The morning practice was not particularly exciting and Jody Scheckter in a Wolf Ford clocked the fastest time with a 1:22.79 time around the 2.02-mile circuit using a new set of tires.  Mario Andretti's Lotus Ford was up to 2nd with a 1:22.97 lap, both under the 1:23.09 lap set by pole sitter Clay Regazzoni the year before.  Regazzoni was 3rd fastest at 1:23.07 in his Ferrari.  The outright lap record was held by the late Tony Brise at 1:19.90 set in the 1975 inaugural race, run with US F5000 cars, but the course had been modified slightly since then.

When it all counted in Friday afternoon qualifying, Mario Andretti was atop the sheets with a 1:22.06 lap followed by Jacques Laffite 1:22.29, John Watson 1:22.38, Carlos Reutemann 1:22.47, James Hunt 1:22.60 and Nike Lauda 1:22.66.  It was run with temperatures in the sun hovering right around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, unusually high for southern California in April.

Saturday practice was from 10:30 to 12:00 noon with final qualifying scheduled from 1:30 to 2:30 PM.  In the morning the weather was reasonable, in the 90's in the sun, a little less hot than Friday.  It clouded over for the final qualifying session and it looked like rain.  The temperature dropped to 82 degrees but the rain held off.

A great excitement came for the under funded Wolf team when Scheckter was the first to break into the 21s bracket by really hurling the car around.  He held fastest time for nearly half the session, then Lauda put in a very quick lap to secure pole with a time of 1:21.63.  Andretti nipped Scheckter for 2nd with a 1:21.86 and was pleased to be on the front row with Lauda.  Scheckter lines up 3rd with a 1:21.88 followed by Reutemann 1:22.26, Laffite 1:22.29 and Watson 1:22.37.

Sunday was a glorious day with a temperature in the sun of 104 degrees F.  The crowds came pouring in and were estimated at 65,000 to 70,000.  The start of the 80-lap race was at 1:00 PM and after a prayer and the national anthem, the cars lined up on Ocean Boulevard for their customary standing start.

Niki Lauda got a bad start from pole position but it was Jody Scheckter who made a sensational getaway from the 2nd row and led into the first corner by some 20 yards.  Behind him all hell broke lose.  Carlos Reutemann forgot about braking his Ferrari for the first corner and came in like gangbusters.  He punted defending World Champion James Hunt up into the air and out of the race.  If Andretti had not seen him and slowed, he would have been tee-boned.  Reutemann went straight on, hit Hunt who used Watson's wheel as a launching pad, and flew some 6 feet into the air.

Through the first set of corners Scheckter led from Lauda and Andretti.  At the end of the long Shoreline straight Andretti outbraked Lauda for 2nd place, a move that would later pay huge dividends.  The order at the end of the first lap was Scheckter, Andretti, Lauda, a gap and then Laffite, Watson , Emerson Fittipaldi, Alan Jones, Patrick Depailler, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Gunnar Nilsson, Clay Regazzoni, Hans Stuck, Hans Binder, Brian Henton, Renzo Zorzi, Brett Lunger and Alex Ribiero (not to be confused with Andre Ribiero).  The front three were pushing very hard with Andretti trying to find a way past Scheckter.

By lap 3 Scheckter had opened a gap of 1.7 seconds over Andretti and Lauda was nipping at Andretti rear wing.  On one occasion Lauda passed Andretti for 2nd, but Andretti passed him right pack a few corners later.  Great stuff.  Such was the pace of the three leaders, that they left everyone else far behind.  Lap after lap the three were at hit hammer and tongs, never more than a second or two apart, except when they were lapping traffic.  The Wolf was putting the power down well coming out of the hairpin leading onto Shoreline drive and would squirt away from the Lotus of Andretti and the Ferrari of Lauda just enough so that neither could quite get close enough to him to out brake him at the end of the long straight.

On lap 33 of 80, Niki Lauda tried to outbrake Andretti for second at the end of Shoreline, but locked up a front wheel in a huge cloud of smoke and put a flay spot on it.  Scheckter seemed to have the advantage in traffic as he always managed to get through quicker than Andretti and Lauda, in part due to his fabulous acceleration out of the hairpin.  It was during these times that Scheckter would pull out a couple of seconds over Andretti and Lauda, but once the road was clear, both Andretti and Lauda would nibble away at Scheckter's lead until they got to within 1-second.  Although both were slightly faster, they never seemed to be able to find their way past the Wolf.  

It was a gripping race and the three drivers took turns setting fast lap times, with all three breaking the lap record at one time or another.  It was finally settled with Lauda leaving it at a 1:21.65 on the 62nd lap.  Each of them knew, and so did the spectators, that if any of the three made the slightest mistake for a fraction of a second he would lose his place.  The pressure was greatest on Jody because both Andretti and Lauda wanted the lead, but it was looking as though Scheckter was going to be able to keep them at bay.

As the race went into the final 20 laps the tension began to rise.  The partisan American crowd were standing and cheering for Andretti.  With about 15-laps to go Scheckter came past the pits pointing to his right front tire, he had picked up a very slow leak.  Andretti closed the gap to under a second and you could throw a blanket over the three cars.  The Wolf crew waited for Scheckter to pit for a new tire at any time.

For the next 18 laps Scheckter put on a heroic battle with both right under his rear wing.  But the leak was not too severe and Scheckter was able to hold off each of their attempts at passing.  As the laps wound down Jody was looking more and more like he was going to hold onto the lead.  The tires and brakes on all three cars were thorough spent and all three drivers were fighting to keep control.  On lap 76 of 80 a breather tube came lose on the Wolf dropping oil on the exhaust pipe and made Mario and the crowd think Scheckter was in trouble.  In fact the oil leak was not serious and caused him no trouble.  But Mario could smell blood now and the fans were on their feet waiting for something to happen.

Andretti dives under Scheckter to take the lead to the roar of the crowd.  Lauda is close behind in 3rd.

On lap 77 it did.  As they accelerated out of the hairpin leading onto Shoreline, Andretti was a little bit closer this time.  Down the straight they went with Jody ahead by a few car lengths.  Half-way down the straight Andretti drew a little closer in Scheckter slipstream.    As the hairpin quickly approached Mario then jerked the black John Player Special right and, this time under braking he went straight from 5th gear down to first and braked as hard as he could.  It worked as he was drew alongside the Wolf and had the line into the hairpin.  There was nothing Scheckter could do to the delirious delight of the wildly enthusiastic crowd.  A roar rocked Long Beach.  It was a deep throated all-American roar.

Andretti drew slightly away and the following lap Lauda was past the Wolf and trying to catch Andretti.  The crowd was on its feet for the remaining three laps cheering Andretti home.  The sound was deafening and the stands were shaking.  On lap 79 the order was Andretti, Lauda, Scheckter.  The flagman waited, the Lotus pits held their breath, the crowd roared even louder.  Up the hill, around the corner of Pine and Ocean.  It was Andretti by just 0.7 seconds over the blood red Ferrari of Lauda..  He headed for the flag.  Mario did it - he really did it.  Lotus team owner Colin Chapman flung his hat high into the air.  What a race!

Mario and his #5 black Lotus

The cheering was deafening and continuous for many minutes after Andretti made his triumphant victory lap, both hands off the steering wheel and waving.  As the Star Spangled Banner played on a very scratchy record, blared out of the speakers, one of the greatest days in American racing history neared a close.  Up on the podium Andretti was obviously delighted.  It was the first, and only time an American had won the US Grand Prix.  "Even at 37 years old Andretti is fabulous" gushed Colin Chapman.  "He kept grinding away, grinding down Jody, it was sensational."

Everyone in the press room was calling it the best F1 battle in ten years.  Mario grinned from ear to ear and was full of quotes afterwards.  "I'll guarantee you, it's the most satisfying win in my whole career.  More so than winning the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500.  Formula One means so much to me and to win my home Grand Prix, it's just great."  Throughout 1977 Andretti was fastest in most races but lost the title due to a myriad of engine problems.  In 1978 he and Chapman won the World Driving Championship, but it was the unforgettable day in April of 1977 that started them both back on their winning ways.  As Chris Pook still says to this day, it was this race that saved the race and made the Long Beach Grand Prix what it is today.

Starting Grid

Mario Andretti Lotus 78/3-Cosworth  1:21.868 Carlos Reutemann Ferrari 312T2-029  1:22.260 John Watson Brabham BT45/38-Alfa Romeo  1:22.372 James Hunt McLaren M23/11-Cosworth  1:22.529 Ronnie Peterson Tyrrell P34/5-Cosworth  1:22.655 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell P34/2-Cosworth  1:22.675 Alan Jones Shadow DN8/3A-Cosworth  1:23.056 Gunnar Nilson Lotus 78/2-Cosworth  1:23.384 Brian Henton March 761B-Cosworth  1:24.036 Renzo Zorzi Shadow DN8/1A-Cosworth  1:24.357 Alex Ribeiro March 761B-Cosworth  1:25.080

Niki Lauda Ferrari 312T2-030  1:21.630 Jody Scheckter Wolf WR1-Cosworth  1:21.887 Jacques Laffite Ligier JS7/01-Matra  1:22.296 Emerson Fittipaldi Copersucar FD04/3-Cosworth  1:22.382 Jean-Pierre Jarier Penske PC4/02-Cosworth  1:22.611 Vittorio Brambilla Surtees TS19/06-Cosworth  1:22.659 Clay Regazzoni Ensign MN06-Cosworth  1:22.762 Jochen Mass McLaren M23/12-Cosworth  1:23.231 Hans Stuck Brabham BT45/1B-Alfa Romeo  1:23.811 Hans Binder Surtees TS19/02-Cosworth  1:24.173 Brett Lunger March 761/2-Cosworth  1:24.979

Results

Pos	Driver	Ctry.	Car-Engine	Interval	Retirement	Laps
1.	Mario Andretti	USA	Lotus 78/3-Cosworth	1:51:35.470		80
2.	Niki Lauda	Aut	Ferrari 312T2-030	0.773 sec.		80
3.	Jody Scheckter	RSF	Wolf WR1-Cosworth	4.857 sec.		80
4.	Patrick Depailler	Fra	Tyrrell P34/2-Cosworth	1:14.487sec.		80
5.	Emerson Fittipaldi	Bra	Copersucar FD04/3-Cosworth	1:20.908		80
6.	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Fra	Penske PC4/02-Cosworth	1 lap		79
7.	James Hunt	GBr	McLaren M23/11-Cosworth	1 lap		79
8.	Gunnar Nilsson	Swe	Lotus 78/2-Cosworth	1 lap		79
9.	Jacques Laffite	Fra	Ligier JS7/01-Matra	2 laps		78
10.	Brian Henton	GBr	March 761B-Cosworth	3 laps		77
11.	Hans Binder	Ger	Surtees TS19/02-Cosworth	3 laps		77
Ret	Ronnie Peterson	Swe	Tyrrell P34/5-Cosworth		Fuel line	63
Ret	Clay Regazzoni	Swi	Ensign MN06-Cosworth		Gearbox	58
Ret	Hans Stuck	Ger	Brabham BT45/1B-Alfa		Brakes	54
Ret	Alan Jones	Aus	Shadow DN8/3A-Cosworth		Gearbox	41
Ret	Jochen Mass	Ger	McLaren M23/12-Cosworth		Transmission	40
DSQ	John Watson	Gbr	Brabham BT45/38-Alfa Romeo		Assist. on circuit	34
Ret	Renzo Zorzi	Ita	Shadow DN8/1A-Cosworth		Gearbox	28
Ret	Alex Ribeiro	Bra	March 761B-Cosworth		Gearbox oil leak	16
Ret	Carlos Reutemann	Arg	Ferrari 312T2-029		Collision damage	6
Ret	Brett Lunger	USA	March 761/2-Cosworth		Collision	5
Ret	Vittorio Brambilla	Ita	Surtees TS19/06-Cosworth		Accident	1
Fastest Lap:  Niki Lauda, 1:21.65 on lap 62 Lap leaders:  Jody Scheckter 1-76, Mario Andretti 77-80  Weather: Sunny, warm

The author can be contacted at markc@autoracing1.com

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