Just as the stage was set for a classic shoot-out to the finish between Rick Mears, who was leading, and defending winner Tom Sneva, who was running second, it all came to an end.

Shortly before a late-race caution was about to end, a fellow competitor, Al Holbert, pointed out to Sneva that sparks were flying from the rear end of his car. A half shaft had broken and Sneva was out at 168 laps.

From there, Mears cruised to his second win with a two-lap advantage over rookie Roberto Guerrero, the latter sharing Rookie of the Year honors with second-generation driver Michael Andretti.

Sneva obliterated the qualifying records by steadily improving from 209.113 mph on his first lap all the way up to 210.029 mph. He broke five track records in four laps.