# 1971 Yankee 400

The 1971 Yankee 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place at Michigan International Speedway on August 15, 1971. The purse for this event was $51,015 ($383,807.18 when adjusted for inflation).

## Background

Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. The track was originally built and owned by Lawrence H. LoPatin. Financing was arranged by Thomas W Itin. Its first race took place on Sunday, October 13, 1968, with the running of the USAC 250 mile Championship Car Race won by Ronnie Bucknum.

## Race report

There were 26,000 fans in attendance for this two hour, forty minute race in Brooklyn, Michigan There were two cautions for twelve laps and the victory margin was three seconds. Average speed was 149.862 miles (241.180 km) per hour while the pole speed was 161.901 miles (260.554 km) per hour. All forty competitors in this race were born in the United States of America. 200 laps were undertaken on the paved oval track spanning 2.0 miles (3.2 km).
Manufacturers involved in this race included Mercury, Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, and Plymouth.
Friday Hassler blew his vehicle's engine on lap 7. Bobby Isaac had a problem with his vehicle's water pump on lap 11. Benny Parsons blew his engine on lap 29. Henley Gray's vehicle had a problematic suspension on lap 38. Fuel pump issues forced Ed Negre out of the race on lap 40. Dave Marcis overheated his vehicle on lap 45. Problems with the clutch caused John Sears to exit the race on lap 49. Coo Coo Marlin blew his vehicle's engine on lap 76. Dick May overheated his vehicle on lap 84.
Engine problems happened for Pete Hamilton on lap 87. Pete Hamilton had the only car that could possibly beat Bobby Allison; he would overtake Allison on laps 31, 40, 46, and 49 before losing dominance over Bobby Allison on lap 50. Problems with the vehicle's ignition forced Johnny Halford out of the race on lap 94. Bill Seifert's vehicle had a troublesome fuel pump on lap 110; forcing his early exit from the race. Dean Dalton had engine issues on lap 125 that forced him out of the race while Charlie Glotzbach dealt with the same issue on lap 129.

### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 6 | Pete Hamilton | '71 Plymouth |
| 2 | 12 | Bobby Allison | '69 Mercury |
| 3 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | '71 Dodge |
| 4 | 3 | Charlie Glotzbach | '71 Chevrolet |
| 5 | 11 | Buddy Baker | '71 Dodge |
| 6 | 43 | Richard Petty | '71 Plymouth |
| 7 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | '69 Mercury |
| 8 | 72 | Benny Parsons | '69 Mercury |
| 9 | 25 | Jabe Thomas | '70 Plymouth |
| 10 | 60 | Maynard Troyer | '69 Mercury |
| 11 | 79 | Frank Warren | '69 Dodge |
| 12 | 64 | Elmo Langley | '69 Mercury |
| 13 | 39 | Friday Hassler | '70 Chevrolet |
| 14 | 88 | Ron Keselowski | '70 Dodge |
| 15 | 4 | John Sears | '69 Dodge |

## Finishing order

Section reference:
| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED |
| 1 | 2 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Coca-Cola (Holman-Moody Racing) | '69 Mercury | 197 | 15395 | running | 155 |
| 2 | 6 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Engineering (Petty Enterprises) | '71 Plymouth | 197 | 7870 | running | 30 |
| 3 | 5 | 11 | Buddy Baker | Petty Engineering (Petty Enterprises) | '71 Dodge | 196 | 4700 | running | 0 |
| 4 | 10 | 60 | Maynard Troyer | Nagle Racers (Joe Nagle) | '69 Mercury | 193 | 2870 | running | 0 |
| 5 | 16 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Mario Frasson Cement Co. (Joe Frasson) | '70 Dodge | 192 | 2020 | running | 0 |
| 6 | 7 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | American Jetway (Cecil Gordon) | '69 Mercury | 190 | 1495 | running | 0 |
| 7 | 14 | 88 | Ron Keselowski | Messina Trucking (Roger Lubinski) | '70 Dodge | 189 | 1320 | running | 0 |
| 8 | 26 | 48 | James Hylton | Hylton Engineering (James Hylton) | '69 Ford | 188 | 1220 | running | 0 |
| 9 | 9 | 25 | Jabe Thomas | Don Robertson | '70 Plymouth | 187 | 1120 | running | 0 |
| 10 | 21 | 06 | Neil Castles | Howard Furniture (Neil Castles) | '70 Dodge | 186 | 1020 | running | 0 |
| 11 | 39 | 44 | Tommy Gale | Giachetti Brothers (Richard Giachetti) | '70 Ford | 185 | 1045 | running | 0 |
| 12 | 31 | 32 | Marv Acton | Brooks Racing (Dick Brooks) | '70 Plymouth | 184 | 1020 | running | 0 |
| 13 | 35 | 76 | Ben Arnold | Motor's Ford (Ben Arnold) | '69 Ford | 184 | 945 | running | 0 |
| 14 | 11 | 79 | Frank Warren | Frank Warren | '69 Dodge | 184 | 920 | running | 0 |
| 15 | 17 | 90 | Bill Dennis | Truck Equipment (Junie Donlavey) | '69 Mercury | 184 | 995 | running | 0 |
| 16 | 18 | 91 | Richard D. Brown | McNab's Engineering (Junior Fields) | '71 Chevrolet | 183 | 895 | running | 0 |
| 17 | 37 | 47 | Raymond Williams | Williams Racing (Raymond Williams) | '71 Ford | 183 | 850 | running | 0 |
| 18 | 29 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Welter Construction (J.D. McDuffie) | '69 Mercury | 183 | 840 | running | 0 |
| 19 | 28 | 77 | Charlie Roberts | Rheem Auto (Charlie Roberts) | '70 Ford | 181 | 825 | running | 0 |
| 20 | 33 | 30 | Walter Ballard | Ballard Racing (Vic Ballard) | '71 Ford | 181 | 810 | running | 0 |
| 21 | 12 | 64 | Elmo Langley | Woodfield Motors (Elmo Langley) | '69 Mercury | 180 | 795 | running | 0 |
| 22 | 22 | 0 | George Altheide | National Car Care (George Altheide) | '70 Dodge | 177 | 780 | running | 0 |
| 23 | 40 | 34 | Wendell Scott | Brandywine Transportation (Wendell Scott) | '69 Ford | 174 | 765 | running | 0 |
| 24 | 30 | 26 | Earl Brooks | Virginia Motors (Earl Brooks) | '69 Ford | 174 | 750 | running | 0 |
| 25 | 34 | 86 | Bobby Mausgrover | Countryland Foods (Neil Castles) | '69 Dodge | 167 | 760 | running | 0 |
| 26 | 20 | 10 | Bill Champion | Bill Champion | '70 Ford | 166 | 720 | running | 0 |
| 27 | 4 | 3 | Charlie Glotzbach | Richard Howard | '71 Chevrolet | 129 | 710 | engine | 5 |
| 28 | 27 | 7 | Dean Dalton | Dalton Garage (Dean Dalton) | '69 Ford | 125 | 700 | engine | 0 |
| 29 | 38 | 45 | Bill Seifert | Garrett Motors (Bill Seifert) | '69 Ford | 110 | 690 | fuel pump | 0 |
| 30 | 25 | 83 | Johnny Halford | | '69 Plymouth | 94 | 680 | ignition | 0 |
| 31 | 1 | 6 | Pete Hamilton | American Brakeblok (Cotton Owens) | '71 Plymouth | 87 | 785 | engine | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 84 | Dick May | Aircraft Metals (Ralph Davis) | '69 Dodge | 84 | 655 | overheating | 0 |
| 33 | 32 | 07 | Coo Coo Marlin | Cunningham-Kelley (H.B. Cunningham) | '69 Chevrolet | 76 | 675 | engine | 0 |
| 34 | 15 | 4 | John Sears | J. Marvin Mills Heating & Cooling (John Sears) | '69 Dodge | 49 | 645 | clutch | 0 |
| 35 | 19 | 5 | Dave Marcis | Doc Faustina | '70 Plymouth | 45 | 640 | overheating | 0 |
| 36 | 24 | 8 | Ed Negre | Ed Negre | '69 Ford | 40 | 635 | fuel pump | 0 |
| 37 | 23 | 19 | Henley Gray | Fairway Motors (Henley Gray) | '69 Ford | 38 | 630 | suspension | 0 |
| 38 | 8 | 72 | Benny Parsons | American Jetway (L.G. DeWitt) | '69 Mercury | 29 | 625 | engine | 0 |
| 39 | 3 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | K & K Insurance (Nord Krauskopf) | '71 Dodge | 11 | 1070 | water pump | 1 |
| 40 | 13 | 39 | Friday Hassler | Rock City (Friday Hassler) | '70 Chevrolet | 7 | 615 | engine | 0 |