1978 Indianapolis 500

1978 Indianapolis 500

The 62nd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 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 his Lola's front wing during a pit stop on lap 180, causing his handling to go away over the final 20 laps. Second place Tom Sneva charged to catch the crippled Lola but came up 8 seconds short at the finish - the second-closest finish in Indy history to that point. Unser held off the challenge, and became a three-time winner of the 500.

Later in the season, Al Unser, Sr. would go on to win the Pocono 500 and the California 500, sweeping the "triple crown" of Indy car racing, the only driver in history to do so.

Second year driver Janet Guthrie finished ninth, and it was later revealed she drove with a broken wrist. It was the highest finish for a female driver in Indy history until Danica Patrick in 2005.

Tony Hulman, the popular owner and president of the track since 1945, died the previous October. For the first time, his widow Mary F. Hulman delivered the famous starting command. Along with the death of Hulman, the race was held just weeks after eight key members of USAC were killed in a plane crash. With dissent increasing amongst 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."