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.
Background Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. 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. The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long.
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 35,000.1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Racing Reference Waltrip's crew chief for this race was Buddy Parrott.Crew chief information for the 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Racing Reference
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. 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. After this race, Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty would be within 50 points of each other; both gunning for a championship.
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 $108,825 ($ when adjusted for inflation); Waltrip brought home $16,820 ($ when adjusted for inflation) while Canavan earned $600 ($ when adjusted for inflation).1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Terry Ryan would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event, finishing in 9th place.1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Race Database
Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 21 David Pearson Mercury Wood Brothers 2 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet Junior Johnson 3 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet DiGard Racing 4 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet L.G. DeWitt 5 15 Buddy Baker Ford Bud Moore 6 43 Richard Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises 7 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet M.C. Anderson 8 2 Dave Marcis Chevrolet Roger Penske 9 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet Billy Hagan 10 22 Ricky Rudd Chevrolet Al Rudd 11 47 Bruce Hill Chevrolet Bruce Hill 12 81 Terry Ryan Chevrolet Bill Monaghan 13 90 Dick Brooks Ford Junie Donlavey 14 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge Buddy Arrington 15 68 Janet Guthrie Chevrolet Lynda Ferreri 16 75 Butch Hartman Chevrolet Butch Hartman 17 12 Bobby Allison Matador Bobby Allison 18 9 Bill Elliott Mercury George Elliott 19 8 Ed Negre Dodge Ed Negre 20 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet J.D. McDuffie
Finishing order POSST#DRIVERSPONSOR / OWNERCARLAPSMONEYSTATUSLEDPTS1388 Darrell WaltripGatorade (DiGard Racing)Chevrolet20016820running511802121 David PearsonPurolator (Wood Brothers)Mercury20010300running41753472 Benny Parsons1st National City Travelers Checks (L.G. DeWitt)Chevrolet2009350running221704727 Sam SommersM.C. AndersonChevrolet2004900running11655211 Cale YarboroughHolly Farms (Junior Johnson)Chevrolet2008100running12016561390 Dick BrooksTruxmore (Junie Donlavey)Ford2004750running015071022 Ricky RuddAl Rudd Auto Parts (Al Rudd)Chevrolet1992000running01468643 Richard PettySTP (Petty Enterprises)Dodge1985100running214791281 Terry RyanValvoline (Bill Monaghan)Chevrolet1971800running0138101568 Janet GuthrieKelly Girl (Lynda Ferreri)Chevrolet1961700running0134112730 Tighe ScottScotty's Fashions (Walter Ballard)Chevrolet1963950running013012992 Skip Manning1st National City Travelers Checks (Billy Hagan)Chevrolet1964530running0127131147 Bruce HillBruce HillChevrolet1961250running0141467 Buddy ArringtonMistec Transmission (Buddy Arrington)Dodge1953095running0121153274 Bobby WawakBobby WawakChevrolet1951080running0162448 James HyltonHylton Engineering (James Hylton)Chevrolet1922810running0115173152 Jimmy MeansWIXC (Bill Gray)Chevrolet1922165running0112182640 D.K. UlrichJ.R. DeLottoChevrolet1892480running0109192324 Cecil GordonTransmissions Unlimited (Cecil Gordon)Chevrolet1892195running0106202070 J.D. McDuffieBailey Excavating (J.D. McDuffie)Chevrolet1861960running0103212925 Dean DaltonDon RobertsonChevrolet1791775running01002282 Dave MarcisCAM 2 (Roger Penske)Chevrolet1541350running0232579 Frank WarrenNative Tan (Frank Warren)Dodge1411465engine094242861 Joe MihalicJoe MihalicChevrolet134800wheel091251675 Butch HartmanHartman Autocar (Butch Hartman)Chevrolet125775engine088261712 Bobby Allison1st National City Travelers Checks (Bobby Allison)Matador117880engine085273563 Jocko Maggiacomo1st National City Travelers Checks (Jocko Maggiacomo)Matador114725engine0283391 Harold MillerBartow Paving (Harold Miller)Chevrolet85700driveshaft029189 Bill ElliottDahlonega Ford Sales (George Elliott)Mercury76685engine030515 Buddy BakerNorris Industries (Bud Moore)Ford683865engine07331198 Ed NegreEd NegreDodge611270engine070323064 Tommy GaleSunny King Ford & Honda (Elmo Langley)Ford531240running06733213 Richard ChildressKansas Jack (Richard Childress)Chevrolet411130engine064343645 Baxter PriceBaxter PriceChevrolet5620engine061352242 Elmo LangleyMarty RobbinsDodge1610engine058363401 Earle CanavanBenihana (Earle Canavan)Dodge1600engine0
Timeline Section reference: Lap 1: Cale Yarborough was officially leading the race as the green flag was waved. Lap 5: Baxter Price fell out with engine failure. Lap 41: Richard Childress fell out with engine failure. Lap 61: Ed Negre fell out with engine failure. Lap 68: Buddy Baker fell out with engine failure. Lap 76: Bill Elliott fell out with engine failure. Lap 85: Harold Miller's vehicle suffered from a problematic driveshaft. Lap 114: Jocko Maggiacomo fell out with engine failure. Lap 117: Bobby Allison fell out with engine failure. Lap 125: Butch Hartman fell out with engine failure. Lap 134: Joey Mihalic's wheel started acting funny. Lap 141: Frank Warren fell out with engine failure. Finish: Darrell Waltrip was officially declared the winner of the race.
Standings after the race Pos Driver Points 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