Sunday 28th May 1978

Al Unser easily led the Indianapolis 500 but bent his Lola’s front wing in the pitlane on lap 180. Tom Sneva charged to catch the crippled Lola but was 8 seconds short at the finish. Unser led 121 laps and held on for a third win on a very hot day. Janet Guthrie finished ninth, the highest finish for a woman in Indy 500 history–a feat that was eventually topped 27 years later.