1978 USAC Championship Car Season (partially found footage of IndyCar races; 1978)

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1978dailyexpressindysilverstone1.jpg

Program for the 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone and 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy.

Status: Partially Found

The 1978 USAC Championship Car Season was the 21st season of USAC's top-level open-wheel championship. The season saw Tom Sneva claim his first of two consecutive USAC Championships. Of the races televised that year, at least three are fully missing, whereas the BBC One coverage of the 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy is also lost.

1978 Coors 200

The 1978 Coors 200 (also known as the 1978 Texas 200) was the third race of the 1978 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 15th April at the Texas World Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by polesitter Danny Ongais in a Parnelli-Cosworth, after having achieved the final lead change less than halfway through the event.

It was the fourth running of the event, with the race lasting 200 miles.[1] It was one of two 1978 USAC Championship Car Season races to commence at Texas World Speedway, the other being the Texas Grand Prix,[2] which commenced on 6th August and was won by A.J. Foyt in a Coyote-Foyt.[3] USAC races would continue to commence at the speedway before it was completely removed from the IndyCar schedule when the 1980 race was cancelled following the USAC-CART conflict.[4]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Danny Ongais winning the pole position with a speed of 211.889 mph.[1] Directly behind him was Penske-Cosworth's Mario Andretti, with Foyt lining up third out of 21 competitors.[1]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1978 Coors 200 commenced on 15th April.[1] Andretti shot into the lead on the opening lap, but Ongais regained it a lap later, only to lose it to Foyt on lap 3.[1] Foyt himself only held onto the first position for a lap, before Gordon Johncock in a Wildcat-DGS took over.[1] He led four laps, with Andretti taking the lead on lap 8, holding onto it for another 12.[1] When a caution period between laps 19-26 occurred, which was triggered by a crash from McLaren-Cosworth's Johnny Rutherford, Johncock emerged in front once the race restarted on lap 27.[1] He held onto it until being repassed by Andretti on lap 33.[1]

Andretti defended the lead for a further ten laps, but was unable to prevent Johncock from moving past on lap 43.[1] Three laps later, Ongais moved into the first position, in what ultimately turned out to be the final lead change.[1] From there, Ongais generally controlled proceedings, with Penske-Cosworth's Tom Sneva being his main competition.[1] He therefore claimed victory and $17,843 in prize money.[1] Sneva finished second, with Johncock a lap down in third.[1]

1978 Norton Twin 200

The 1978 Norton Twin 200 was the ninth race of the 1978 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 16th July at the Michigan International Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by Johnny Rutherford in a McLaren-Cosworth, after having led over half of the 100-lap event.

It was the tenth running of the event, with the annual race lasting 200 miles.[5] It was one of two 1978 USAC Championship Car Season races to commence at Michigan International Speedway, the other being the Gould Grand Prix,[2] which occurred on 16th September and was won by Danny Ongais in a Parnelli-Cosworth.[6] The track would continue hosting IndyCar races until being dropped from the schedule from 2007 onwards after failing to reach a deal with IndyCar's organisers.[7]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Tom Sneva winning the pole position in a Penske-Cosworth with a speed of 211.392 mph.[5] Directly behind him was Rutherford, with Penske-Cosworth's Rick Mears lining up third out of 22 competitors.[5]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1978 Norton Twin 200 commenced on 16th July.[5] Sneva maintained his lead from the start, holding it for the first 28 laps before being passed by Ongais on lap 29.[5] Following a caution period between laps 31-34, Rutherford was in the lead when the race resumed on lap 35 but was passed by Ongais a lap later.[5] Ongais maintained the first position for a further four laps, but conceded it to Rutherford on lap 40.[5] Nevertheless, he again moved back into the lead four laps later, this time holding it for eleven laps.[5] But on lap 55, Rutherford made what was ultimately the final lead change on lap 55.[5]

Despite a caution period between laps 69-74 wiping out any lead he built, Rutherford continued to control proceedings once the race resumed, leading the final 46 laps to claim victory and $21,335 in prize money.[5] Sneva finished a lap down in second, with McLaren-Cosworth's Wally Dallenbach two laps behind in third.[5]

1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone

The 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone was the 16th race of the 1978 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 1st October at the Silverstone Circuit, the event would mark the first instance of a USAC Championship race overseas. The race would ultimately be won by A.J. Foyt in a Coyote-Foyt, with the event being shortened because of rain.

By January 1978, it was confirmed that the USAC Championship Car Season would contain races from overseas for the first time in its history.[8][9][10][2] Both international races for the 1978 season would be hosted in England, with Silverstone planned for 30th September, and a race at Brands Hatch would occur on 7th October that shall be discussed later in this article.[11][8][9][10][2] It arose from agreements with the Motor Circuit Developments, who felt that British spectators may have interest in USAC racing, especially considering Formula One's popularity in the country.[9][11][10] While this was not the first time USAC cars visited Europe, with such vehicles racing in Italy in 1957 and 1958, these would be the first overseas to count towards the Championship.[9][8][2] The fact both races were also to occur on English road circuits would provide unknown qualities and challenges for USAC cars that primarily competed in oval tracks.[11][9][10]

A qualifying session in Michigan helped determine the top 16 competitors that would make the overseas trip, with Tom Sneva in a Penske-Cosworth setting the fastest speed at 209.059 mph.[9] However, issues began to emerge once USAC entered Silverstone, as rain caused delays for both practice and qualifying.[9][11] When qualifying did occur, Danny Ongais won the pole position in a Parnelli-Cosworth with a speed of 128.429 mph.[12][11][9] Earlier in practice, he set a lap time of 1 minute 18.45 seconds, around 2.5 seconds faster than the lap record set by Formula One driver James Hunt in a McLaren-Ford.[9][11] Directly behind him was Lola-Cosworth's Al Unser, with Mears lining up third.[12] A.J. Foyt qualified 10th out of 16 competitors.[12]

The race was originally scheduled to run on 30th September, but rain forced the start to be delayed until 1st October.[11][9][12] Despite a strong promotion campaign proclaiming "American Invasion – The Indy Cars are Coming.",[10] the event drew a poor attendance for Silverstone, with only around 6,000 in the stands on 30th September, and just around 4,000 the following day.[9] Nevertheless, the race did bring concepts generally unfamiliar to British fans at the time, including refuelling, the presence of a pace car, and a rare rolling start.[10][11]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone commenced on 1st October.[12] Ongais maintained his lead from the start, and was accelerating away from his competitors.[11][12] Despite a spin from Wildcat-DGS' Gordon Johncock prompting an immediate caution period, Ongais again built up a lead, only to retire after five laps due to a broken half shaft.[11][10][12] Unser took over, leading ahead of Mears and Penske-Cosworth's Tom Sneva.[11][12] On lap 17, he pitted for fuel, but almost incurred a lap deduction following accusations that his Coyote had run over a fuel line.[11] However, officials deduced that Unser had merely nudged it, and thus he escaped punishment.[11] On lap 22 however, Unser was forced to slow significantly to avoid running out of fuel.[11] Johncock passed him, but fuel shortages forced him to relinquish the first position to Eagle-Cosworth's Bobby Unser.[11][12]

Once the initial pitstops were complete, Mears had assumed the lead on lap 25, Foyt being his main competition.[11][12] A lap later, Al Unser retired following a broken pinion gear.[12] On lap 27, the race was red flagged following downpour.[9][11] It resumed 30 minutes later, with Foyt again making several pass attempts on Mears.[11][9] Ultimately, he achieved the final lead change on lap 32, accelerating ahead of the opposition.[11][12] The race was again postponed after 38 laps because of rain.[9][11][12] With the downpour refusing to subside, the race finished 14 laps earlier than expected, Foyt therefore claiming victory and $33,445 in prize money.[12][11][10] Mears finished second, with Sneva taking third.[12][11][10]

1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy

The 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy was the 17th race of the 1978 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 7th October at the Brands Hatch Circuit, the event would be one of two USAC Championship events to occur in England that year. The race would ultimately be won by Rick Mears in a Penske-Cosworth, after long-term leader and Parnelli-Cosworth driver Danny Ongais suffered a gearbox failure with 17 laps remaining.

Unlike with Silverstone, which was hampered with rain throughout the practice, qualifying, and race sessions, the 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy would commence on a sunny day.[11][10][9] However, to avoid any chance of the race being shortened by rain, USAC opted to race on a shorter track at Brands Hatch, now known as the "Indy Circuit".[11][9] While the rationale was that the short track would dry quicker, the move by USAC surprised both the drivers and tyre supplier Goodyear, especially considering the tyres were designed to cope with the long circuit.[11] Apparently, Goodyear personnel only learnt of the decision through reading racing magazines.[11] Around 15,000 were in attendance for the race, which like with Silverstone, was considered a disappointing number.[9][11] This produced only half the revenue Motor Circuit Developments required to justify hosting future USAC races, thus marking the final IndyCar race in England until 2001.[11]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Al Unser winning the pole position in a Lola-Cosworth with a speed of 105.811 mph.[13] Despite the tight nature of the small circuit conflicting greatly with USAC cars that were designed for ovals in mind, Unser's speed was the second fastest recorded at Brands Hatch at the time, beaten only by the Brabham BT46B Formula One "fan car".[11] Rick Mears qualified second, with Danny Ongais lining up third out of the 16 runners.[13] Meanwhile, Steve Krisiloff qualified 12th in a Wildcat-Offenhauser, but was unable to compete after wrecking his car during the warm-up session.[11][13]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy commenced on 7th October.[13] Unser's race ended without completing a lap, following a clutch failure.[11][13] This allowed Ongais to assume the lead on the opening lap, where he proceeded to dominate the majority of the race.[11][10][13] Even following a few pitstops, Ongais remained in the first position.[11][13][10] However, his race would end after 83 laps when his gearbox and clutch failed.[11][10][13] Mears assumed the lead, and remained in comfortably front for the remaining 17 laps to claim victory and $33,701 in prize money.[11][13] Fellow Penske-Cosworth driver Tom Sneva finished second, with McLaren-Cosworth's Johnny Rutherford taking third.[11][13] Post-race, Mears admitted he was fortunate to win, stating, praising Ongais' performance as "marvellous".[10]

Availability

According to IndyCar on TV, the 1978 Coors 200 received live flag-to-flag coverage from CBS as part of its CBS Sports Spectacular, being billed as the Texas 200.[14] The broadcast should not be confused with CBS' coverage of the 1978 Texas Grand Prix, which was also called the Texas 200 and can be found on YouTube.[15][3] In contrast, the Coors 200 broadcast has yet to resurface, and no footage of the race is currently publicly available. Meanwhile, the a 30-minute highlights package of the 1978 Norton Twin 200 was televised by NBC on 30th July 1978 as part of its NBC Sportsworld, alongside coverage of the Special Olympics and a professional boxing report.[16] This broadcast has also not resurfaced, with no other race footage known to be available.

As for the two England races, IndyCar on TV claims that 45 minutes of highlights from the 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone were televised by ABC later that same day as part of its Wide World of Sports, along with the US Gymnastics Trials.[17] Additionally, Issue 2,864 of Radio Times stated that the race with its original start date was to be broadcast on BBC One as part of Grandstand.[18] It remains unclear whether the delayed race ultimately aired on BBC television at a later date. Regardless, no broadcast of the race has resurfaced, with no footage currently being publicly available.

Finally IndyCar on TV states 30 minutes of highlights were televised by CBS on 20th October 1978 as part of its CBS Sports Spectacular, attracting an audience of 3.2 million.[19] The broadcast has resurfaced, with a video uploaded by Hayden Martin on 12th September 2018 splicing two older videos of the event together.

However, according to Issue 2,865 of Radio Times, a live broadcast of the race occurred on BBC One as part of its Grandstand program, with commentary being provided by long-time Formula One commentator Murray Walker.[20] Based on the Issue's synopsis, up to 40 minutes could have been televised on the channel.[20] The broadcast has yet to resurface however, with no footage from it currently being publicly available. Nevertheless, while a search of the British Film Institute (BFI) indicates it does not have this particular episode of Grandstand available in its archives, it does contain a documentary titled "The Indy Cars Come to Brands Hatch", a Monroe-sponsored documentary produced by Post Productions.[21] Having been obtained on 7th November 2007 as a 20mm film, the BFI enables only restricted access to the documentary.[22]

Gallery

Videos

The "other" 1978 Texas Grand Prix on CBS Sports Spectacular.

The 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy on CBS Sports Spectacular.

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the 1978 Coors 200. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Racing-Reference detailing the 1978 USAC Championship Car Season schedule. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  3. 3.0 3.1 Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1978 Texas Grand Prix. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  4. Racing Circuits detailing the history of the Texas World Speedway. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the 1978 Norton Twin 200. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  6. Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1978 Gould Grand Prix. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  7. Eurosport reporting on the Michigan International Speedway being dropped from the IndyCar schedule. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 The New York Times reporting on the 1978 USAC Championship Car Season containing races in England. Retrieved 11 Jun '22
  9. 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 Motor Sport reviewing the two races in England, and noting the issues both faced. Retrieved 11 Jun '22
  10. 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 Motorsport Retro detailing the USAC races held in England, and summarising the 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone Retrieved 11 Jun '22
  11. 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 11.25 11.26 11.27 11.28 11.29 11.30 11.31 11.32 11.33 11.34 11.35 Crash detailing the 1978 USAC Championship Car Season races held in England and the Silverstone event. Retrieved 11 Jun '22
  12. 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone. Retrieved 11 Jun '22
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy. Retrieved 24th Jun '22
  14. IndyCar on TV detailing the CBS broadcast of the race. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  15. IndyCar on TV detailing the CBS broadcast of the 1978 Texas Grand Prix. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  16. IndyCar on TV detailing the NBC broadcast of the 1978 Norton Twin 200. Retrieved 27th Jun '22
  17. IndyCar on TV detailing the ABC broadcast of the 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone. Retrieved 11 Jun '22
  18. BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues listing the 1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone as part of Grandstand. Retrieved 11 Jun '22
  19. IndyCar on TV detailing the CBS broadcast of the 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy. Retrieved 24th Jun '22
  20. 20.0 20.1 BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the BBC One broadcast of the 1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy. Retrieved 24th Jun '22
  21. British Film Institute summary of "The Indy Cars Come to Brands Hatch". Retrieved 24th Jun '22
  22. British Film Institute detailing the 20mm film of "The Indy Cars Come to Brands Hatch". Retrieved 24th Jun '22