1980 Indianapolis 500 1980 Indianapolis 500 The 64th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 1980. Johnny Rutherford won the pole position, led 118 laps, and won the race by a commanding 29.92 second margin. After failing to finish the race the year before (with Al Unser behind the wheel), Jim Hall's radical new Chaparral 2K ground effects chassis was a heavy favorite entering the month, and drove a flawless race. Rutherford, the winner in 1974 and 1976, became the sixth driver to win the Indy 500 three times. Tom Sneva broke
Indianapolis 500 firsts Indianapolis 500 firsts †- During time trials, Bill Vukovich II turned his first lap at , to set the one-lap track record, and was the first driver to officially break the barrier. He, however, crashed on his second lap, and did not complete the four-lap qualifying run. Later in the afternoon, Joe Leonard qualified a four-lap average of to break the four-lap barrier. Later in the day, however, Bobby Unser qualified even faster, over , and became the first pole position winner to break and for his four-lap average. "Indianapolis 500 Chronicle", John Pope, copyright 1999<br> "2005 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race