# 1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400

The 1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that was held on June 19, 1977, 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 started this 200-lap event; all of them were born in the United States of America. Bill Seifert would return after a five-year absence from NASCAR and recorded a12th-place finish.
Ferrel Harris was credited with the last-place finish due to difficulties with his engine on the ninth lap. Donnie Allison would be the highest place finisher not to finish the race; he acquired a similar problem on lap 176. Cale Yarborough would defeat Richard Petty by ten seconds. More than 61,000 fans would see nearly three hours of racing. Benny Parsons, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and future NASCAR on FOX personality Darrell Waltrip would duel among each other for the lead early on in the race. Winnings for each driver varied from $20,625 for the race winner ($101,893 when adjusted for inflation) to $1,300 for the last-place finisher ($6,536 when adjusted for inflation).
The total prize purse of this race was $123,005 ($618,470 when adjusted for inflation). Notable crew chiefs in the race were Buddy Parrott, Jake Elder, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Dale Inman and Tim Brewer.
Janet Guthrie was the lone female competitor in this race. Richard Childress, then a driver/owner, competed in this race and finished in 35th place (after starting out in 8th place). County singer Marty Robbins made his first NASCAR Cup start in more than two years and turned in a solid top-15 performance.
Roland Wlodyka made his NASCAR Cup debut but finished 29th after a transmission failure.
It was the first start as an owner for eventual Cup Series Champion Rod Osterlund.

### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury |
| 2 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet |
| 3 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge |
| 4 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Ford |
| 8 | 1 | Donnie Allison | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 27 | Sam Sommers | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Ford |
| 11 | 92 | Skip Manning | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 68 | Janet Guthrie | Chevrolet |
| 13 | 22 | Ricky Rudd | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Ford |
| 15 | 47 | Bruce Hill | Chevrolet |
| 16 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Matador |
| 17 | 75 | Butch Hartman | Chevrolet |
| 18 | 79 | Frank Warren | Dodge |
| 19 | 81 | Terry Ryan | Chevrolet |
| 20 | 16 | David Sisco | Chevrolet |
| 21 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Chevrolet |
| 22 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Ford |
| 23 | 3 | Richard Childress | Chevrolet |
| 24 | 03 | Bill Seifert | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Chevrolet |

## Results

| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED | PTS |
| 1 | 4 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Holly Farms (Junior Johnson) | Chevrolet | 200 | 20625 | running | 106 | 185 |
| 2 | 3 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 200 | 14425 | running | 5 | 175 |
| 3 | 2 | 72 | Benny Parsons | 1st National City Travelers Checks (L.G. DeWitt) | Chevrolet | 200 | 10700 | running | 8 | 170 |
| 4 | 6 | 2 | Dave Marcis | CAM 2 (Roger Penske) | Chevrolet | 199 | 4750 | running | 65 | 165 |
| 5 | 1 | 21 | David Pearson | Purolator (Wood Brothers) | Mercury | 199 | 4550 | running | 4 | 160 |
| 6 | 7 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Norris Industries (Bud Moore) | Ford | 199 | 5750 | running | 0 | 150 |
| 7 | 10 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Truxmore (Junie Donlavey) | Ford | 197 | 4700 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | 9 | 27 | Sam Sommers | M.C. Anderson | Chevrolet | 197 | 3150 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 17 | 75 | Butch Hartman | Hartman Autocar (Butch Hartman) | Chevrolet | 196 | 2050 | running | 0 | 138 |
| 10 | 16 | 12 | Bobby Allison | 1st National City Travelers Checks (Bobby Allison) | Matador | 195 | 3800 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 26 | 48 | James Hylton | Hylton Engineering (James Hylton) | Chevrolet | 195 | 3880 | running | 0 | 130 |
| 12 | 24 | 03 | Bill Seifert | Spirit of Public Enter. (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 194 | 1750 | running | 0 | 127 |
| 13 | 33 | 42 | Marty Robbins | Robbins Racing (Marty Robbins) | Dodge | 193 | 1500 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 25 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Means Racing (Bill Gray) | Chevrolet | 193 | 2845 | running | 0 | 121 |
| 15 | 14 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Dahlonega Ford Sales (George Elliott) | Ford | 192 | 1330 | running | 0 | 118 |
| 16 | 28 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | J.R. DeLotto | Chevrolet | 192 | 3060 | running | 0 | 115 |
| 17 | 19 | 81 | Terry Ryan | Valvoline (Bill Monaghan) | Chevrolet | 191 | 1225 | running | 0 | 112 |
| 18 | 34 | 74 | Bobby Wawak | Clear-Lam (Bobby Wawak) | Chevrolet | 191 | 1200 | running | 0 | |
| 19 | 35 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Buddy Arrington | Dodge | 189 | 2865 | running | 0 | 106 |
| 20 | 27 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | J.D. McDuffie | Chevrolet | 189 | 2680 | running | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | 21 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Transmissions Unlimited (Cecil Gordon) | Chevrolet | 189 | 2395 | running | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 32 | 19 | Henley Gray | Belden Asphalt (Henley Gray) | Chevrolet | 186 | 2160 | running | 0 | 97 |
| 23 | 22 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Sunny King (Elmo Langley) | Ford | 182 | 1975 | running | 0 | 94 |
| 24 | 8 | 1 | Donnie Allison | Hawaiian Tropic (Hoss Ellington) | Chevrolet | 176 | 1050 | engine | 3 | 96 |
| 25 | 20 | 16 | David Sisco | David Sisco | Chevrolet | 174 | 1665 | running | 0 | 88 |
| 26 | 12 | 68 | Janet Guthrie | Kelly Girl (Lynda Ferreri) | Chevrolet | 170 | 1000 | running | 0 | 85 |
| 27 | 11 | 92 | Skip Manning | 1st National City Travelers Checks (Billy Hagan) | Chevrolet | 159 | 2605 | engine | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 13 | 22 | Ricky Rudd | Al Rudd Auto Parts (Al Rudd) | Chevrolet | 131 | 950 | engine | 8 | 84 |
| 29 | 36 | 91 | Roland Wlodyka | Rod Osterlund | Chevrolet | 127 | 935 | transmission | 0 | |
| 30 | 18 | 79 | Frank Warren | Native Tan (Frank Warren) | Dodge | 112 | 1535 | engine | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 29 | 30 | Tighe Scott | Scotty's Fashions (Walter Ballard) | Chevrolet | 100 | 1500 | engine | 0 | 70 |
| 32 | 15 | 47 | Bruce Hill | t. edwards (Bruce Hill) | Chevrolet | 92 | 890 | driveshaft | 0 | 67 |
| 33 | 31 | 0 | John Kennedy | Avanti CB (John Kennedy) | Ford | 66 | 880 | engine | 0 | 64 |
| 34 | 23 | 3 | Richard Childress | Kansas Jack (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 59 | 1320 | engine | 0 | 61 |
| 35 | 5 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Gatorade (DiGard Racing) | Chevrolet | 49 | 4010 | engine | 1 | 63 |
| 36 | 30 | 25 | Ferrel Harris | Don Robertson | Chevrolet | 9 | 1300 | engine | 0 | 55 |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points | Differential |
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | 2531 | 0 |
| 2 | Richard Petty | 2428 | -103 |
| 3 | Benny Parsons | 2254 | -277 |
| 4 | Darrell Waltrip | 2140 | -391 |
| 5 | Buddy Baker | 2050 | -481 |
| 6 | Dick Brooks | 1854 | -677 |
| 7 | Cecil Gordon | 1803 | -728 |
| 8 | Richard Childress | 1745 | -786 |
| 9 | Dave Marcis | 1685 | -846 |
| 10 | James Hylton | 1680 | -851 |