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419:, to deliver the command in his place. As this was the first time a woman competed in a 500 mile Indy car race, there were questions over whether the traditional "gentlemen start your engines" command would be given, or changed to include Guthrie. George delivered the traditional command as instructed by his grandfather. Pocono track owner,
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Janet
Guthrie pulled into the pits under caution on lap three with a loose windshield. Guthrie was plagued by mechanical problems with the engine repeatedly overheating and the clutch failed. Guthrie retired after completing 89 laps when the crew discovered the transmission case was broken. Guthrie
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The five cars that did not draw spots in the top 30 were forced to qualify for the final three spots on
Thursday. An option was given that the starting field would be expanded and all 35 cars would be allowed to start if every team signed a petition in support, but some teams declined. Of the five
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Starting positions 1 through 16 were reserved for drivers who were former series champions, had won 500 mile races, or were in the top-10 in points in 1976 or 1975, plus the Sunday qualifiers of Simon and
Loquasto. All other drivers drew for positions 17 through 30.
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Janet
Guthrie benefitted the most from the draw. Being the slowest car in practice meant qualifying on speed would have been difficult in time trials. Guthrie was picked for the 22nd starting spot, making her the first woman to start a 500 mile Indy car race.
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On lap 58, Unser experienced a long pit stop when the pneumatic jacks on his car failed and the crew needed to use a mechanical jack. On lap 76, Unser cut a tire on the frontstretch and had to limp around track. Unser fell nearly two laps behind the leaders.
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cars left to qualify, Bob Harkey ran the fastest speed at 173.963 mph. Jan
Opperman was second fastest at 172.678 mph while Larry Dickson earned the last spot at 171.054. Bill Puterbaugh and Bobby Olivero failed to qualify for the race.
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Because of continued forecasted rain for the following days, and all 35 cars still needing to qualify, it was decided to set the starting lineup by random draw. A formula was devised to give the better cars and teams a fair advantage.
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Foyt ran a mere 10 laps in practice and posted the fastest speed of the day at 185.950 mph. Al Unser was second fastest at 185.567 mph. Johnny
Rutherford was third fastest at 182.852 mph.
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was picked third. Because he was fastest of the two cars that posted speeds, Dick Simon was given the $ 1,500 prize reserved for the fastest qualifier. Simon's name was picked for the fourth position.
469:, when he broke a link on the sway bar and caused a poor handling car. With two laps remaining, Andretti entered the pits with a burned piston and finished fifth with only 198 laps completed.
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Seeking his first win at Pocono, Mario
Andretti from third on the grid, got a fast start and beat Johnny Parsons and Bill Vukovich into turn one to take the lead.
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On Sunday, time trials were scheduled from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dick Simon and Al
Loquasto were the only two cars to post qualifying speeds before rains fell.
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ran eight total laps in the morning and posted the fastest speed at 181.305 mph. He then put the car in the garage and left the track at lunchtime.
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For 1976, the schedule of events for the Pocono 500 was shortened. Now, two days of practice began on Friday and Sunday was the sole qualification day.
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When the race restarted on lap seven after
Rasmussen's crash, A.J. Foyt took the lead, going for his second consecutive at Pocono. On lap 17,
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blew an engine on lap 114, Unser was able to catch up to the cars on the lead lap. On lap 122, Unser passed
Andretti to retake the lead.
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Unser beat Mike Mosley by 3.4 seconds to claim his first Pocono 500 win. Unser led 109 laps and took home $ 84,360 in purse money.
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Janet Guthrie was the slowest car in practice with a speed of 168.823 mph. Next slowest was Bob Harkey at 169.555 mph.
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Janet Guthrie suffered from mechanical issues and posted a fastest lap of 165.623 mph in her 20-lap refresher test.
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423:, later recalled, "all the women wanted to kill him. And I found out later, that's what Tony Hulman told him to say."
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Saturday's practice began at 9 a.m. and extended until noon. After a lunch break, practice ran from 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
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spun in turn one to bring out a caution. Unser passed Andretti on lap 104 to get back on the lead lap. When
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finished 24th and earned $ 4,210. As she walked back to the garage, spectators gave her a standing ovation.
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brought out the caution flag on lap one when he hit the turn two wall. Rasmussen was able to continue.
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Al Unser climbed from his 16th starting spot and took the lead from Foyt in turn one on lap 19.
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After leading 12 laps, AJ Foyt blew an engine in turn two on lap 31 and retired from the race.
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Temperatures up to 84 °F (29 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
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After the last pit stop with 22 laps to go, Andretti was in third position, and close behind
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suffered a pit fire caused by a fuel leak. His crew spent 40 laps repairing the car.
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engine, which would soon dominate Indy car racing over the next several years.
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While Al Unser had problems, Mario Andretti led 45 laps. On lap 88,
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tied for second fastest with a pair of laps at 181.268 mph.
810:. (North Carolina). Associated Press. July 3, 1976. p. 14D.
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778:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 28, 1976. p. 17.
760:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 28, 1976. p. 17.
742:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 28, 1976. p. 17.
724:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 28, 1976. p. 17.
692:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 25, 1976. p. 35.
656:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 22, 1976. p. 23.
638:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 22, 1976. p. 23.
620:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 22, 1976. p. 23.
602:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 20, 1976. p. 66.
584:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 20, 1976. p. 66.
548:. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. June 19, 1976. p. 8.
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name was drawn for the pole position. Second place went to
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became the first woman to start a 500 mile Indy car race.
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674:. (Georgia). Associated Press. June 27, 1976. p. 72.
566:. (Georgia). Associated Press. June 27, 1976. p. 72.
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Unser's win was the first victory for the eight-cylinder
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For the first time, the Pocono 500 was broadcast by
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48:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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686:"Harkey Protests Lottery For Pocono 500 Berths"
352:was the only car to spin during the session.
837:Motorsport competitions in the United States
322:. It was Rutherford's second 500 victory.
108:Learn how and when to remove this message
804:"Pocono Race, Diving Air on Spectacular"
295:for sponsorship reasons, it was won by
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520:"1976 Pocono 500 weather information"
46:adding citations to reliable sources
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13:
650:"Pocono Lottery Decides 500 Field"
632:"Pocono Lottery Decides 500 Field"
614:"Pocono Lottery Decides 500 Field"
14:
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790:"Race Results - Racing-Reference"
704:"Race Results - Racing-Reference"
366:Time Trials and Draw For The Pole
141:1976 USAC Championship Car season
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33:needs additional citations for
772:"Unser triumphs in Pocono 500"
754:"Unser triumphs in Pocono 500"
736:"Unser triumphs in Pocono 500"
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333:In Friday's opening practice,
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718:"Janet Guthrie Finished 24th"
596:"Foyt Choice for Pocono Pole"
578:"Foyt Choice for Pocono Pole"
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827:1976 in American motorsport
409:Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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246:Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing
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832:Motorsport in Pennsylvania
503:reporting from the pits.
299:. The race is notable as
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188:Permanent racing facility
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259: (Jerry O'Connell)
179:Long Pond, Pennsylvania
489:CBS Sports Spectacular
776:Philadelphia Inquirer
758:Philadelphia Inquirer
740:Philadelphia Inquirer
722:Philadelphia Inquirer
690:Philadelphia Inquirer
654:Philadelphia Inquirer
636:Philadelphia Inquirer
618:Philadelphia Inquirer
318:one month before the
316:1976 Indianapolis 500
672:Atlanta Constitution
564:Atlanta Constitution
268:Wally Dallenbach Sr.
226: (Tassi Vattis)
42:improve this article
668:"Goddess of Racing"
560:"Goddess of Racing"
382:Johnny Parsons Jr's
200:500 mi / 804.672 km
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160:June 27, 1976
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343:Johnny Rutherford
312:Johnny Rutherford
293:1976 Schaefer 500
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190:2.5 mi / 4.023 km
169:1976 Schaefer 500
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139:5th round of the
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57:"1976 Pocono 500"
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522:. Wunderground
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390:Mario Andretti
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289:Pocono Raceway
280:Motor car race
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272:Patrick Racing
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542:"Auto Racing"
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165:Official name
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59: –
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53:Find sources:
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31:This article
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524:. Retrieved
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483:Broadcasting
477:Cosworth DFV
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439:Salt Walther
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350:Larry Cannon
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133:Race details
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40:Please help
35:verification
32:
15:
501:Ned Jarrett
497:David Hobbs
460:John Martin
456:Al Loquasto
417:Tony George
413:Tony Hulman
257:Mike Mosley
821:Categories
507:References
493:Ken Squier
335:A. J. Foyt
320:Pocono 500
307:Background
98:April 2023
68:newspapers
526:April 25,
283:The
326:Practice
314:won the
297:Al Unser
242:Al Unser
198:200 laps
195:Distance
175:Location
411:owner,
270: (
244: (
205:Weather
82:scholar
499:, and
253:Second
232:Podium
220:Driver
185:Course
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264:Third
238:First
89:JSTOR
75:books
528:2023
404:Race
341:and
157:Date
61:news
44:by
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