1988 Miller High Life 400 (June)

Last updated
1988 Miller High Life 400
Race details [1]
Race 14 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1988 Miller High Life 400 program cover.png
1988 Miller High Life 400 program cover
Date June 26, 1988 (1988-June-26)
Official name Miller High Life 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 Hot with temperatures of 90 °F (32 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 153.551 miles per hour (247.116 km/h)
Attendance 68,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Laps 106
Winner
No. 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, and Chris Economaki

The 1988 Miller High Life 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on June 26, 1988, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. An unrelated race with the same sponsor was implemented on September 11, 1988, at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.

Contents

Background

Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. [3] 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. [3] The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long. [3]

Race report

Rusty Wallace defeated Bill Elliott by a time of 0.28 seconds in front of an audience of 68,000. [2] Wallace's first victory out of the five that he would accumulate at Michigan International Speedway would be credited to his methods of fuel conservation. Wallace ran out of fuel in turn 2 of lap 129. He had a large enough lead to coast back to the pits and not lose a lap. [4] Four cautions were given for 15 laps while 13 lead changes were made. [2] The race took two hours and thirty-six minutes to complete. [2] Elliott qualified for the pole position with a speed of 172.687 miles per hour (277.913 km/h) while the average race speed was 153.551 miles per hour (247.116 km/h). [2]

Rick Wilson was the last-place finisher due to an engine issue on lap 3 of 200 with two more engine failures happening on laps 44 and 167. [2] Dale Jarrett was the only driver to retire from an accident; he would crash his vehicle in turn 4 of lap 156. [2] Mike Alexander's first race subbing for Bobby Allison ends with a top-10 finish. [2] Richard Petty had a pretty fast car, running in the top-10 and top-5 for the majority of the race before the engine dropped a cylinder late causing him to limp to a disappointing 24th place finish. [2]

Elmer Simko would make his last appearance as a NASCAR team owner at this event. [2] He would go on to purchase the Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Michigan shortly after retiring from NASCAR. This would be the best career finish in four starts for Dana Patten with a 22nd-place finish. [2] There was a 41-driver grid of American-born males. [2] Only 25 of these drivers finished the race. [2] [5]

David Simko would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event; finishing 40th in the process. [2] David Sosebee would also retire after this race; completing the race in 31st place. [2]

Notable crew chiefs in attendance for this race were Junie Donlavey, Darrell Bryant, Joey Arrington, Andy Petree, Jimmy Means, Dale Inman, Travis Carter, Elmo Langley among others. [6]

Jimmy Horton, Jay Sommers, J.D. McDuffie, and Connie Saylor would fail to qualify for this race. [2] Individual earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $64,100 ($140,266.09 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $3,050 ($6,674.13 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse for this event was advertised at $440,975 ($964,958.52 when adjusted for inflation). [7]

Finishing order

POS [8] ST#DRIVERSPONSOR / OWNERCARLAPSMONEYSTATUSLEDPTS
1527  Rusty WallaceKodiak   (Raymond Beadle)Pontiac20064100running106185
219  Bill ElliottCoors   (Harry Melling)Ford20042875running24175
31811  Terry LabonteBudweiser   (Junior Johnson)Chevrolet20028075running29170
493  Dale EarnhardtGM Goodwrench   (Richard Childress)Chevrolet20026175running12165
525  Geoffrey BodineLevi Garrett   (Rick Hendrick)Chevrolet20020325running0155
61125  Ken SchraderFolger's Coffee   (Rick Hendrick)Chevrolet20016000running3155
73555  Phil ParsonsCrown Petroleum   (Leo Jackson / Richard Jackson)Oldsmobile20014150running0146
8417  Darrell WaltripTide   (Rick Hendrick)Chevrolet19915450running1147
92829  Cale YarboroughHardee's   (Cale Yarborough)Oldsmobile1999700running1143
101212  Mike AlexanderMiller High Life   (Stavola Brothers)Buick19915950running0134
113126  Ricky RuddQuaker State   (Kenny Bernstein)Buick19910425running0130
12108  Bobby Hillin, Jr.Miller High Life   (Stavola Brothers)Buick1999950running0127
132188  Buddy BakerRed Baron Frozen Pizza   (Buddy Baker / Danny Schiff)Oldsmobile1989500running1129
14136  Mark MartinStroh's Light   (Jack Roush)Ford1987050running0121
15292  Ernie IrvanKroger   (D.K. Ulrich)Chevrolet1986250running0118
162631  Joe RuttmanSlender You Figure Salons   (Bob Clark)Oldsmobile1986250running0115
173210  Ken BouchardWhitcomb Racing   (Bob Whitcomb)Ford1974675running0112
183971  Dave MarcisLifebuoy   (Dave Marcis)Chevrolet1977500running0109
192075  Neil BonnettValvoline   (Rahmoc Enterprises)Pontiac19710985running0106
204198  Brad NoffsingerSunoco   (Mike Curb)Buick1964420running0103
2167  Alan KulwickiZerex   (Alan Kulwicki)Ford1956725running0100
223796  Dana PattenU.S. Chrome   (Dana Patten)Buick1943510running097
233067  Buddy ArringtonPannill Sweatshirts   (Buddy Arrington)Ford1885375running094
242443  Richard PettySTP   (Petty Enterprises)Pontiac1866265running091
25331  Dale JarrettPort-A-Lube   (Hoss Ellington)Buick1833255running088
26723  Eddie BierschwaleWayne Paging   (Don Bierschwale)Oldsmobile1743070cylinder085
271615  Brett BodineCrisco   (Bud Moore)Ford16511610engine082
283430  Michael WaltripCountry Time Lemonade   (Chuck Rider)Pontiac1585900engine079
292283  Lake SpeedWynn's / Kmart   (Lake Speed)Oldsmobile1283715crank076
301497  Rodney CombsGM Tech Team   (Tom Winkle)Buick1262805engine073
312792  David SosebeeLucky ComptonFord1242750ignition0
322568  Derrike CopePurolator Filters   (Jim Testa)Ford1215410clutch067
331721  Kyle PettyCitgo   (Wood Brothers)Ford1059650engine064
342333  Morgan ShepherdSkoal Bandit   (Hal Needham)Chevrolet835275engine061
35328  Davey AllisonHavoline   (Harry Ranier)Ford7012440engine2363
364052  Jimmy MeansEureka Vacuum Cleaners   (Jimmy Means)Pontiac515185engine055
371544  Sterling MarlinPiedmont Airlines   (Billy Hagan)Oldsmobile415150engine052
38890  Benny ParsonsBull's Eye Barbecue Sauce   (Junie Donlavey)Ford225110oil pump049
393636  H.B. BaileyNational Motors   (H.B. Bailey)Pontiac212470oil leak046
403851  David SimkoTom Company   (Elmer Simko)Pontiac92450engine0
41194  Rick WilsonKodak Film   (Larry McClure)Oldsmobile23050engine040
Failed to qualify
POSNAMENBRSPONSOROWNERCAR
Connie Saylor
Jay Sommers
J.D. McDuffie70Rumple FurnitureJ.D. McDuffiePontiac
Jimmy Horton80

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

Rusty Wallace
Terry Labonte
Terry Labonte
Rusty Wallace
│
1
│
11
│
21
│
31
│
41
│
51
│
61
│
71
│
81
│
91
│
101
│
111
│
121
│
131
│
141
│
151
│
161
│
171
│
181
│
191

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [2] Differential
1 1rightarrow.png Rusty Wallace 21450
2 1rightarrow.png Dale Earnhardt 2015-130
3 1rightarrow.png Bill Elliott 1995-150
4 1rightarrow.png Terry Labonte 1939-206
5 Increase2.svg Ken Schrader 1829-316
6 Increase2.svg Geoffrey Bodine 1814-331
7 Decrease2.svg Sterling Marlin 1808-337
8 Increase2.svg Phil Parsons 1762-383
9 Increase2.svg Darrell Waltrip 1734-411
10 1rightarrow.png Bobby Hillin, Jr. 1723-422

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References

  1. ↑ "1988 Miller High Life 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. 2012-09-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "1988 Miller High Life 400 racing information". Racing Reference. 2011-07-19.
  3. 1 2 3 "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  4. ↑ "Fuel mileage pays off for Wallace on superspeedway". NASCAR.com. 2012-12-25.
  5. ↑ "1988 Miller High Life 400 racing information (second reference)". Driver Averages. 2012-11-18. Archived from the original on 2012-04-29. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  6. ↑ "1988 Miller High Life 400 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. 2018-08-23.
  7. ↑ "NASCAR race results for the 1988 Miller High Life 400". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. 2012-11-18.
  8. ↑ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
Preceded by
1988 Miller Life 500 		NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1988		Succeeded by
1988 Pepsi Firecracker 400
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