1978 Indianapolis 500

The 1978 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 28, 1978. For the first time, Mary Fendrich Hulman, widow of Tony Hulman, delivered the command for drivers to start engines.

Danny Ongais dominated the early stages of the race but was eventually passed by Al Unser before going out with a blown engine. Unser had a large lead but bent his Lola's front wing in the pitlane on lap 180. Tom Sneva charged to catch the crippled Lola but came up 8 seconds short at the finish. Unser led 121 laps and held on for his third win on a very hot day. Janet Guthrie finished ninth on this day, the highest finish for a woman in Indy 500 history—a feat that was eventually topped 27 years later by Danica Patrick.

Race results
Failed to qualify: Larry Cannon (#85), Bob Harkey (#4), Mike Hiss (#7, #66), Jim Hurtubise, Gary Irvin (#9), Bubby Jones (#18), Lee Kunzman (#90), Al Loquasto (#8), John Martin (#2), Graham McRae (#33, #34), Bobby Olivero (#78), Roger Rager (#9, #97), Eldon Rasmussen (#58), Bill Vukovich, Jr. (#18, #93),