# 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400

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.

## Background

Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) 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 American-born male drivers on the grid.
David Pearson, driving the Rod Osterlund No. 2 as a substitute Dale Earnhardt after his crash at Pocono, earned the pole position with a speed of 162.992 miles per hour (262.310 km/h) .Richard Petty defeated Buddy Baker by one second in essentially a fuel mileage race that determined whoever could preserve the most fuel. 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).
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.
Al Rudd, Jr. qualified for his second, and final, Cup race. At Pocono, he qualified 18th but when DiGard Racing's Darrell Waltrip crashed in post-qualifying practice, and under rules of the time, had to withdraw and DiGard leased his car for that race for points purposes. Rudd ran this car, which was rebuilt by DiGard for Pocono, for his only NASCAR Cop start, which he did with hia NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2025 brother Ricky, who drove for Wesley Donlavey that season.
The entire purse was $142,905 ($599,925.8 when adjusted for inflation). 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.
USAC Championship Trail standout Jan Opperman, in a car owned by Will Cronkite was the only driver to not qualify.

### Qualifying

| 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)

## Finishing order

| 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:

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points | 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 |