1979 Champion Spark Plug 400

1979 Champion Spark Plug 400

Race details[1][2][3]
Race 21 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Michigan International Speedway
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 approaching 78.1 °F (25.6 °C); wind speeds up to 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	David Pearson	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

The 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 19, 1979, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.

Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day. Michigan International Speedway had been a Mercury-dominated track from 1969-78 before its driving style became neutral to all manufacturers. 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.^[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]

Summary

There were 36 American-born male drivers on the grid.^[4][3] Richard Petty defeated Buddy Baker^[3] by one second in front of 60,000 live audience members.^[4][2] There were 21 lead changes and five caution flags for 35 laps; making the race three hours and four minutes long.^[4][2] David Pearson earned the pole position with a speed of 162.992 miles per hour (262.310 km/h) while the average racing 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 out of the 200 regulation laps which resulted in Wangerin's car flipping outside of the track.^[4][2][3]

Al Rudd, Jr. would race his only NASCAR event here. The entire racing purse was valued at $142,905 ($465,931.89 when adjusted for inflation).^[6]

By the following season, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Finishing order

1. Richard Petty
2. Buddy Baker
3. Benny Parsons
4. David Pearson
5. John Anderson
6. Joe Millikan
7. Ricky Rudd
8. Tighe Scott
9. J.D. McDuffie
10. Richard Childress
11. Bill Elliott
12. James Hylton
13. Kyle Petty
14. Tommy Gale
15. John Kennedy
16. Frank Warren
17. Cale Yarborough*
18. Cecil Gordon
19. Darrell Waltrip
20. Buddy Arrington*
21. Baxter Price
22. Jimmy Means
23. Bobby Allison*
24. Ronnie Thomas*
25. Harry Gant*
26. Terry Labonte*
27. Marty Robbins*
28. D.K. Ulrich
29. Dick Brooks*
30. Dave Marcis*
31. Lennie Pond*
32. Al Rudd, Jr.*
33. Neil Bonnett*
34. Earle Canavan*
35. H.B. Bailey*
36. Blackie Wangerin*

* Driver failed to finish race

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[4]
1	Darrell Waltrip	3352
2	Richard Petty	3197
3	Cale Yarborough	3063
4	Bobby Allison	3023
5	Benny Parsons	2827

References

1. Weather for the 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Race Database
3. 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Driver Averages
4. 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing information at Racing Reference
5. "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
6. 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 racing purse at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet