Three weeks after winning his record fourth Indianapolis 500, A. J. Foyt threatened to skip the Pocono 500 after getting into a dispute with USAC series sponsor Citicorp. Foyt skipped practice on Tuesday, and after running only 35 practice laps Wednesday, still insisted he might put another driver in his car. Nevertheless, Foyt changed his mind at the last minute and qualified the car. Foyt put secured the pole position (189.474 mph), bumping Johnny Rutherford from the top spot and prompted a chorus of boos from some fans in attendance. Mario Andretti qualified third to round out the front row. Tom Sneva, who broke the 200 mph barrier at Indy in May, placed fourth on the grid. During final practice on Friday, Andretti's engine over-revved, and it suffered bent valves. It was the fifth engine that Penske teammates Andretti and Sneva had gone through for the week. Without another spare, the crew was forced to salvage parts from one of the already-blown engines to get Andretti on the grid for race day.