Sneva likewise became the first driver in Indy history to start last and finish second (a feat tied by Scott Goodyear in 1992).

During the offseason, USAC published their 1980 schedule, which featured such races as the Indianapolis 500, Texas World Speedway, Talladega, and Charlotte.

Several of the USAC-planned events were scrapped, including Talladega, Charlotte, Mosport, and Road Atlanta, and the two schedules were instead merged.

Originally the plan was to grant automatic invitations to the teams that competed in all three 500-mile "Triple Crown" races in 1979 (Indianapolis, Pocono, and Ontario).

However, that plan was scuttled when only one car (Danny Ongais) fulfilled those conditions, and furthermore when Ontario switched alliances to the CART series.

In January 1980, the criteria for receiving an invitation to the Indianapolis 500 was announced,[9] and essentially included any certified team in USAC or CART that was judged to have a realistic intent of making a qualifying attempt.

In general, the new invitational rules would exclude few, if any, teams in Indy car racing, whether they were part of the USAC Trail or the CART series.

[10] The 1980 CART PPG Indy Car World Series began in April, and Indianapolis was the second race of the season.

Outspoken critics included A. J. Foyt who referred to it as "taxicab racing,"[4] and Johnny Rutherford who said it made it difficult to pass other cars.

The favorites for the pole included Mario Andretti, Johnny Rutherford, and rookie Tim Richmond.

Richmond had set the fastest lap of the month (193.507 mph (311.419 km/h)) in practice, but a crash on pole day morning sidelined him for the weekend.

Gordon Johncock, who broke his ankle in a practice crash on Thursday, got in a back-up car to qualify for 18th starting position.

With a starting spot at Indy secured for the middle of the front row, Mario Andretti flew to Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix.

There were roughly 38 cars in the garage area prepared to qualify, and the day was expected to be busy and hectic.

The final practice session before race day saw Mario Andretti set the best lap at 189.954 mph (305.701 km/h).

[11] The finals for the 4th annual Miller High Life Pit Stop Contest were held on Thursday May 22.

While sitting on the starting grid, polesitter Johnny Rutherford claims that a lady bug landed on his uniform — and considered it a fortuitous good luck omen.

Ferguson hit the inside wall in the southchute hard, sustaining a broken toe.

[16] With Unser out, Johnny Rutherford dominated most of the second half, but Tom Sneva and Rick Mears both managed to lead laps, and were far from out-of-contention.

In the final 20 laps, Johnny Rutherford held a comfortable lead over Tom Sneva, and was pulling away at will.

In the final stages, Rick Mears ducked into the pits for an unscheduled stop to change a punctured tire, which dropped him from contention.

With Rutherford cruising to a certain victory, and second-place Sneva also unchallenged, the attention began to focus on the battle for third place.

As Rutherford was pulling into the pits off his victory lap, rookie Tim Richmond ran out of fuel and stopped at the head of the mainstretch.

Richmond, the future NASCAR star and "hot shot" personality on the circuit, led one lap during the race, was credited with 9th place, and won the rookie of the year.

With much applause from the crowd, Richmond rode in on the sidepod of the winner's machine and the two exchanged congratulatory waves and handshakes.

At the end of the race, Carter was running approximately 20 seconds behind Rutherford; the penalty reduced his standing from 2nd to 6th.

Carter's team protested the ruling, claiming he was waved past the pace car, but USAC upheld the penalty.

Rodger Ward, who previously served as a commentator for ABC Sports, joined the crew as "Driver Expert."

Chief Announcer: Paul Page Driver expert: Rodger Ward Statistician: John DeCamp Historian: Donald Davidson Turn 1: Ron Carrell Turn 2: Howdy Bell Backstretch: Bob Jenkins Turn 3: Doug Zink Turn 4: Darl Wible Jerry Baker (north pits)Chuck Marlowe (north-center pits)Luke Walton (south-center pits)Lou Palmer (south pits) Bob Forbes (garages/hospital) The race was carried in the United States on ABC Sports on a same-day tape delay basis.

Chris Schenkel rode along and reported live from inside one of the pace cars at the start of the race.