Tom Bigelow | 6 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1305 |
| 4 | Larry Dickson | 16 | 3 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 11 | Wth | 1225 |
| 5 | Gary Bettenhausen | 18 | 2 | DNQ | 6 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 1008 |
| 6 | Jim McElreath | 9 | 14 | 35 | | 2 | 9 | Wth | 975 |
| 7 | Jerry Sneva | 21 | 13 | 31 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 851 |
| 8 | Dick Simon | 7 | | 26 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 766 |
| 9 | Roger McCluskey | 12 | | 13 | 17 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 716 |
| 10 | Sheldon Kinser | 4 | 8 | 28 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 673 |
| 11 | Cliff Hucul | 5 | 4 | 29 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 653 |
| 12 | Howdy Holmes RY | | | 7 | | 7 | | | 600 |
| 13 | Johnny Parsons | 2 | 16 | 32 | 14 | 21 | | 4 | 598 |
| 14 | George Snider | 8 | 5 | 33 | 18 | 25 | | 11 | 361 |
| 15 | Janet Guthrie | Wth | | 34 | | 19 | | 5 | 225 |
| 16 | Frank Weiss | 20 | | Wth | 8 | 23 | | 7 | 218 |
| 17 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. R | | 9 | | 9 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 185 |
| 18 | Dana Carter R | 10 | | DNQ | 11 | 22 | 10 | | 165 |
| 19 | Phil Threshie | | | 17 | 16 | 16 | 8 | | 153 |
| 20 | Al Loquasto | | | DNQ | | 10 | | | 150 |
| 21 | Todd Gibson | 14 | 7 | DNQ | | | | | 130 |
| 22 | Jerry Karl | DNS | 10 | DNQ | 12 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 113 |
| 23 | Herm Johnson | | | | | | | 8 | 100 |
| 24 | Eldon Rasmussen | 11 | 15 | 23 | | 20 | | | 85 |
| 25 | Jerry Miller R | | | | | | | 9 | 80 |
| 26 | Roger Rager | | | DNQ | 10 | | 15 | 16 | 65 |
| 27 | Dick Ferguson R | 17 | 11 | DNQ | | | | | 48 |
| 28 | John Martin | 15 | | DNQ | | 18 | | | 30 |
| 29 | Bob Harkey | 19 | | Wth | | 24 | | | 23 |
| 30 | Bill Puterbaugh | | | DNQ | 19 | | | 13 | 10 |
| 31 | Ken Nichols | 13 | | | | | | | 10 |
| 32 | Jan Sneva R | | | | | | | 20 | 8 |
| - | Rick Mears | | | 1 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Mike Mosley | | | 3 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Danny Ongais | | | 4 | | 12 | | | 0 |
| - | Bobby Unser | | | 5* | | | | | 0 |
| - | Gordon Johncock | | | 6 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Tom Bagley | | | 9 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Spike Gehlhausen | | | 10 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Steve Krisiloff | | | 11 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Salt Walther | | | 12 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Tom Sneva | | | 15 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Joe Saldana | | | 16 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Johnny Rutherford | | | 18 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Larry Rice | | | 19 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Pancho Carter | | | 20 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Vern Schuppan | | | 21 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Al Unser | | | 22 | | | | | 0 |
| - | John Mahler | | | 25 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Wally Dallenbach Sr. | | | 27 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Lee Kunzman | | | 30 | | | | | 0 |
| - | Larry McCoy | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bill Alsup | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Larry Cannon | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Billy Engelhart | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Tom Frantz | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Hurley Haywood | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Jim Hurtubise | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Billy Scott | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Neil Bonnett | | | Wth | | | | | 0 |
| - | Greg Leffler | | | | Wth | | | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | ONT | TXS1 | INDY | MIL1 | POC | TXS2 | MIL2 | Pts |
| Color | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | 4th & 5th place |
| Light Blue | 6th-10th place |
| Dark Blue | Finished (Outside Top 10) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Brown | Withdrawn (Wth) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| Blank | Did not participate (DNP) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position |
| Italics | Ran fastest race lap |
| * | Led most race laps |
| RY Rookie of the Year ||
| R Rookie ||