The 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place on August 19, 1979, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover | |||
| Date | August 19, 1979 | ||
| 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 of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 130.367 miles per hour (209.805 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 60,000[4] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Osterlund Motorsports | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Buddy Baker | Ranier Racing | |
| Laps | 115 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
| Booth Announcers | Jack Arute & Barney Hall | ||
| Turn Announcers | Turns 1 & 2: Mike Joy Turns 3 & 4: Eli Gold Pit Reporter: Ned Jarrett | ||
Background
editMichigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[5] 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.[5] The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long.[5]
Race report
editThere were 36 American-born male drivers on the grid.[4][3]
David Pearson driving in place of an injured Dale Earnhardt earned the pole position with a speed of 162.992 miles per hour (262.310 km/h) .[4][2]Richard Petty defeated Buddy Baker[3] by one second in essentially a fuel mileage race that determined whoever could preserve the most fuel.[4][2] There were 21 lead changes and five caution flags for 35 laps; making the race three hours and four minutes long while the average speed was 130.376 miles per hour (209.820 km/h).[4][2]
Blackie Wangerin would receive the last-place finish due to a crash with H.B. Bailey on lap 2 which resulted in Wangerin's car flipping outside of the track in Turn 3 which resulted in a lengthy red flag to rebuild the turns 3 and 4 guardrail. John Anderson got his only top five finish in his Cup debut.[4][2][3]
Al Rudd, Jr. would race his only NASCAR event here. The entire purse was $142,905 ($599,925.8 when adjusted for inflation).[6] Notable crew chiefs for this race were Buddy Parrott, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Darrell Bryant, Dale Inman, Harry Hyde, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, and Jake Elder.[7]
Jan Opperman, in a car owned by Will Cronkite was the only driver to not qualify.
Qualifying
edit| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | David Pearson | Chevrolet | Rod Osterlund |
| 2 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Ford | Bud Moore |
| 3 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Mercury | Wood Brothers |
| 4 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Billy Hagan |
| 5 | 43 | Richard Petty | Chevrolet | Petty Enterprises |
| 6 | 27 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | M.C. Anderson |
| 7 | 72 | Joe Millikan | Chevrolet | L.G. DeWitt |
| 8 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet | Junior Johnson |
| 9 | 47 | Harry Gant | Chevrolet | Jack Beebe |
| 10 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | DiGard |
Failed to qualify: Jan Opperman (#96)[8]
Finishing order
edit| Fin | St | Car # | Driver | Sponsor (Owner) | Car Make | Laps | Money | Status | Led | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP (Petty Enterprises) | Chevrolet | 200 | 21100 | running | 9 | 180 |
| 2 | 11 | 28 | Buddy Baker | W.I.N. (Harry Ranier) | Chevrolet | 200 | 12425 | running | 115 | 180 |
| 3 | 6 | 27 | Benny Parsons | Melling Tool (M.C. Anderson) | Chevrolet | 200 | 12820 | running | 0 | 165 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | David Pearson | (Rod Osterlund) | Chevrolet | 199 | 10215 | running | 0 | 160 |
| 5 | 20 | 08 | John Anderson | Draime Race Engines (Russ Draime) | Chevrolet | 199 | 4355 | running | 0 | 155 |
| 6 | 7 | 72 | Joe Millikan | Appliance Wheels (L.G. DeWitt) | Chevrolet | 199 | 7195 | running | 8 | 155 |
| 7 | 16 | 90 | Ricky Rudd | Truxmore (Junie Donlavey) | Mercury | 199 | 5320 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | 28 | 30 | Tighe Scott | Russ Togs (Walter Ballard) | Buick | 197 | 4890 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 15 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Bailey Excavating (J.D. McDuffie) | Chevrolet | 197 | 4670 | running | 0 | 138 |
| 10 | 12 | 3 | Richard Childress | CRC Chemicals (Richard Childress) | Oldsmobile | 197 | 4550 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 13 | 17 | Bill Elliott | Knutsons RV (George Elliott) | Mercury | 195 | 4120 | running | 0 | 130 |
| 12 | 31 | 48 | James Hylton | Palatine Automotive Parts (James Hylton) | Chevrolet | 195 | 3850 | running | 0 | 127 |
| 13 | 34 | 42 | Kyle Petty | STP (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 195 | 1675 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 18 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Sunny King Ford & Honda (Elmo Langley) | Ford | 193 | 3130 | running | 0 | 121 |
| 15 | 29 | 0 | John Kennedy | Avanti CB (John Kennedy) | Chevrolet | 188 | 1490 | running | 0 | |
| 16 | 30 | 79 | Frank Warren | Native Tan (Frank Warren) | Dodge | 188 | 2725 | running | 0 | 115 |
| 17 | 8 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Busch (Junior Johnson) | Chevrolet | 185 | 6270 | engine | 3 | 117 |
| 18 | 35 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Gordon Racing (Cecil Gordon) | Oldsmobile | 183 | 2300 | running | 0 | 109 |
| 19 | 10 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Gatorade (DiGard Racing) | Chevrolet | 173 | 4775 | running | 0 | 106 |
| 20 | 22 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Hills Racing (Buddy Arrington) | Dodge | 150 | 1965 | engine | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | 26 | 45 | Baxter Price | Iron Peddlers (Baxter Price) | Oldsmobile | 146 | 1920 | running | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 19 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Mr. Transmission (Jimmy Means) | Chevrolet | 145 | 1875 | running | 0 | 97 |
| 23 | 2 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Hodgdon/Moore (Bud Moore) | Ford | 141 | 4935 | engine | 38 | 99 |
| 24 | 32 | 25 | Ronnie Thomas | Stone's Cafeteria (Don Robertson) | Chevrolet | 131 | 2785 | overheating | 0 | 91 |
| 25 | 9 | 47 | Harry Gant | Race Hill Farm (Jack Beebe) | Chevrolet | 129 | 875 | clutch | 5 | 93 |
| 26 | 4 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Stratagraph (Billy Hagan) | Chevrolet | 108 | 1475 | engine | 5 | 90 |
| 27 | 33 | 6 | Marty Robbins | Robbins Racing (Marty Robbins) | Dodge | 96 | 825 | engine | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 17 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | Midwestern Farm Lines (D.K. Ulrich) | Buick | 85 | 1300 | running | 0 | 79 |
| 29 | 14 | 05 | Dick Brooks | Bearfinder (Nelson Malloch) | Chevrolet | 81 | 785 | exhaust | 0 | 76 |
| 30 | 21 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Transmissions Unlimited (Dave Marcis) | Chevrolet | 67 | 765 | engine | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 24 | 19 | Lennie Pond | Belden Asphalt (Henley Gray) | Chevrolet | 57 | 1250 | overheating | 0 | 70 |
| 32 | 23 | 22 | Al Rudd, Jr. | Bill Lewis (Al Rudd) | Chevrolet | 39 | 740 | clutch | 0 | |
| 33 | 3 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Purolator (Wood Brothers) | Mercury | 28 | 1405 | ignition | 17 | 69 |
| 34 | 36 | 01 | Earle Canavan | Scope Mount (Earle Canavan) | Dodge | 23 | 720 | engine | 0 | |
| 35 | 25 | 36 | H.B. Bailey | Caldwell Knapp Cadillac (H.B. Bailey) | Pontiac | 2 | 710 | crash | 0 | 58 |
| 36 | 27 | 39 | Blackie Wangerin | (Blackie Wangerin) | Mercury | 2 | 700 | crash | 0 | 55 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Car # | Sponsor | Owner | Car |
| Jan Opperman | 96 | Will Cronkrite | Ford | |
Source: [9]
Standings after the race
edit| Pos | Driver | Points[4] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1  | Darrell Waltrip | 3352 | 0 |
| 2 | Richard Petty | 3197 | -155 |
| 3 | Cale Yarborough | 3063 | -289 |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | 3023 | -329 |
| 5 | Benny Parsons | 2827 | -525 |
6  | Joe Millikan | 2719 | -633 |
7  | Dale Earnhardt | 2588 | -764 |
| 8 | Richard Childress | 2524 | -828 |
| 9 | J.D. McDuffie | 2510 | -842 |
| 10 | Buddy Arrington | 2415 | -937 |
References
edit- ^ Weather for the 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ^ a b c d e 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Race Database
- ^ a b c d 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine racing information at Driver Averages
- ^ a b c d e f g 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Racing Reference
- ^ a b c "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
- ^ 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing purse at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
- ^ 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
- ^ Qualifying information Archived 2017-08-21 at the Wayback Machine at Racing Reference
- ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-28.