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The 64th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 25, 1980. Johnny Rutherford won the pole position, led 118 laps, and won the race by a commanding 29.92 second margin. After failing to finish the race the year before (with Al Unser behind the wheel), Jim Hall's radical new Chaparral 2K ground effects chassis drove a flawless race, and was a heavy favorite entering the month. Rutherford, the winner in 1974 and 1976, became the sixth driver to win the Indy 500 three times. Tom Sneva broke an Indy 500 record by becoming the first driver to start last (33rd) and lead the race. Sneva led two times for 16 laps, and finished the race in second position. Sneva likewise became the first driver in Indy history to start last and finish second (a feat tied by Scott Goodyear in 1992). It was Sneva's third runner-up finish in four years, matching Bill Holland's achievement exactly 30 years earlier in 1947, 1948 and 1950. Sneva's efforts were often branded afterwards with a "bridesmaid" reference, until he would finally go on to win the race in 1983. The starting lineup featured 10 rookies, a sharp contrast from 1979, which had only one.〔 For the first time in Indy history, the three drivers that started in the eleventh and final row finished in the top eight — 2nd, 3rd, and 8th, respectively.〔"Legends of the Brickyard" - 1980 Indy 500〕 ==Background== After the tumultuous and controversial month of May at Indy in 1979, the landscape of Indy car racing was starting to settle into a more civilized fashion. During the offseason, USAC published their 1980 schedule, which featured such races as the Indianapolis 500, Ontario, Talladega, and Charlotte.〔(January 17, 1980 USAC News letter )〕 Meanwhile, CART released their own schedule. Before the season began, the leaders of USAC and CART jointly formed the new Championship Racing League (CRL) to co-sanction the season of events. Several of the USAC-planned events were scrapped, including Talladega, Charlotte, Mosport, and Road Atlanta, and the two schedules were instead merged. The 1980 CART PPG Indy Car World Series began in April, and Indianapolis was the second race of the season. CART awarded points for Indianapolis towards their championship. After Indianapolis, Speedway officials were unhappy with the CRL arrangement. In the middle of July, after a total of five races had been run, USAC pulled out of the CRL. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1980 Indianapolis 500」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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