1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400

1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400

Race details
Race 15 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Michigan International Speedway
Date	June 19, 1977 (1977-June-19)
Official name	Cam 2 Motor Oil 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 of 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds of 16.9 miles per hour (27.2 km/h)
Average speed	135.033 miles per hour (217.315 km/h)
Attendance	61,200
Pole position
Driver	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps	106
Winner
No. 11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on June 19, 1977, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.

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. 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 qualifying drivers filled up the grid for 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 in order to bedazzle the spectators; a 12th-place finish ended being "in the cards" for him.

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 NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty by a mere ten seconds. More than 61,000 fans would see nearly three hours of professional stock car racing. Most of the vehicles in the running either belong to the Ford or Chevrolet manufacturers. Benny Parsons, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and future NASCAR on FOX personality Darrell Waltrip would duel amongst each other for the lead early on in the race. Winnings for each driver varied from a then-incredible $20,625 for the race winner ($101,893 when adjusted for inflation) to a humble $1,300 for the last-place finisher ($6,536 when adjusted for inflation).

The total prize purse of this race was $123,005 in American dollars ($618,470 when adjusted for inflation). Notable crew chiefs who actively participated 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 male-dominated racing event. 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 makes his first NASCAR Cup start in more than two years. He was aiming to do some business with the Big Lead in his foot and turned in a solid run with a top-15 performance against the pros.

Roland Wlodyka made his NASCAR Cup debut but finishes 29th after a transmission failure. After this race, Bill Elliott would start to dominate the racing that took place at Michigan International Speedway. Elliott's debut at this Irish Hills race track in addition to his 15th-place finish quickly taught him how to excel on that particular track.

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

Finishing order

Section reference:

1. Cale Yarborough (No. 11)
2. Richard Petty (No. 43)
3. Benny Parsons (No. 72)
4. Dave Marcis (No. 2)
5. David Pearson (No. 21)
6. Buddy Baker (No. 15)
7. Dick Brooks (No. 90)
8. Sam Sommers (No. 27)
9. Butch Hartman (No. 75)
10. Bobby Allison (No. 12)
11. James Hylton (No. 48)
12. Bill Seifert (No. 03)
13. Marty Robbins (No. 42)
14. Jimmy Means (No. 52)
15. Bill Elliott (No. 9)
16. D.K. Ulrich (No. 40)
17. Terry Ryan (No. 81)
18. Bobby Wawak (No. 74)
19. Buddy Arrington (No. 67)
20. J.D. McDuffie (No. 70)
21. Cecil Gordon (No. 24)
22. Henley Gray (No. 19)
23. Tommy Gale (No. 64)
24. Donnie Allison* (No. 1)
25. David Sisco (No. 16)
26. Janet Guthrie (No. 68)
27. Skip Manning* (No. 92)
28. Ricky Rudd* (No. 22)
29. Roland Wlodyka* (No. 91)
30. Frank Warren* (No. 79)
31. Tighe Scott* (No. 30)
32. Bruce Hill* (No. 47)
33. John Kennedy* (No. 40)
34. Richard Childress* (No. 3)
35. Darrell Waltrip* (No. 88)
36. Ferrel Harris* (No. 25)

* Driver failed to finish race

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