1980 USAC Championship Car season
1980 USAC Championship Car season | |
---|---|
Championship Racing League | |
Champion: Johnny Rutherford | |
Season | |
Races | 5 |
Start date | April 13 |
End date | July 13 |
Awards | |
National champion | Johnny Rutherford |
Indianapolis 500 winner | Johnny Rutherford |
The 1980 USAC Championship Car season consisted of five races, beginning in
USAC and CART united in early 1980 to form a co-sanctioning agreement under the banner of the Championship Racing League (CRL). The entire season was supposed to run under this agreement, but only the first five races of the 1980 Indy/Championship Car season were run under CRL banner. Unhappy with the arrangement, USAC pulled out of the CRL after the Mid-Ohio race in July. USAC declared their 1980 season over after the five races, while CART finished out the remainder of the 1980 season on their own.
Johnny Rutherford happened to score the most points under both USAC's 5-race points distribution and CART's 12-race points championship.
Schedule and results
In January 1980, USAC initially released a ten-race schedule, with new venues Talladega, Charlotte, and Road Atlanta added to the schedule.[1] However, these three events were eventually scrapped when USAC entered into a joint sanctioning effort with CART.
Original schedule
Rnd | Date | Race Name | Length | Track | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 26 | Texas 200 | 200 mi (320 km) | O Texas World Speedway | College Station, Texas |
2 | May 26 | 500 Mile International Sweepstakes | 500 mi (800 km) | O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana |
3 | June 8 | Gould Rex Mays Classic
|
150 mi (240 km) | O Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin |
4 | June 22 | True Value 500 | 500 mi (800 km) | O Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania |
5 | July 13 | Red Roof Inns 150
|
150 mi (240 km) | R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
6 | July 27 | Road Atlanta 200 | 150 mi (240 km) | R Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia |
7 | August 10 | Tony Bettenhausen 150
|
200 mi (320 km) | O Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin |
8 | August 24 | Alabama 200 | 500 mi (800 km) | O Alabama International Motor Speedway | Talladega, Alabama |
9 | September 14 | Mosport 200 | 150 mi (240 km) | R Mosport International Raceway | Bowmanville, Ontario
|
10 | September 28 | Charlotte 500 | 300 mi (480 km) | O Charlotte Motor Speedway | Charlotte, North Carolina |
Revised schedule
In the spring of 1980, USAC and CART merged their schedules for the newly-created CRL Championship. With Talladega, Charlotte, and Road Atlanta already scrapped, Texas World Speedway was cancelled too. That track would soon cease to hold any more professional races, and Indy cars never raced at Texas World again. Mosport, which had held races in the past, was also dropped. Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Mid-Ohio, and Pocono, all were kept as part of the final merged schedule.
The co-sanctioning effort ended after only five races. USAC declared their involvement in the 1980 season over after Mid-Ohio. The remaining seven races were sanctioned solely by CART, and paid points to the CART championship only.
Rnd | Date | Race Name | Length | Track | Location | Pole Position | Winning Driver |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 13 | Datsun Twin 200 | 200 mi (320 km) | O Ontario Motor Speedway | Ontario, California | Johnny Rutherford
|
Johnny Rutherford
|
2 | May 26 | 500 Mile International Sweepstakes | 500 mi (800 km) | O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana | Johnny Rutherford
|
Johnny Rutherford
|
3 | June 8 | Gould Rex Mays Classic
|
150 mi (240 km) | O Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin | Gordon Johncock | Bobby Unser |
4 | June 22 | True Value 500
|
500 mi (800 km) | O Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania | Bobby Unser | Bobby Unser |
5 | July 13 | Red Roof Inns 150
|
150 mi (240 km) | R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | Al Unser | Johnny Rutherford
|
Races sanctioned by CART only | |||||||
NC | July 20 | Norton 200
|
200 mi (320 km) | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | Bobby Unser | Johnny Rutherford |
NC | August 3 | Kent Oil 150 | 150 mi (240 km) | R Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York | Al Unser | Bobby Unser |
NC | August 10 | Tony Bettenhausen 200
|
200 mi (320 km) | O Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway | West Allis, Wisconsin | Johnny Rutherford | Johnny Rutherford |
NC | August 31 | California 500
|
500 mi (800 km) | O Ontario Motor Speedway | Ontario, California | Bobby Unser | Bobby Unser |
NC | September 20 | Gould Grand Prix
|
150 mi (240 km) | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | Mario Andretti | Mario Andretti |
NC | October 26 | I Copa México 150 | 150 mi (240 km) | R Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
|
Mexico City, Mexico
|
Bobby Unser | Rick Mears |
NC | November 8 | Miller High Life 150
|
150 mi (240 km) | O Phoenix International Raceway
|
Avondale, Arizona | Mario Andretti | Tom Sneva |
Final points standings
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|
References
- Åberg, Andreas. "USAC National Championship 1980". Driver Database. Archived from the original on March 25, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- "1980 Championship Racing League". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2009.