1977 Champion Spark Plug 400

Last updated
1977 Champion Spark Plug 400
Race details [1]
Race 20 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover.png
1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover
Date August 22, 1977 (1977-August-22)
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 up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
Average speed 137.944 miles per hour (221.999 km/h)
Attendance 35,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 120
Winner
No. 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 22, 1977, 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. [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

There were 36 drivers on the racing grid; all of them were born in the United States. While Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip would duel for the lead during the opening laps of this racing event, Waltrip would battle against Benny Parsons for supremacy during the closing laps. Waltrip defeated David Pearson by two car lengths in front of an audience of 35,000. [2] Waltrip's crew chief for this race was Buddy Parrott. [4]

Janet Guthrie was the only female in this race; scoring the first of 5 career top-10 finishes and proving that women could perform well in races instead of just being the wife of a race car driver. [2] Earle Canavan would finish last due to an engine issue on the first lap. Most of the DNFs in this race would be due to engine issues. The lowest finishing driver running at the end was Dave Marcis. Only six drivers would end the race on the lead lap; with Yarborough being the lowest driver on the lead lap. [2] After this race, Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty would be within 50 points of each other; both gunning for a championship. [2]

Sam Sommers was in the running for Rookie of the Year in 1977. He actually got a pole that year and some decent finishes. For reasons unknown after 1977, he only made two more starts in NASCAR in 1978, and completely disappeared.

The purse for this race was $108,825 ($464,762 when adjusted for inflation); Waltrip brought home $16,820 ($71,834 when adjusted for inflation) while Canavan earned $600 ($2,562 when adjusted for inflation). [5] Terry Ryan would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event, finishing in 9th place. [6]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturerOwner
121David PearsonMercuryWood Brothers
211Cale YarboroughChevroletJunior Johnson
388Darrell WaltripChevroletDiGard Racing
472Benny ParsonsChevroletL.G. DeWitt
515Buddy BakerFordBud Moore
643Richard PettyDodgePetty Enterprises
727Sam SommersChevroletM.C. Anderson
82Dave MarcisChevroletRoger Penske
992Skip ManningChevroletBilly Hagan
1022Ricky RuddChevroletAl Rudd
1147Bruce HillChevroletBruce Hill
1281Terry RyanChevroletBill Monaghan
1390Dick BrooksFordJunie Donlavey
1467Buddy ArringtonDodgeBuddy Arrington
1568Janet GuthrieChevroletLynda Ferreri
1675Butch HartmanChevroletButch Hartman
1712Bobby AllisonMatadorBobby Allison
189Bill ElliottMercuryGeorge Elliott
198Ed NegreDodgeEd Negre
2070J.D. McDuffieChevroletJ.D. McDuffie

Finishing order

POS [7] ST#DRIVERSPONSOR / OWNERCARLAPSMONEYSTATUSLEDPTS
1388  Darrell WaltripGatorade   (DiGard Racing)Chevrolet20016820running51180
2121  David PearsonPurolator   (Wood Brothers)Mercury20010300running4175
3472  Benny Parsons1st National City Travelers Checks   (L.G. DeWitt)Chevrolet2009350running22170
4727  Sam SommersM.C. AndersonChevrolet2004900running1165
5211  Cale YarboroughHolly Farms   (Junior Johnson)Chevrolet2008100running120165
61390  Dick BrooksTruxmore   (Junie Donlavey)Ford2004750running0150
71022  Ricky RuddAl Rudd Auto Parts   (Al Rudd)Chevrolet1992000running0146
8643  Richard PettySTP   (Petty Enterprises)Dodge1985100running2147
91281  Terry RyanValvoline   (Bill Monaghan)Chevrolet1971800running0138
101568  Janet GuthrieKelly Girl   (Lynda Ferreri)Chevrolet1961700running0134
112730  Tighe ScottScotty's Fashions   (Walter Ballard)Chevrolet1963950running0130
12992  Skip Manning1st National City Travelers Checks   (Billy Hagan)Chevrolet1964530running0127
131147  Bruce HillBruce HillChevrolet1961250running0
141467  Buddy ArringtonMistec Transmission   (Buddy Arrington)Dodge1953095running0121
153274  Bobby WawakBobby WawakChevrolet1951080running0
162448  James HyltonHylton Engineering   (James Hylton)Chevrolet1922810running0115
173152  Jimmy MeansWIXC   (Bill Gray)Chevrolet1922165running0112
182640  D.K. UlrichJ.R. DeLottoChevrolet1892480running0109
192324  Cecil GordonTransmissions Unlimited   (Cecil Gordon)Chevrolet1892195running0106
202070  J.D. McDuffieBailey Excavating   (J.D. McDuffie)Chevrolet1861960running0103
212925  Dean DaltonDon RobertsonChevrolet1791775running0100
2282  Dave MarcisCAM 2   (Roger Penske)Chevrolet1541350running0
232579  Frank WarrenNative Tan   (Frank Warren)Dodge1411465engine094
242861  Joe MihalicJoe MihalicChevrolet134800wheel091
251675  Butch HartmanHartman Autocar   (Butch Hartman)Chevrolet125775engine088
261712  Bobby Allison1st National City Travelers Checks   (Bobby Allison)Matador117880engine085
273563  Jocko Maggiacomo1st National City Travelers Checks   (Jocko Maggiacomo)Matador114725engine0
283391  Harold MillerBartow Paving   (Harold Miller)Chevrolet85700driveshaft0
29189  Bill ElliottDahlonega Ford Sales   (George Elliott)Mercury76685engine0
30515  Buddy BakerNorris Industries   (Bud Moore)Ford683865engine073
31198  Ed NegreEd NegreDodge611270engine070
323064  Tommy GaleSunny King Ford & Honda   (Elmo Langley)Ford531240running067
33213  Richard ChildressKansas Jack   (Richard Childress)Chevrolet411130engine064
343645  Baxter PriceBaxter PriceChevrolet5620engine061
352242  Elmo LangleyMarty RobbinsDodge1610engine058
363401  Earle CanavanBenihana   (Earle Canavan)Dodge1600engine0

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [2] Differential
1 1rightarrow.png Cale Yarborough 32900
2 1rightarrow.png Richard Petty 3240-50
3 1rightarrow.png Benny Parsons 2989-301
4 1rightarrow.png Darrell Waltrip 2952-338
5 1rightarrow.png Buddy Baker 2656-634
6 1rightarrow.png Dick Brooks 2498-792
7 1rightarrow.png Cecil Gordon 2357-933
8 1rightarrow.png Bobby Allison 2266-1024
9 Increase2.svg James Hylton 2219-1071
10 Decrease2.svg Richard Childress 2217-1073

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References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Racing Reference
  3. 1 2 3 "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  4. ↑ Crew chief information for the 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Racing Reference
  5. ↑ 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  6. ↑ 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Race Database
  7. ↑ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1977		Succeeded by
Preceded by Champion Spark Plug 400 races
1977		Succeeded by
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