1988 Miller High Life 400 (June)

1988 Miller High Life 400

Race details[1]
Race 14 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Michigan International Speedway
Date	June 26, 1988
Official name	Miller High Life 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	Hot with temperatures approaching 90 °F (32 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed	153.551 miles per hour (247.116 km/h)
Attendance	68,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Rusty Wallace	Blue Max Racing
Laps	106
Winner
No. 27	Rusty Wallace	Blue Max Racing
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, and Chris Economaki

The 1988 Miller High Life 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on June 26, 1988, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. An unrelated race with the same sponsor was implemented on September 11, 1988 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.

Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.

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

Rusty Wallace defeated Bill Elliott by a time of 0.28 seconds in front of an audience of 68,000.^[2] Wallace's first victory out of the five that he would accumulate at Michigan International Speedway would be credited to conserving fuel and making as few bad decisions on pit road as possible.^[4] Four cautions were given for 15 laps while 13 lead changes were made.^[2] The race took more than two hours and thirty-six minutes to complete.^[2] Elliott qualified for the pole position with a speed of 172.687 miles per hour (277.913 km/h) while the average race speed was 153.551 miles per hour (247.116 km/h).^[2] Rick Wilson was the last-place finisher due to an engine issue on lap 2 of 200.^[2]

There was a 41-driver grid of American-born males.^[2] Only 25 of these drivers managed to finish the race.^[2][5] David Simko would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event; finishing 40th in the process. David Sosebee would also retire after this race; completing the race in 31st place.

Jimmy Horton, Jay Sommers, J.D. McDuffie, and Connie Saylor would fail to qualify for this race.^[2] Individual earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $64,100 ($128,254.11 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of a meager $3,050 ($6,102.57 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse for this racing event was advertised at $440,975 ($882,322.24 when adjusted for inflation).^[6]

Finishing order

1. Rusty Wallace
2. Bill Elliott
3. Terry Labonte
4. Dale Earnhardt†
5. Geoffrey Bodine
6. Ken Schrader
7. Phil Parsons
8. Darrell Waltrip
9. Cale Yarborough
10. Mike Alexander
11. Ricky Rudd
12. Bobby Hillin, Jr.
13. Buddy Baker
14. Mark Martin
15. Ernie Irvan
16. Joe Ruttman
17. Ken Bouchard
18. Dave Marcis
19. Neil Bonnett†
20. Brad Noffsinger
21. Alan Kulwicki†
22. Dana Patten
23. Buddy Arrington
24. Richard Petty
25. Dale Jarrett
26. Eddie Bierschwale*
27. Brett Bodine*
28. Michael Waltrip*
29. Lake Speed*
30. Rodney Combs*
31. David Sosebee*
32. Derrike Cope*
33. Kyle Petty*
34. Morgan Shepherd*
35. Davey Allison*†
36. Jimmy Means*
37. Sterling Marlin*
38. Benny Parsons*†
39. H.B. Bailey*†
40. David Simko*
41. Rick Wilson

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[2]
1	Rusty Wallace	2145
2	Dale Earnhardt	2015
3	Bill Elliott	1995
4	Terry Labonte	1939
5	Ken Schrader	1829

References

1. "1988 Miller High Life 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. 2012-09-10.
2. "1988 Miller High Life 400 racing information". Racing Reference. 2011-07-19.
3. "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
4. "Fuel mileage pays off for Wallace on superspeedway". NASCAR.com. 2012-12-25.
5. "1988 Miller High Life 400 racing information (second reference)". Driver Averages. 2012-11-18.
6. "NASCAR race results for the 1988 Miller High Life 400". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. 2012-11-18.