1977 California 500
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2.500 mi / 4.023 km
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 12 of 14 in the 1977 USAC Championship Car season | |
 | |
| Date | September 4, 1977 |
| Official name | 1977 California 500 |
| Location | Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California, United States |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.500 mi / 4.023 km |
| Distance | 200 laps 500.000 mi / 804.672 km |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |   Johnny Rutherford (McLaren) |
| Time | 195.111 mph (314.001 km/h) |
| Podium | |
| First | Al Unser (Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing) |
| Second | A. J. Foyt (A. J. Foyt Racing) |
| Third | Tom Sneva (Tom Sneva) |
The 1977 California 500, the eighth running of the event, was held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, on Sunday, September 4, 1977. The event was race number 12 of 14 in the 1977 USAC Championship Car season. The race was won by Al Unser, his first win in the California 500.
USAC opened their season at Ontario with a 200-mile race on March 6. A. J. Foyt won the race over Al Unser. That same day, Foyt finished third 3rd in the USAC Stock Car race at Ontario, won by Jimmy Insolo.
In May, A.J. Foyt won the 1977 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first man to win the race for a fourth time.
In addition to Tom Sneva, Team Penske entered a second car for Mario Andretti, who was chasing the 1977 Formula One championship. Two months earlier, Sneva and Andretti finished 1–2 in the Pocono 500.[1]
Practice and Time Trials
Practice began on Sunday, August 28. Defending California 500 champion, Bobby Unser was fastest at 190.496 mph.[2] In Monday's practice, Johnny Rutherford was fastest at 193.440 mph. Rutherford had a close call when Chuck Gurney spun as Rutherford came up to pass him in turn one. Rutherford was able to squeeze between Gurney's spinning car before he backed into the wall. Gurney suffered a slight concussion.[3]
Rutherford was again fastest on Tuesday with a speed of 197.425 mph. Two days after competing in the 1977 Dutch Grand Prix, Mario Andretti began practicing, and posted the second fastest speed at 194.363 mph.[4]
Pole Day - Wednesday August 31
Qualifying was a four-lap, 10-mile run. Johnny Rutherford won the pole with a four-lap average of 195.111 mph. Late in the afternoon, Mario Andretti made a run at 194.900 mph, good enough to claim the second position. Al Unser completed the front row with a speed of 194.774 mph. Joe Saldana and Phil Threshie had separate crashes in turm one on their qualifying runs. Both cars were too damaged to be repaired and withdrew from the race.[5]
Bump Day - Thursday September 1
In the second and final day of qualifying, Danny Ongais posted the fastest speed of all cars in the field at 196.389 mph. Ongais blew an engine on Wednesday morning and was unable to make a qualifying attempt on Day 1. Because his run came on day 2, he started the race 20th.
Late in the qualifying session, 32 cars had qualified for the race, meaning there was one vacant position. Jerry Sneva attempted to make a qualifying run, but was black-flagged for leaking oil. He returned to pit road and got in the qualifying line behind Bob Harkey and Eldon Rasmussen, who had lost a cylinder in practice. As time expired, Bob Harkey went onto the track to begin his qualifying run. He seemingly was assured a spot in the field, regardless of his speed, since there was still one spot open. On his second lap, Harkey's engine blew and he was unable to complete his run. USAC determined the final starting spot by random drawing: Harkey, Sneva, or Rasmussen. Rasmussen was the lucky winner and earned the 33rd starting spot for the race.[6]
