1979 Champion Spark Plug 400

Last updated
1979 Champion Spark Plug 400
Race details [1] [2] [3]
Race 21 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover.png
1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover
Date August 19, 1979 (1979-August-19)
Official name Champion Spark Plug 400
Location Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
Course Permanent racing facility
2.000 mi (3.218 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 78.1 °F (25.6 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)
Average speed 130.367 miles per hour (209.805 km/h)
Attendance 60,000 [4]
Pole position
Driver
 Osterlund Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Buddy Baker Ranier Racing
Laps 115
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network
Booth Announcers Jack Arute & Barney Hall
Turn AnnouncersTurns 1 & 2: Mike Joy
Turns 3 & 4: Eli Gold
Pit Reporter: Ned Jarrett

The 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place on August 19, 1979, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.

Contents

Background

Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. [5] Opened in 1968, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees. [5] The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long. [5]

Race report

There were 36 American-born male drivers on the grid. [4] [3]

David Pearson driving in place of an injured Dale Earnhardt earned the pole position with a speed of 162.992 miles per hour (262.310 km/h) . [4] [2] Richard Petty defeated Buddy Baker [3] by one second in essentially a fuel mileage race that determined whoever could preserve the most fuel. [4] [2] There were 21 lead changes and five caution flags for 35 laps; making the race three hours and four minutes long while the average speed was 130.376 miles per hour (209.820 km/h). [4] [2]

Blackie Wangerin would receive the last-place finish due to a crash with H.B. Bailey on lap 2 which resulted in Wangerin's car flipping outside of the track in Turn 3 which resulted in a lengthy red flag to rebuild the turns 3 and 4 guardrail. John Anderson got his only top five finish in his Cup debut. [4] [2] [3]

Al Rudd, Jr. would race his only NASCAR event here. The entire purse was $142,905 ($576,206.59 when adjusted for inflation). [6] Notable crew chiefs for this race were Buddy Parrott, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Darrell Bryant, Dale Inman, Harry Hyde, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, and Jake Elder. [7]

Jan Opperman, in a car owned by Will Cronkite was the only driver to not qualify.

Qualifying

GridNo.DriverManufacturerOwner
12David PearsonChevroletRod Osterlund
215Bobby AllisonFordBud Moore
321Neil BonnettMercuryWood Brothers
444Terry LabonteChevroletBilly Hagan
543Richard PettyChevroletPetty Enterprises
627Benny ParsonsChevroletM.C. Anderson
772Joe MillikanChevroletL.G. DeWitt
811Cale YarboroughChevroletJunior Johnson
947Harry GantChevroletJack Beebe
1088Darrell WaltripChevroletDiGard

Failed to qualify: Jan Opperman (#96) [8]

Finishing order

FinStCar #DriverSponsor (Owner)Car MakeLapsMoneyStatusLedPoints
1543Richard PettySTP (Petty Enterprises)Chevrolet20021100running9180
21128Buddy BakerW.I.N. (Harry Ranier)Chevrolet20012425running115180
3627Benny ParsonsMelling Tool (M.C. Anderson)Chevrolet20012820running0165
412David Pearson(Rod Osterlund)Chevrolet19910215running0160
52008John AndersonDraime Race Engines (Russ Draime)Chevrolet1994355running0155
6772Joe MillikanAppliance Wheels (L.G. DeWitt)Chevrolet1997195running8155
71690Ricky RuddTruxmore (Junie Donlavey)Mercury1995320running0146
82830Tighe ScottRuss Togs (Walter Ballard)Buick1974890running0142
91570J.D. McDuffieBailey Excavating (J.D. McDuffie)Chevrolet1974670running0138
10123Richard ChildressCRC Chemicals (Richard Childress)Oldsmobile1974550running0134
111317Bill ElliottKnutsons RV (George Elliott)Mercury1954120running0130
123148James HyltonPalatine Automotive Parts (James Hylton)Chevrolet1953850running0127
133442Kyle PettySTP (Petty Enterprises)Dodge1951675running0124
141864Tommy GaleSunny King Ford & Honda (Elmo Langley)Ford1933130running0121
15290John KennedyAvanti CB (John Kennedy)Chevrolet1881490running0
163079Frank WarrenNative Tan (Frank Warren)Dodge1882725running0115
17811Cale YarboroughBusch (Junior Johnson)Chevrolet1856270engine3117
183524Cecil GordonGordon Racing (Cecil Gordon)Oldsmobile1832300running0109
191088Darrell WaltripGatorade (DiGard Racing)Chevrolet1734775running0106
202267Buddy ArringtonHills Racing (Buddy Arrington)Dodge1501965engine0103
212645Baxter PriceIron Peddlers (Baxter Price)Oldsmobile1461920running0100
221952Jimmy MeansMr. Transmission (Jimmy Means)Chevrolet1451875running097
23215Bobby AllisonHodgdon/Moore (Bud Moore)Ford1414935engine3899
243225Ronnie ThomasStone's Cafeteria (Don Robertson)Chevrolet1312785overheating091
25947Harry GantRace Hill Farm (Jack Beebe)Chevrolet129875clutch593
26444Terry LabonteStratagraph (Billy Hagan)Chevrolet1081475engine590
27336Marty RobbinsRobbins Racing (Marty Robbins)Dodge96825engine082
281740D.K. UlrichMidwestern Farm Lines (D.K. Ulrich)Buick851300running079
291405Dick BrooksBearfinder (Nelson Malloch)Chevrolet81785exhaust076
302171Dave MarcisTransmissions Unlimited (Dave Marcis)Chevrolet67765engine073
312419Lennie PondBelden Asphalt (Henley Gray)Chevrolet571250overheating070
322322Al Rudd, Jr.Bill Lewis (Al Rudd)Chevrolet39740clutch0
33321Neil BonnettPurolator (Wood Brothers)Mercury281405ignition1769
343601Earle CanavanScope Mount (Earle Canavan)Dodge23720engine0
352536H.B. BaileyCaldwell Knapp Cadillac (H.B. Bailey)Pontiac2710crash058
362739Blackie Wangerin(Blackie Wangerin)Mercury2700crash055
Failed to qualify
NameCar #SponsorOwnerCar
Jan Opperman96Will CronkriteFord

Source: [9]

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [4] Differential
1 1rightarrow.png Darrell Waltrip 33520
2 1rightarrow.png Richard Petty 3197-155
3 1rightarrow.png Cale Yarborough 3063-289
4 1rightarrow.png Bobby Allison 3023-329
5 1rightarrow.png Benny Parsons 2827-525
6 Increase2.svg Joe Millikan 2719-633
7 Decrease2.svg Dale Earnhardt 2588-764
8 1rightarrow.png Richard Childress 2524-828
9 1rightarrow.png J.D. McDuffie 2510-842
10 1rightarrow.png Buddy Arrington 2415-937

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References

  1. ↑ Weather for the 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Race Database
  3. 1 2 3 4 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine racing information at Driver Averages
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Racing Reference
  5. 1 2 3 "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  6. ↑ 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing purse at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  7. ↑ 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  8. ↑ Qualifying information Archived 2017-08-21 at the Wayback Machine at Racing Reference
  9. ↑ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1979		Succeeded by
Preceded by Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984		Succeeded by
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