1976 Bobby Ball 150 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)

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1976bobbyball1501.jpg

Program for the race.

Status: Lost

The 1976 Bobby Ball 150 was the final race of the 1976 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 7th November at the Phoenix International Raceway, the race would ultimately be won by Al Unser in a Parnelli-Cosworth, after overtaking Wildcat-DGS' Gordon Johncock on lap 89. Johncock's second place however was enough for him to secure his sole USAC Championship.

Background

The 1976 Bobby Ball 150 was the 27th running of the event, with the annual race lasting 150 miles.[1] It was one of two 1976 USAC Championship Car Season races to commence at Phoenix International Raceway, the other being the Jimmy Bryan 150,[2] which occurred on 14th March and was won by Bobby Unser in an Eagle-Offenhauser.[3] The race, named in memory of AAA driver Bobby Ball,[4] would have ties with Phoenix events like the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix, before Phoenix races were dropped from the IndyCar schedule after 2018 following low attendance.[5]

Heading into the event, McLaren-Offenhauser's Johnny Rutherford led the USAC Championship with 4,220 points.[6] In second was Gordon Johncock, who was the only other driver that remained in contention.[6] Standing with 4,000 points, Johncock required a turnaround of more than 220 points to secure the title.[6] If he were to win the event and thus score 300 points, he needed Rutherford to finish eighth or lower.[1] If he finished second and scored 240 points, he needed Rutherford to finish 12th or lower.[1] Rutherford would become champion regardless of his performance at the race if Johncock finished third or lower.[1]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Bobby Unser winning the pole position with a speed of 141.287 mph.[1] Directly behind him was Johncock, with McLaren-Offenhauser's Mario Andretti lining up third.[1] Rutherford qualified sixth, while Al Unser started 10th out of 22 competitors.[1]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1976 Bobby Ball 150 commenced on 7th November.[1] Unser maintained his lead from the start, holding it for 15 laps before being passed by Johncock on lap 16.[1] Johncock led for the next 33 laps, with Unser retiring after 32 laps due to an engine failure.[1] During a caution period from laps 47-61, Johncock briefly lost the lead to Andretti following a pitstop, but regained it a lap later.[1] When the race resumed on lap 62, Johncock would defend the first position until Al Unser moved past on lap 89, in what proved to be the final lead change.[1]

Despite losing the first position, Johncock's chances of securing the title increased significantly when Rutherford retired after 111 laps because of a broken oil line.[7][1] Thus, providing he remained in the top two, Johncock would be champion.[1] Ultimately, Unser claimed victory and $10,206 in prize money.[7][1] Johncock was able to hold off Andretti to finish second, thus claiming the title with a 20-point difference to Rutherford.[8][7][1] Andretti took third, being the only other driver on the lead lap.[1]

Availability

According to IndyCar on TV, the race was originally going to be televised live by ABC.[9] However, ABC instead opted to broadcast 45 minutes on 4th December 1976 as part of its Wide World of Sports, alongside the World Professional Skiing Championships.[9] The broadcast has yet to fully resurface, although over 11 minutes of it can be found on YouTube.

Gallery

Video

Part of the ABC broadcast.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  2. ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1976 USAC Championship Car Season schedule. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  3. ↑ Racing-Reference detailing results of the 1976 Jimmy Bryan 150. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  4. ↑ Midwest Racing Archives detailing the origins of the Bobby Ball race. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  5. ↑ IndyStar reporting on Phoenix races being dropped from the IndyCar schedule after 2018. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Racing-Reference detailing the points standings heading into the race. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The New York Times reporting on Unser winning the race and Johncock winning the Championship. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  8. ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the final standings of the 1976 USAC Championship Car Season. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 IndyCar on TV detailing the ABC broadcast of the race. Retrieved 17th Jun '22
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