1980 California 500

The 1980 California 500, the eleventh running of the event, was held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, on Sunday, August 31, 1980. The event was race number 9 of 12 in the 1980 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. The race was won by Bobby Unser, his fourth California 500 victory. The race was the final California 500 before Ontario Motor Speedway closed at the end of the year.

Background
Two months after the 1979 California 500, Ontario Motor Speedway, it was reported the track went into foreclosure. It was clarified that a notice of default was filed by Bank of America, the first step towards selling the track on behalf of the bond-holders that owned the track. Ontario had made no interest payments on the bonds since February 1974, raising the accrued interest to $9.4 million.

By the summer of 1980, a new optimism appeared for the future of Ontario. On August 7, it was reported that the track would be sold to the Ontario Foothills Development Co, headed by Ted Dutton, for $42.15 million. It would recoup all the costs for the bondholders while also maintaining the track as a racing facility. The group planned to expand the facility as an entertainment facility with roller coasters and concerts while developing the surrounding area. "We want to quash the rumors that racing will not continue at Ontario," Dutton said. "We have no intention of closing the race track."

Ontario Motor Speedway General Manager Ray Smartis spoke highly of how the track had turned around since he took over in 1975. "When we started, Ontario Motor Speedway couldn't have brought $3 million on any market and now we're looking at $42 million." The sale was expected to be completed on September 8.

Johnny Rutherford won the 1980 Indianapolis 500 in May. In June, Bobby Unser won the Pocono 500. Rutherford entered the California 500 needing to finish fifth or better to clinch the 1980 IndyCar Championship.

Practice and Time Trials
Practice began on Wednesday August 27. Defending California 500 champion, Bobby Unser was fastest at 194.363 mph. Johnny Rutherford was second fastest at 190.811 mph. Rick Mears was third fastest at 190.480 mph. John Mahler spun but avoided damage.

Pole Day - Thursday August 28
Unlike in 1979 when time trials were Formula One-style group qualifying, the field was set by a single car, two-lap average speed. Bobby Unser continued his fast pace by winning the pole with an average speed of 195.200 mph. Rick Mears was second fastest at 191.396 mph. Completing the front row was Johnny Rutherford at 189.685 mph. Pancho Carter spun in oil and hit the wall in morning practice and did not set a qualifying speed.

Time Trials Day 2 - Friday August 29
Pancho Carter was the fastest of second day qualifiers with a speed of 184.290 mph. His crew repaired his primary car that was wrecked on Thursday. 32 cars posted times over the two days. To fill the final position, CART officials added Roger Rager to the field, highest in points among cars not qualified. Track officials exercised their "promoter's option" and added Dick Ferguson, John Mahler, Jeff Heywood, and Chip Mead to the field to make a 37 car starting grid.

Howdy Holmes suffered a violent crash in morning practice when his car veered into the turn three wall. The car flipped wildly into the air and skidded upside down into the grass. Holmes suffered a few cracked ribs and a headache but returned to the track later that afternoon after being treated at a local hospital.

Race
Estimates of the crowd ranged from 37,000 to 75,000.

At the start, Johnny Rutherford took the lead from Bobby Unser and led the first 12 laps. Unser took the lead for the first time on lap 13. On lap 24, John Mahler impacted the wall with the left side of his car in turn one.

Early in the race, Rick Mears took over the second position from Rutherford and was catching Unser until he cut a tire and made an unscheduled pit stop.

During the midpoint, Unser was forced to drive through the grass to avoid a stalled car. "I was coming up to lap some cars," Unser said, "and they were lapping some guys so it was four abreast and would have had no problem except for the fact there was a stalled car right in front of me. I didn't have time or space to move up so I had to drive off in the grass at 190 miles an hour. I stayed in the throttle, steered back on the track and went into the third turn just like normal for some reason. I'll tell you what, it surprised the hell out of me that I didn't buy the farm."

On lap 160, Bill Alsup spun in turn three to bring out a caution. Trying to avoid Alsup, Bill Tempero drove over Mike Mosley and got airborne. A restart on lap 167 allowed Rutherford to catch up to Unser. Unser maintained a lead a lead of 2 seconds until the final green flag pit stops with 15 laps to go. Coming in for fuel, Rutherford overshot the fuel hoses and took 21 seconds to refuel. Unser pitted a lap later and only took 12 seconds to refuel.

Bobby Unser beat Johnny Rutherford to win by 8.53 seconds. It was Unser's fourth win in the California 500. He led 182 of 200 laps.

Rutherford attributed Unser's victory to a new, larger turbocharger he was using. Regardless, Rutherford's second-place finish was enough to clinch the 1980 championship with three races remaining.

Aftermath
In mid-August, it was reported that a deal had been reached to sell the track for $42.15 million and keep the track open, with the deal expected to be completed on September 8. When the time came to close the deal, the potential sale fell through. The intended buyers, the Ontario Foothill Development Corp., brought in the Chevron Land and Development Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil.

When the 1981 CART schedule was released, the California 500 was scheduled for September 6, 1981.

The last on-track activity at OMS was private tests for Indycar teams. In early December 1980, Al Unser tested his 1981 Indycar, the Longhorn LR-01. On Tuesday, December 16, 1980, Gordon Johncock tested his 1981 chassis at Ontario. He ultimately was the last person to drive a race car at the track. That same day, it was announced that Chevron had reached a deal to purchase the track for $35 million and the track would be demolished shortly thereafter.

The late-summer CART date in Southern California was transferred to Riverside International Raceway. To replace the lost 500-mile event, the CART race at Michigan was extended to 500 miles.