Rauzulu's Street
Home
Baseball
Hockey
Football
Racing
Basketball
Events
PrivacyIROC VII - 1980
 |
The International Race of Champions was an auto racing competition, featuring identically-prepared stock cars set up by a single team of mechanics, in an effort to make the race purely a test of driver ability. It was run with a small field of invited drivers (6-12) from all the major racing series including NASCAR, SCCA, FIA and USAC. Over the years CART and the IRL drivers, among others also participated.
|
IROC VII - 1980
Once again, qualifying races were staged for the NASCAR, Indy Car and road racing drivers. In the road racing final at Riverside, Darrell Waltrip took the lead one-third of the way into the event and went on to an easy victory. Strong challengers Bobby Allison and Mario Andretti fell back to finish second and third, respectively. The oval track finale at Atlanta was one of the most memorable in series history. Seven cars were eliminated in a front-straight wreck on the second lap. As almost the entire field ran in a close pack, Andretti made contact with Waltrip, triggering the incident. Waltrip was eliminated, allowing Allison a "free shot" at the championship, which he captured by winning the race in a dogfight with Rick Mears. (from IROC Website)
Final Points |
|||
|
IROC 7 Champion Bobby Allison  |
|||
Position |
Driver/Residence/Sanction |
Points |
Money Earned |
1 |
Bobby Allison/Hueytown, AL/NASCAR |
41 |
$75,000 |
2 |
Darrell Waltrip/Owensboro, KY/NASCAR |
32 |
35,000 |
3 |
Rick Mears/Bakersfield, CA/CART |
31 |
22,000 |
4 |
Gordon Johncock/Coldwater, MI/CART |
26 |
21,000 |
5 |
Mario Andretti/Nazareth, PA/FIA |
25 |
20,000 |
6 |
Johnny Rutherford/Ft. Worth, TX/CART |
24 |
19,000 |
7 |
Neil Bonnett/Hueytown, AL/NASCAR |
20 |
18,000 |
8 |
Don Whittington/Fort Lauderdale, FL/IMSA |
15 |
17,000 |
9 |
Bobby Unser/Albuquerque, NM/CART |
14 |
15,500 |
10 |
Buddy Baker/Charlotte, NC/NASCAR |
14 |
15,500 |
11 |
Peter Gregg/Jacksonville, FL/IMSA |
11 |
15,000 |
12 |
Clay Regazzoni/Switzerland/ FIA |
9 |
15,000 |
NASCAR Qualifying Race |
| June 16, 1979 |
| Michigan International Speedway |
| Brooklyn, Michigan |
| Two-mile high-banked oval, 50 laps, 100 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
1 |
5 |
Neil Bonnett |
50 |
Running |
2 |
8 |
Bobby Allison |
50 |
Running |
3 |
4 |
Darrell Waltrip |
50 |
Running |
4 |
6 |
Buddy Baker |
50 |
Running |
5 |
3 |
Cale Yarborough |
50 |
Running |
6 |
1 |
Benny Parsons |
50 |
Running |
7 |
7 |
Dale Earnhardt |
50 |
Running |
8 |
2 |
Donnie Allison |
4 |
Running |
| Time of Race: 39 minutes, 28 seconds |
| Lead Changes: 11 |
| Average Speed: 151.963 MPH |
| Margin of Victory: Five feet |
| Qualifiers for Finals: First four finishers |
CART Qualifying Race |
| September 15, 1979 |
| Michigan International Speedway |
| Brooklyn, Michigan |
| Two-mile high-banked oval, 50 laps, 100 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
1 |
3 |
Gordon Johncock |
50 |
Running |
2 |
5 |
Bobby Unser |
50 |
Running |
3 |
7 |
Rick Mears |
50 |
Running |
4 |
1 |
Johnny Rutherford |
50 |
Running |
5 |
6 |
Wally Dallenbach |
50 |
Running |
6 |
8 |
Mike Mosley |
50 |
Running |
7 |
2 |
Tom Sneva |
50 |
Running |
8 |
4 |
Danny Ongais |
49 |
Running |
| Time of Race: 39 minutes, 15 seconds |
| Lead Changes: 16 |
| Average Speed: 152.866 MPH |
| Margin of Victory: Two feet |
| Qualifiers for finals: First four finishers |
Road Racing Qualifying Race |
| October 27, 1979 |
| Riverside International Raceway |
| Riverside, California |
| 2.54-mile road course, 30 laps, 76.2 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
1 |
1 |
Mario Andretti |
30 |
Running |
2 |
7 |
Peter Gregg |
30 |
Running |
3 |
3 |
Don Whittington |
30 |
Running |
4 |
4 |
Clay Regazzoni |
30 |
Running |
5 |
6 |
Alan Jones |
30 |
Running |
6 |
5 |
John Watson |
23 |
Accident |
7 |
8 |
Keke Rosberg |
23 |
Flat tire |
8 |
2 |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
10 |
Brakes |
| Time of Race: 48 minutes, 59.5 seconds |
| Lead Changes: 3 |
| Average Speed: 93.577 MPH |
| Margin of Victory: 3.15 seconds |
Yellow Flags: Lap 18, debris; Lap 22, Jones spin; Lap 24, Watson accident |
| Qualifiers for Finals: First four finishers |
Road Racing Final |
| October 28, 1979 |
| Riverside International Raceway |
| Riverside, California |
| 2.54-mile road course, 30 laps, 76.2 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
1 |
7 |
Darrell Waltrip |
30 |
Running |
2 |
5 |
Bobby Allison |
30 |
Running |
3 |
3 |
Mario Andretti |
30 |
Running |
4 |
9 |
Rick Mears |
30 |
Running |
5 |
2 |
Gordon Johncock |
30 |
Running |
6 |
12 |
Johnny Rutherford |
30 |
Running |
7 |
1 |
Neil Bonnett |
30 |
Running |
8 |
11 |
Buddy Baker |
30 |
Running |
9 |
4 |
Bobby Unser |
30 |
Running |
10 |
10 |
Clay Regazzoni |
30 |
Running |
11 |
6 |
Peter Gregg |
25 |
Running |
12 |
8 |
Don Whittington |
26 |
Oil pump |
| Time of Race: 45 minutes, 24.465 seconds |
| Lead Changes: 4 |
| Margin of Victory: 1.48 seconds |
Oval Final |
| March 15, 1980 |
| Atlanta International Raceway |
| Hampton, Georgia |
| 1.522-mile, high-banked oval, 66 laps, 100 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
1 |
2 |
Bobby Allison |
66 |
Running |
2 |
4 |
Rick Mears |
66 |
Running |
3 |
6 |
Johnny Rutherford |
66 |
Running |
4 |
5 |
Gordon Johncock |
66 |
Running |
5 |
12 |
Don Whittington |
41 |
Accident |
6 |
1 |
Darrell Waltrip |
2 |
Accident |
7 |
7 |
Neil Bonnett |
2 |
Accident |
8 |
3 |
Mario Andretti |
2 |
Accident |
9 |
8 |
Buddy Baker |
2 |
Accident |
10 |
9 |
Bobby Unser |
2 |
Accident |
11 |
11 |
Peter Gregg |
2 |
Accident |
12 |
10 |
Clay Regazzoni |
2 |
Accident |
| Time of Race: Unavailable |
| Lead Changes: 23 |
| Margin of Victory: One car length |
| Yellow Flags: 2 |
| Red Flags: 2 |