At Michigan International Speedway on July 15, 1979, the CART Indy Car Series staged its annual pair of Norton Twin 125‑mile races before a strong summer crowd on the two‑mile oval. In the first of the twin events, Gordon Johncock drove a measured and competitive race in his Patrick Racing entry to take the checkered flag after 63 laps, holding off Mike Mosley, who finished second, and Johnny Rutherford in third, with other leaders including Rick Mears and Wally Dallenbach trading the lead through the early stages of the contest. In the second race that afternoon, Bobby Unser’s Penske team rebounded to win after installing a fresh engine, as Unser charged to the front and led the remainder of the distance; Tom Sneva and Al Unser finished behind him while Johncock, Mears and others completed the order amid mechanical attrition and spirited competition. The twin races at Michigan were rounds seven and eight of the CART season, a championship in which the organization’s top owners and drivers competed on ovals and road courses across the country, while the Indianapolis 500 itself remained sanctioned by USAC and separate from the CART points schedule despite many CART teams and drivers participating.
