1977 Champion Spark Plug 400

1977 Champion Spark Plug 400

Race details[1]
Race 20 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Michigan International Speedway
Date	August 22, 1977
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 approaching 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	David Pearson	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 the American community of Brooklyn, Michigan.

During this era, Michigan International Speedway was a Mercury-dominated track. It was also a track that suited a smooth driver or a driver that could change his driving tactics for Michigan International Speedway.

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]

Summary

There were 36 drivers on the racing grid; all of them were born in the United States of America. While Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip would duel for the lead during the opening laps of this racing event, Waltrip would eventually battle against Benny Parsons for supremacy during the closing laps. David Pearson would end up losing to Darrell Waltrip by a mere two car lengths in front of a live audience of 35,000 stock car racing fans.^[2] Waltrip's crew chief for this race would be Buddy Parrott.^[4]

Janet Guthrie was the only female representative in this race; finishing an outstanding tenth place and securing a spot as one of the "top ten" finishers. Earle Canavan would secure the last-place finish in this 200-lap racing event due to an engine issue on the first lap. Most of the DNFs in this race would be due to serious engine issues. The lowest finishing driver to finish the race was Dave Marcis. Only six drivers would end the race on the lead lap; with Yarborough being the slowest driver on the lead lap.^[2] After this race, Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty would be 50 points of each other; gunning for a championship opportunity.^[2]

The entire winning purse for this race was $108,825 ($425,678.46 when adjusted for inflation); Waltrip brought home $16,820 to his family ($65,792.89 when adjusted for inflation) while Canavan was barely able to profit by taking home a meager $600 ($2,346.95 when adjusted for inflation).^[5] Terry Ryan would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event was over.^[6]

Finishing order

1. Darrell Waltrip
2. David Pearson
3. Benny Parsons
4. Sam Sommers
5. Cale Yarborough
6. Dick Brooks
7. Ricky Rudd
8. Richard Petty
9. Terry Ryan
10. Janet Guthrie
11. Tighe Scott
12. Skip Manning
13. Bruce Hill
14. Buddy Arrington
15. Bobby Wawak
16. James Hylton
17. Jimmy Means
18. D.K. Ulrich
19. Cecil Gordon
20. J.D. McDuffie
21. Dean Dalton
22. Dave Marcis
23. Frank Warren
24. Joe Mihalic
25. Butch Hartman
26. Bobby Allison
27. Jocko Maggiacomo
28. Harold Miller
29. Bill Elliott
30. Buddy Baker
31. Ed Negre
32. Tommy Gale
33. Richard Childress
34. Baxter Price
35. Elmo Langley
36. Earle Canavan

Timeline

• Lap 1: Cale Yarborough was officially leading the race as the green flag was waved
• Lap 5: Baxter Price managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 41: Richard Childress managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 61: Ed Negre managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 68: Buddy Baker managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 76: Bill Elliott managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 85: Harold Miller's vehicle suffered from a problematic driveshaft
• Lap 114: Jocko Maggiacomo managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 117: Bobby Allison managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 125: Butch Hartman managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Lap 134: Joey Mihalic's wheel started acting funny
• Lap 141: Frank Warren managed to blow his vehicle's engine
• Finish: Darrell Waltrip was officially declared the winner of the race

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[2]	Differential
1	Cale Yarborough	3290	0
2	Richard Petty	3240	-50
3	Benny Parsons	2989	-301
4	Darrell Waltrip	2952	-338
5	Buddy Baker	2656	-634
6	Dick Brooks	2498	-792
7	Cecil Gordon	2357	-933
8	Bobby Allison	2266	-1024
9	James Hylton	2219	-1071
10	Richard Childress	2217	-1073

References

1. Weather information for the 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Racing Reference
3. "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. 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