# 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400

The 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 22, 1976, 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

36 drivers took part in this race; David Hobbs was the only foreigner. The closing portion of the race would see Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, Benny Parsons, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson vie for the win. The first 67 laps of the race would see fairly even competition. Tighe Scott's last-place finish was due to his vehicle overheating on lap 6 of 200. Fifty-five thousand people would witness David Pearson defeat Cale Yarborough by more than a second. The total time of the race was 171 minutes.
Cale Yarborough led more than 120 laps in both of the MIS races in 1976 but had to settle for second place both times. David Pearson bested him to win both races in the Wood Brothers Purolator #21 Mercury as he claimed the season sweep. This race was almost a case of deja vu for fans as weirdly the "top four" was the almost the same in this one as it had been for the earlier race in June with Richard Petty and Bobby Allison as the only other cars on the lead lap just as before; the only difference was that Allison was third in June while Petty flip-flopped their positions with his third-place run here.
NASCAR handed out a total of $120,025 to all drivers ($642,660.18 when adjusted for inflation). The majority of the vehicles were Chevrolets.
While the winner took home $11,950 ($63,984.91 when adjusted for inflation), the last-place finisher took home $1,250 ($6,692.98 when adjusted for inflation).
Notable crew chiefs for this race included Billy Hagan, Junie Donlavey, Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Sterling Marlin and Tim Brewer.
John Haver would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut at this event while David Hobbs would wrap up his professional stock car career afterward.

### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury |
| 2 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Ford |
| 3 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge |
| 6 | 2 | Bobby Allison | Mercury |
| 7 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Dodge |
| 8 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Ford |
| 10 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet |
| 11 | 47 | Bruce Hill | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | Chevrolet |
| 13 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 92 | Skip Manning | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 12 | Neil Bonnett | Chevrolet |
| 16 | 05 | David Sisco | Chevrolet |
| 17 | 36 | Bobby Wawak | Chevrolet |
| 18 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 7 | Dean Dalton | Chevrolet |
| 20 | 48 | James Hylton | Chevrolet |
| 21 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Chevrolet |
| 22 | 9 | David Hobbs | Ford |
| 23 | 60 | Jackie Rogers | Chevrolet |
| 24 | 19 | Henley Gray | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 51 | John Haver | Chevrolet |
| 26 | 8 | Ed Negre | Dodge |
| 27 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Chevrolet |
| 28 | 3 | Richard Childress | Chevrolet |
| 29 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Chevrolet |
| 30 | 79 | Frank Warren | Dodge |

## Finishing order

| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED | PTS |
| 1 | 1 | 21 | David Pearson | Purolator (Wood Brothers) | Mercury | 200 | 16700 | running | 27 | 180 |
| 2 | 3 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Holly Farms (Junior Johnson) | Chevrolet | 200 | 13705 | running | 125 | 180 |
| 3 | 5 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 200 | 10985 | running | 22 | 170 |
| 4 | 6 | 2 | Bobby Allison | CAM 2 (Roger Penske) | Mercury | 200 | 7375 | running | 6 | 165 |
| 5 | 7 | 71 | Dave Marcis | K & K Insurance (Nord Krauskopf) | Dodge | 199 | 6565 | running | 11 | 160 |
| 6 | 15 | 12 | Neil Bonnett | Hawaiian Tropic (Neil Bonnett) | Chevrolet | 195 | 2455 | running | 1 | 155 |
| 7 | 12 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | Garden State Auto (J.R. DeLotto) | Chevrolet | 194 | 4545 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | 27 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | J.D. McDuffie | Chevrolet | 194 | 4335 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 8 | 72 | Benny Parsons | King's Row Fireplace (L.G. DeWitt) | Chevrolet | 194 | 5125 | running | 2 | 143 |
| 10 | 17 | 36 | Bobby Wawak | J & B Corvette (John Gwinn) | Chevrolet | 193 | 1855 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 24 | 19 | Henley Gray | Belden Asphalt (Henley Gray) | Chevrolet | 193 | 1755 | running | 0 | 130 |
| 12 | 29 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Cunningham-Kelley (H.B. Cunningham) | Chevrolet | 192 | 3615 | running | 0 | 127 |
| 13 | 28 | 3 | Richard Childress | Kansas Jack (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 192 | 3255 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 14 | 92 | Skip Manning | Stratagraph (Billy Hagan) | Chevrolet | 192 | 2430 | running | 0 | 121 |
| 15 | 33 | 10 | Terry Bivins | Sunny King (Bill Champion) | Ford | 192 | 2875 | running | 0 | 118 |
| 16 | 36 | 25 | Dick May | Don Robertson | Chevrolet | 187 | 2635 | running | 0 | 115 |
| 17 | 22 | 9 | David Hobbs | Coca-Cola (George Elliott) | Ford | 187 | 1130 | running | 0 | |
| 18 | 19 | 7 | Dean Dalton | Belden Asphalt (Dean Dalton) | Chevrolet | 184 | 1105 | running | 0 | 109 |
| 19 | 11 | 47 | Bruce Hill | Bruce Hill | Chevrolet | 183 | 2300 | engine | 3 | 111 |
| 20 | 31 | 91 | Harold Miller | Bartow Paving (Harold Miller) | Chevrolet | 183 | 1055 | running | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | 20 | 48 | James Hylton | Kockums (James Hylton) | Chevrolet | 183 | 2030 | running | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 32 | 61 | Joe Mihalic | Lou Viglione | Chevrolet | 175 | 1005 | running | 0 | 97 |
| 23 | 30 | 79 | Frank Warren | Native Tan (Frank Warren) | Dodge | 174 | 955 | running | 0 | 94 |
| 24 | 13 | 52 | Jimmy Means | WIXC (Bill Gray) | Chevrolet | 168 | 955 | running | 0 | 91 |
| 25 | 4 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Pepsi-Cola (Ronnie Elder) | Chevrolet | 166 | 1555 | running | 0 | 88 |
| 26 | 18 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Transmissions Unlimited (Cecil Gordon) | Chevrolet | 154 | 1400 | engine | 0 | 85 |
| 27 | 10 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Gatorade (DiGard Racing) | Chevrolet | 134 | 3875 | engine | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 21 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Excuse Lounge (Joe Frasson) | Chevrolet | 118 | 850 | running | 1 | 84 |
| 29 | 9 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Truxmore (Junie Donlavey) | Ford | 114 | 1335 | engine | 0 | 76 |
| 30 | 26 | 8 | Ed Negre | Ed Negre | Dodge | 108 | 1315 | engine | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 2 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Norris Industries (Bud Moore) | Ford | 86 | 4100 | engine | 2 | 75 |
| 32 | 16 | 05 | David Sisco | David Sisco | Chevrolet | 70 | 1290 | suspension | 0 | 67 |
| 33 | 25 | 51 | John Haver | Jim's Furniture (George Harrivel) | Chevrolet | 49 | 780 | engine | 0 | 64 |
| 34 | 34 | 49 | G.C. Spencer | G.C. Spencer | Dodge | 37 | 770 | engine | 0 | 61 |
| 35 | 23 | 60 | Jackie Rogers | Red Dog's (Lou Viglione) | Chevrolet | 15 | 760 | steering | 0 | 58 |
| 36 | 35 | 30 | Tighe Scott | Scotty's Fashions (Walter Ballard) | Chevrolet | 6 | 1250 | overheating | 0 | 55 |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points | Differential |
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | 3026 | 0 |
| 2 | Benny Parsons | 2952 | -74 |
| 3 | Richard Petty | 2936 | -90 |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | 2832 | -194 |
| 5 | Dave Marcis | 2652 | -374 |
| 6 | Lennie Pond | 2599 | -427 |
| 7 | Richard Childress | 2477 | -549 |
| 8 | Buddy Baker | 2420 | -606 |
| 9 | David Pearson | 2352 | -674 |
| 10 | J.D. McDuffie | 2263 | -763 |