The Shadow team signed Alan Jones as Pryce's replacement, while Pace's place at Brabham was taken by Hans-Joachim Stuck.

In the second session, Andretti went faster with a 1:22.06, but Ferrari's Niki Lauda took the pole position in final qualifying on Saturday with a 1:21.63.

At the green light, Scheckter shot past both Lauda and Andretti, and led into the first turn.

Hunt was able to make it back to the pits, and though his suspension was bent, he carried on, and ended up missing a point for sixth by just two seconds.

On lap 4, Lauda was pressuring Andretti and tried to pass in the hairpin at the end of the curving back straight.

The resulting flat spots on Lauda's tires caused a serious vibration throughout the race, and probably took away his chance of winning.

The Long Beach circuit was not particularly suited for cars that generate much downforce, and the new Lotus, with its higher aerodynamic drag, could not match the straight line speed of Scheckter's Wolf; Andretti continually closed in through the corners, but could not find a way past.

The crowd cheered Andretti home, deflecting considerable pressure from Lauda right to the flag, as he won by less than a second.

Scheckter held on for third place, and the scoring was completed by Patrick Depailler's Tyrrell, over a minute behind; Emerson Fittipaldi in the Copersucar; and Jarier in the ATS Penske-Ford.