Date August 24, 1975 (1975-August-24) Official name Champion Spark Plug 400 Course Permanent racing facility2.000 mi (3.218 km) Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643 km) Weather Hot with temperatures approaching 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds up to 12.8 miles per hour (20.6 km/h) | ||
The 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 24, 1975, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Contents
Historic flyers were sold for this race at a price of $1.50 per copy ($6.68 when adjusted for inflation). The cost of admission to this race was relatively cheap; children got in for $5 USD ($22.25 when adjusted for inflation) while adults got decent seats for $10 USD ($44.51 when adjusted for inflation).
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.
Summary
Two hundred laps were completed in three hours and forty-five seconds on a paved oval track spanning 2 miles (3.2 km). All of the 36 drivers who qualified for this race were born in the United States of America; making it an all-American race for the NASCAR traditionalists. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.
Six yellow flags were given for 63 laps while 25 drivers took turns being the leader of the race. Richard Petty would defeat David Pearson by a distance of five feet in front of 47,000 live audience members. Pearson would make the pole position with a top speed of 159.798 miles per hour (257.170 km/h) while the average speed of the race would just be 107.583 miles per hour (173.138 km/h). Even with David Pearson finishing in second place, he managed to keep his incredible finishing streak going with victories at the 1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 and the 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400. Jackie Rogers would receive the last-place finish of the race for owner Lou Viglione and his 1975 Chevrolet team.
Prize winnings would range from $15,140 for the winner ($67,385.64 when adjusted for inflation) to $700 for the last-place finisher ($3,115.58 when adjusted for inflation). There were 36 cars on the official racing grid; most of them drove for the Chevrolet manufacturer. Terry Bivins would make his NASCAR debut in this race. Richard Petty would keep his championship lead after this race. However, Dave Marcis would only be 573 points behind (despite not winning a race up to this point). Walter Ballard would be mathematically eliminated from winning the Winston Cup Series championship at this point despite participating in all 20 races.