IROC VII was the seventh year of IROC competition, which took place in 1979 and 1980. The format carried over from IROC VI in that three qualifying races were held for participants from NASCAR, CART, and Road Racing (which primarily consisted of Formula One, SCCA, and IMSA). The top four finishers in these qualifying races then earned the chance to race in the two final races at Riverside International Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. It used the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, and this was the final year for the series before it went on hiatus until 1984. Bobby Allison won the oval finale en route to the championship and $75,000 .
The final points standings were as follows:[1]
| Rank | Driver | Points | Winnings | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bobby Allison | 41 | $75,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup |
| 2 | Darrell Waltrip | 32 | $35,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup |
| 3 | Rick Mears | 31 | $22,000 | CART |
| 4 | Gordon Johncock | 26 | $21,000 | CART |
| 5 | Mario Andretti | 25 | $20,000 | Formula One USAC Champ Car CART |
| 6 | Johnny Rutherford | 24 | $19,000 | CART |
| 7 | Neil Bonnett | 20 | $18,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup |
| 8 | Don Whittington | 15 | $17,000 | IMSA Camel GT |
| 9 | Bobby Unser | 14 | $15,500 | CART |
| 10 | Buddy Baker | 14 | $15,500 | NASCAR Winston Cup |
| 11 | Peter Gregg | 11 | $15,000 | IMSA Camel GT |
| 12 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Clay Regazzoni | 9 | $15,500 | Formula One |
Race results
Qualifying Races
NASCAR Qualifying Race, Michigan International Speedway
CART Qualifying Race, Michigan International Speedway
Road Racing Qualifying Race, Riverside International Raceway
Final Races
Road Racing Final, Riverside International Raceway
Oval Final, Atlanta Motor Speedway
Darrell Waltrip started on the pole position, with Bobby Allison on the outside of the front row. As the field came across the start/finish line to complete lap 2, fourth place Mario Andretti triggered a huge pileup. Andretti clipped the back of Waltrip's car, who then collected Neil Bonnett into the outside wall. Andretti crashed to the inside wall, and a chain reaction wiped out almost the entire field. Leader Allison was ahead of the crash, and Rick Mears somehow escaped cleanly. Eight cars were involved, with seven too damaged to continue. After a 40 minute red flag, the race resumed with five cars left. On lap 41, Don Whittington got loose coming out of turn four and crashed on the mainstretch. It necessitated another red flag for cleanup.
Only three cars were left to race to the finish. Allison took the lead with two laps to go. Mears and Rutherford battled side-by-side for second, as Allison went on to win the race and clinch the title. Johncock was the only other car running, but 8 laps down due to damage sustained in the big crash.[2]
At the end of the race nine of the twelve cars suffered significant damage. With eight of them badly wrecked, and no contract to continue the series, IROC would go on hiatus until 1984.[3]
- Bobby Allison, 66 laps
- Rick Mears, 66 laps
- Johnny Rutherford, 66 laps
- Gordon Johncock, 58 laps
- Don Whittington, 41 laps (crash)
- Darrell Waltrip, 2 laps (crash)
- Neil Bonnett, 2 laps (crash)
- Mario Andretti, 2 laps (crash)
- Buddy Baker, 2 laps (crash)
- Bobby Unser, 2 laps (crash)
- Peter Gregg, 2 laps (crash)
- Clay Regazzoni, 2 laps (crash)
References
- ↑ IROC season statistics at racing-reference.info, Retrieved March 8, 2007
- ↑ "Allison Wins IROC Final Over Mears, Rutherford". The Indianapolis Star. March 16, 1980. p. 29. Retrieved March 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Harris, Mike (December 9, 1983). "The International Race of Champions returns in '84 after three-year hiatus". St. Lucie News Tribune. p. 24. Retrieved March 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.