1977 Champion Spark Plug 400

Auto race held at Michigan International Speedway in 1977 January 2025 CUST Race 20 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Champion Spark Plug 400 Weather information for the 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1977 08 22 1977 20 30 1977_Champion_Spark_Plug_400_program_cover.png 200px 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover Champion Spark Plug 400 Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 2.000 3.218 200 400 643 Mild with temperatures of 78.1 F C; wind speeds up to 14 mph km/h 137.944 mi/h 35,000 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates 120 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports untelevised 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. Background Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 mi km long.http://www.cbssports.com/nascar/tracks/page/michigan/michigan-international-speedway Michigan International Speedway CBS Sports 2013-06-11 2012-10-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20121019184814/http://www.cbssports.com/nascar/tracks/page/michigan/michigan-international-speedway dead 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 No. Car number 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 POSRace Results https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/ 2021-05-28 Racing-Reference en-USST#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 10px Cale Yarborough 3290 0 2 10px Richard Petty 3240 -50 3 10px Benny Parsons 2989 -301 4 10px Darrell Waltrip 2952 -338 5 10px Buddy Baker 2656 -634 6 10px Dick Brooks 2498 -792 7 10px Cecil Gordon 2357 -933 8 10px Bobby Allison 2266 -1024 9 James Hylton 2219 -1071 10 Richard Childress 2217 -1073 References 1977 Talladega 500 1977 Volunteer 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1977 1976 1978 Champion Spark Plug 400 races 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 Champion Spark Plug 400 Category:NASCAR races at Michigan International Speedway