1978 Indianapolis 500 - Results
Track Indianapolis
City Indianapolis, Indiana
Type Oval
Length 2.500 mi
Trackrecord 0:37.6160

| P | Driver | Nat | L | Time | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Unser Lola-Cosworth | 200 | 3:05:54.990 | ||
| 2 | Tom Sneva | 200 | 3:06:03.080 +8.090 | +8.090 | |
| 3 | Gordon Johncock | 199 | 0:00:00.000 +1 lap | +1 lap | |
| 4 | Steve Krisiloff | 198 | 0:00:00.000 +2 laps | +1 lap | |
| 5 | Wally Dallenbach | 195 | 0:00:00.000 +5 laps | +3 laps | |
| 6 | Bobby Unser | 195 | 0:00:00.000 +5 laps | +0.000 | |
| 7 | A. J. Foyt | 191 | 0:00:00.000 +9 laps | +4 laps | |
| 8 | George Snider | 191 | 0:00:00.000 +9 laps | +0.000 | |
| 9 | Janet Guthrie | 190 | 0:00:00.000 +10 laps | +1 lap | |
| 10 | Johnny Parsons Jr. | 186 | 0:00:00.000 +14 laps | +4 laps | |
| 11 | Larry Rice | 186 | Engine +14 laps | +0.000 | |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | 185 | 0:00:00.000 +15 laps | +1 lap | |
| 13 | Johnny Rutherford | 180 | 0:00:00.000 +20 laps | +5 laps | |
| 14 | Jerry Karl | 176 | 0:00:00.000 +24 laps | +4 laps | |
| 15 | Joe Saldana | 173 | 0:00:00.000 +27 laps | +3 laps | |
| 16 | Gary Bettenhausen | 147 | Engine +53 laps | +26 laps | |
| 17 | Mike Mosley | 146 | Engine +54 laps | +1 lap | |
| 18 | Danny Ongais | 145 | Engine +55 laps | +1 lap | |
| 19 | Dick Simon | 138 | Wheel Bearing +62 laps | +7 laps | |
| 20 | Jim McElreath | 132 | Engine +68 laps | +6 laps | |
| 21 | Tom Bigelow | 107 | Suspension +93 laps | +25 laps | |
| 22 | Larry Dickson | 104 | Oil Pressure +96 laps | +3 laps | |
| 23 | Rick Mears | 103 | Engine +97 laps | +1 lap | |
| 24 | Pancho Carter | 92 | Engine +108 laps | +11 laps | |
| 25 | Roger McCluskey | 82 | Clutch +118 laps | +10 laps | |
| 26 | John Mahler | 58 | Gearbox +142 laps | +24 laps | |
| 27 | Tom Bagley | 25 | Oil Leak +175 laps | +33 laps | |
| 28 | Salt Walther | 24 | Clutch +176 laps | +1 lap | |
| 29 | Spike Gehlhausen | 23 | Crash +177 laps | +1 lap | |
| 30 | Phil Threshie | 22 | Oil Pressure +178 laps | +1 lap | |
| 31 | Jerry Sneva | 18 | Transmission
+182 laps | +4 laps | |
| 32 | Sheldon Kinser | 15 | Oil Pressure +185 laps | +3 laps | |
| 33 | Cliff Hucul | 4 | Oil Leak +196 laps | +11 laps |