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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 9, 2017 8:00:12 GMT -5
Here is how the field will line up for the first race of the season at the Michigan International Speedway.
1.4-Darrell Waltrip
2.8-Cale Yarborough
3.1-Richard Petty
4.2-Al Unser
5.12-Benny Parsons
6.7-Mario Andretti
7.5-Gunnar Nilsson
8.9-Al Holbert
9.11-Tom Sneva
10.3-Johnny Rutherford
11.10-Jacky Ickx
12.6-Gordon Johncock
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 9, 2017 13:59:53 GMT -5
Race 1
The IROC Series made their 1st stop of 1978 at the Michigan International Speedway, in Brooklyn, Michigan.
NASCAR star Darrell Waltrip led the field to the Green Flag in and he would quickly begin to show of his skills, keeping all eleven drivers behind him for the first sixteen laps before fellow NASCAR star Cale Yarborough would take command. Like previous Michigan races, the racing action was intense but the race finish would be decided by fuel mileage as drivers pitted mere laps before the end of the race.
One driver that took a gamble was Al Unser, who was struggling to stay inside the Top 10, decided to take fuel only and would take the lead with only five laps to go. Having scored his first ever IROC win just one year prior at the same track when Buddy Baker suffered a flat tire with five to go, Unser would once again lead the final five laps and would hold off a hard charging Cale Yarborough to win at Michigan for the second year in a row.
Other Noticeables:
Al Unser scored his 1st win of the year,
Unser led 2 times for 6 laps, including the final 5 laps,
It was the 2nd win of his career in the IROC Series and his first since 1977 also at Michigan; 5 races ago,
Darrell Waltrip(4th), Gunnar Nilsson(5th), Tom Sneva(11th) and Jacky Ickx(12th) made their IROC Series debuts,
Al Unser, who finished 1st, is the points leader, leading Cale Yarborough by 1 point
1.2-Al Unser (6 laps led)
2.8-Cale Yarborough (26 laps led)
3.1-Richard Petty (2 laps led)
4.4-Darrell Waltrip (16 laps led)
5.5-Gunnar Nilsson
6.6-Gordon Johncock
7.9-Al Holbert
8.3-Johnny Rutherford
9.7-Mario Andretti
10.12-Benny Parsons
11.11-Tom Sneva-1 lap
12.10-Jacky Ickx-1 lap
Darrell Waltrip-1-16
Cale Yarborough-17-42
Al Unser-43
Richard Petty-44-45
Al Unser-46-50
4 Lead Changes among 4 drivers
Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps
Margin of Victory: 0.152 Seconds
Time of Race: 44 Minutes and 27 Seconds
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 18, 2017 8:00:41 GMT -5
To keep things fair with actual IROC rules, the starting lineup for the second race will be the race results of the first event but inverted.
Here is how the field will line up for the second race of the season at the Riverside International Raceway.
1.1-Jacky Ickx
2.9-Tom Sneva
3.8-Benny Parsons
4.11-Mario Andretti
5.10-Johnny Rutherford
6.2-Al Holbert
7.4-Gordon Johncock
8.5-Gunnar Nilsson
9.6-Darrell Waltrip
10.12-Richard Petty
11.3-Cale Yarborough
12.7-Al Unser
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 18, 2017 16:00:05 GMT -5
Race 2
The IROC Series made their 2nd stop of 1978 at the Riverside International Raceway, in Riverside, California.
FIA star Jacky Ickx led the field to the green flag and would lead the first eight laps as for the first time in years Bobby Unser wasn't entered in this event leading to a packed crowd at Riverside for an IROC Series race. Fellow FIA star Mario Andretti would quickly drive up from his 4th starting spot and took the lead on Lap 9 and appeared on his way to his first career IROC Series win, but with ten laps to go it was another FIA star who would show his talents.
Gunnar Nilsson, who was making only his second career start, drove past Mario Andretti and had to hold off a fierce challenge from Richard Petty and Al Unser in the remaining laps to score a very surprising win.
Other Noticeables:
Gunnar Nilsson scored his 1st win of the year,
Nilsson led 1 time for 10 laps, including the final 10 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the IROC Series in his 2nd start,
Al Unser, who finished 3rd, kept his points lead, leading Gunnar Nilsson by 3 points
1.5-Gunnar Nilsson (10 laps led)
2.12-Richard Petty
3.7-Al Unser
4.10-Johnny Rutherford
5.8-Benny Parsons
6.1-Jacky Ickx (8 laps led)
7.6-Darrell Waltrip
8.11-Mario Andretti (12 laps led)
9.4-Gordon Johncock
10.3-Cale Yarborough
11.2-Al Holbert-11 laps (Accident)
12.9-Tom Sneva-24 laps (Accident)
Jacky Ickx-1-8
Mario Andretti-9-20
Gunnar Nilsson-21-30
2 Lead Changes among 3 drivers
Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps
Margin of Victory: 0.319 Seconds
Time of Race: 55 Minutes and 13 Seconds
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 24, 2017 7:50:55 GMT -5
To keep things fair with actual IROC rules, the starting lineup for the third race will be the point standings but inverted.
Here is how the field will line up for the third race of the season at the Riverside International Raceway.
1.14-Tom Sneva
2.2-Al Holbert
3.1-Jacky Ickx
4.4-Gordon Johncock
5.8-Benny Parsons
6.11-Mario Andretti
7.10-Johnny Rutherford
8.6-Darrell Waltrip
9.15-Cale Yarborough
10.12-Richard Petty
11.5-Gunnar Nilsson
12.7-Al Unser
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 24, 2017 17:30:18 GMT -5
Race 3
The IROC Series made their 3rd stop of 1978 at the Riverside International Raceway, in Riverside, California.
CART star Tom Sneva led the field to the green flag and would lead the first four laps as a packed crowd filled the stands for the second day in a row at Riverside. Sneva's stay up front would be short lived before FIA star Mario Andretti would take the lead but his stay would be brief before NASCAR star Darrell Waltrip took over and began to pace the field but there was one driver that stayed in his draft; FIA star Gunnar Nilsson.
With less then five to go, Gunnar Nilsson passed Waltrip only to be passed back, but with one lap to go, Nilsson dived it into Turn 3 and made it stick, and blocking Waltrip for the final turns to hang on for his second win in two days.
Other Noticeables:
Gunnar Nilsson scored his 2nd win of the year and second in a row,
Nilsson led 2 times for 2 laps, including the final lap,
It was the 2nd win of his career in the IROC Series and his first also since Riverside; 1 race ago,
Gunnar Nilsson, who finished 1st, is the new points leader, leading Al Unser by 6 points
Heading into the final race of the season, mathematically six drivers still have a shot of winning the championship:
1.Gunnar Nilsson: 55 points (+1 spot)
2.Al Unser-6 points (-1 spot)
3.Darrell Waltrip-10 points (+2 spots)
4.Richard Petty-14 points (-1 spot)
5.Cale Yarborough-19 points (-1 spot)
6.Mario Andretti-21 points (+1 spot)
1.5-Gunnar Nilsson (2 laps led)
2.6-Darrell Waltrip (21 laps led)
3.11-Mario Andretti (3 laps led)
4.7-Al Unser
5.12-Richard Petty
6.15-Cale Yarborough
7.10-Johnny Rutherford
8.14-Tom Sneva (4 laps led)
9.8-Benny Parsons
10.1-Jacky Ickx
11.4-Gordon Johncock
12.2-Al Holbert
Tom Sneva-1-4
Mario Andretti-5-7
Darrell Waltrip-8-26
Gunnar Nilsson-27
Darrell Waltrip-28-29
Gunnar Nilsson-30
5 Lead Changes among 4 drivers
Caution Flags: 1 for 2 laps
Lap 2 (Car #1 Spin Turn 6)
Margin of Victory: 0.456 Seconds
Time of Race: 58 Minutes and 3 Seconds
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on Jun 6, 2017 6:00:07 GMT -5
To keep things fair with actual IROC rules, the starting lineup for the fourth race will be the point standings but inverted.
Here is how the field will line up for the fourth and final race of the season at the Daytona International Speedway.
1.7-Jacky Ickx
2.2-Gordon Johncock
3.1-Benny Parsons
4.10-Johnny Rutherford
5.6-Mario Andretti
6.4-Cale Yarborough
7.5-Richard Petty
8.12-Darrell Waltrip
9.8-Al Unser
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on Jun 6, 2017 15:00:37 GMT -5
Race 4
The IROC Series made their 4th and final stop of 1978 at the Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
FIA star Jacky Ickx led the field to the green flag as points leader Gunnar Nilsson was unable to compete as he was in a London hospital battling testicular cancer. With all nine drivers wearing armbands in support of Nilsson, they were determined to put on a show that would put a smile on Nilsson's face. Much like every other Daytona event, a "big one" would strike early and damage several cars to the point it came down to a three car race between Richard Petty, Al Unser and defending race winner Johnny Rutherford.
One year prior, Rutherford scored the closest margin of victory in the history of the IROC Series, with that in mind Rutherford allowed himself to be passed with one to go as he used the push from Richard Petty in Turns 3 and 4, battling side-by-side down to the line in a perfect photo finish, one that couldn't be decided by the naked eye. Photos of the finish and scoring sided with the defending race winner Rutherford, winning by the new shortest margin of victory; 0.006 seconds. However it would be Al Unser who would win the war, scoring enough points to become the 1978 IROC Series Champion.
Other Noticeables:
Johnny Rutherford scored his 1st win of the year,
Rutherford led 10 times for 20 laps, including the final lap,
It was the 2nd win of his career in the IROC Series and his first since 1977 also at Daytona; 5 races ago,
Al Unser, who finished 2nd, is the 1978 IROC Series Champion, winning the title by 14 points over Gunnar Nilsson and Richard Petty
1.10-Johnny Rutherford (20 laps led)
2.8-Al Unser (16 laps led)
3.5-Richard Petty (1 lap led)
4.7-Jacky Ickx (1 lap led)
5.2-Gordon Johncock (1 lap led)
6.4-Cale Yarborough-1 lap
7.6-Mario Andretti-1 lap
8.12-Darrell Waltrip-2 laps (1 lap led)
9.1-Benny Parsons-2 laps
Jacky Ickx-1
Johnny Rutherford-2
Richard Petty-3
Darrell Waltrip-4
Gordon Johncock-5
Johnny Rutherford-6-13
Al Unser-14-15
Johnny Rutherford-16
Al Unser-17-19
Johnny Rutherford-20-21
Al Unser-22-25
Johnny Rutherford-26-27
Al Unser-28
Johnny Rutherford-29
Al Unser-30-31
Johnny Rutherford-32
Al Unser-33-34
Johnny Rutherford-35
Al Unser-36
Johnny Rutherford-37-38
Al Unser-39
Johnny Rutherford-40
21 Lead Changes among 6 drivers
Caution Flags: 1 for 4 laps
Lap 6 (Cars #2, 4, 6, 7, 12, 1 and 5 Accident Backstretch)
Margin of Victory: 0.006 Seconds
Time of Race: 46 Minutes and 6 Seconds
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