Das 63. Indianapolis 500 (offiziell 63rd 500 Mile International Sweepstakes) auf dem Indianapolis Motor Speedway fand am 27. Mai 1979 statt.
Das Rennen ging über eine Distanz von 200 Runden à 4,023 km, was einer Gesamtdistanz von 804,672 km entspricht. Aus der Pole Position startete Rick Mears (Team Penske) mit einer Vierrunden-Durchschnittszeit von 3:05.820 Min. oder 193,736 mph (311,788 km/h). Die schnellste Runde im Rennen drehte ebenfalls Mike Mosley in 46,58 Sekunden (193,216 mph). Das Rennen war der dritte Lauf zur USAC-Saison 1979.
| Reihe | Innen | Mitte | Außen | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Rick Mears | 1 | Tom Sneva | 2 | Al Unser |
| 2 | 12 | Bobby Unser | 3 | Gordon Johncock | 14 | A. J. Foyt |
| 3 | 6 | Wally Dallenbach sr. | 4 | Johnny Rutherford | 15 | Johnny Parsons |
| 4 | 24 | Sheldon Kinser | 89 | Lee Kunzman | 36 | Mike Mosley |
| 5 | 46 | Howdy Holmes | 45 | Janet Guthrie | 11 | Tom Bagley |
| 6 | 77 | Salt Walther | 10 | Pancho Carter | 29 | Cliff Hucul |
| 7 | 23 | Jim McElreath | 17 | Dick Simon | 73 | Jerry Sneva |
| 8 | 34 | Vern Schuppan | 31 | Larry Rice | 80 | Larry Dickson |
| 9 | 72 | Roger McCluskey | 69 | Joe Saldana | 25 | Danny Ongais |
| 10 | 7 | Steve Krisiloff | 97 | Phil Threshie | 44 | Tom Bigelow |
| 11 | 19 | Spike Gehlhausen | 92 | John Mahler | 50 | Eldon Rasmussen |
| 12 | 22 | Bill Vukovich II | 59 | George Snider | ||
Wetter: bewölkt, 20°
| Pos. | Nr. | Name | Chassis | Motor | Zeit/Rückstand | Qualifikation ø 4 Rd. mph |
Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Penske PC6 | Cosworth | 3:08:47.97 Std. 158,899 mph |
193,736 | 1 | |
| 2 | 14 | Parnelli VPJ6C | Cosworth | +45,69 Sek. | 189,613 | 6 | |
| 3 | 36 | Eagle 79 | Cosworth | 200 Rd. | 186,278 | 12 | |
| 4 | 25 | Parnelli VPJ6B | Cosworth | 199 Rd. | 188,009 | 27 | |
| 5 | 12 | Penske PC7 | Cosworth | 199 Rd. | 189,913 | 4 | |
| 6 | 3 | Penske PC6 | Cosworth | 197 Rd. | 189,753 | 5 | |
| 7 | 46 | Wildcat MK 2 | Cosworth | 195 Rd. | 185,864 | 13 | |
| 8 | 22 | Watson | Offenhauser | 194 Rd. | 187,042 | 34 | |
| 9 | 11 | Penske PC6 | Cosworth | 193 Rd. | 185,414 | 15 | |
| 10 | 19 | Wildcat MK 3 | Cosworth | 192 Rd. | 185,061 | 31 | |
| 11 | 7 | Lightning | Offenhauser | 192 Rd. | 186,287 | 28 | |
| 12 | 77 | Penske PC6 | Cosworth | 191 Rd. | 184,162 | 16 | |
| 13 | 72 | McLaren M24B | Cosworth | 191 Rd. | 183,908 | 25 | |
| 14 | 44 | Lola T500B | Cosworth | 190 Rd. | 185,147 | 30 | |
| 15 | 1 | McLaren M24 | Cosworth | 188 (Unfall) | 192,999 | 2 | |
| 16 | 69 | Eagle 79 | Offenhauser | 186 Rd. | 188,778 | 26 | |
| 17 | 97 | King | Chevrolet | 172 Rd. | 185,855 | 29 | |
| 18 | 4 | McLaren M24B | Cosworth | 168 Rd. | 188,137 | 8 | |
| 19 | 31 | Lightning | Offenhauser | 142 (Unfall) | 184,218 | 23 | |
| 20 | 10 | Lightning | Offenhauser | 129 (Radlager) | 185,806 | 17 | |
| 21 | 34 | Wildcat K 2 | DGS | 111 (Getriebe) | 184,341 | 22 | |
| 22 | 2 | Chaparral 2K | Cosworth | 104 (Getriebe) | 192,503 | 3 | |
| 23 | 50 | Antares | Offenhauser | 89 (Auspuff) | 183,927 | 33 | |
| 24 | 80 | Penske PC5 | Cosworth | 86 (Kraftstoffpumpe) | 184,181 | 24 | |
| 25 | 92 | Eagle | Offenhauser | 66 (Kraftstoffpumpe) | 184,322 | 32 | |
| 26 | 17 | Vollstedt | Offenhauser | 57 (Kupplung) | 185,071 | 20 | |
| 27 | 6 | Penske PC6 | Cosworth | 43 (loses Rad) | 188,285 | 7 | |
| 28 | 24 | Watson | Offenhauser | 40 (Motor) | 186,674 | 10 | |
| 29 | 29 | McLaren M16C | Offenhauser | 22 (Defekt) | 186,200 | 18 | |
| 30 | 89 | Parnelli VPJ6C | Cosworth | 18 (Wasserpumpe) | 186,403 | 11 | |
| 31 | 73 | Spirit | AMC | 16 (Motor) | 184,379 | 21 | |
| 32 | 15 | Lightning | Offenhauser | 16 (Motor) | 187,813 | 9 | |
| 33 | 59 | Lightning | Offenhauser | 7 (Kraftstoffpumpe) | 185,319 | 35 | |
| 34 | 45 | Lola T500B | Cosworth | 3 (Motor) | 185,720 | 14 | |
| 35 | 23 | Penske PC6 | Cosworth | 0 (Ventilschaden) | 185,880 | 19 |
(W)=früherer Gewinner / (R)=Rookie / alle Starter auf Goodyear-Reifen / Gelbphasen: 6 für 32 Rd.
| Fahrer | Team | Anzahl |
|---|---|---|
| Team Penske | 89 | |
| Chaparral Racing | 85 | |
| Team Penske | 25 | |
| Gilmore Racing Team | 1 |