1979 United States Grand Prix West

Previous race

Villeneuve won in South Africa with Scheckter second — a Ferrari one-two at Kyalami. Jarier was third in the Tyrrell.

Championship standings

Villeneuve leads the championship after his South Africa victory.

Between-race developments

Renault withdrew both entries from the Long Beach race on safety grounds. On Saturday morning Jean-Pierre Jabouille’s driveshaft broke on the curving back straight, flinging him into the wall at 180 mph. A badly sprained arm will keep him out of the race. The team produced a stronger version of the driveshaft overnight, but it broke on René Arnoux’s car in the Sunday morning warmup. Rather than risk a repeat, Renault withdrew their remaining entry. The withdrawal promotes Derek Daly’s Ensign onto the starting grid.

Reutemann’s engine cut out on the warmup lap before the grid formation. He was helped back to the pits and sent to start from the back, though he ignored the officials’ instruction.

100,000 fans are gathered on Shoreline Drive for the Long Beach street race.