Official name Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 | ||
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Date June 20, 1976 (1976-June-20) Location Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan Course Permanent racing facility
2.000 mi (3.218 km) Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643 km) Weather Warm with temperatures up to 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
The 1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 20, 1976, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Contents
By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore. 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.
Summary
David Pearson managed to defeat Cale Yarborough by three car lengths in front of an audience of 46,000 members. There were 17 lead changes and three cautions were done in 20 laps out of the 200 laps of regulation racing. It took two hours and fifty minutes for the checkered flag to end the race. While Richard Petty earned the pole position with a speed of 158.569 miles per hour (255.192 km/h), the average speed of the race was 141.148 miles per hour (227.156 km/h). Joe Frasson "earned" his last-place finish due to an engine problem on lap 2. All 36 of the drivers on the racing grid were American-born males. The field was dominated by Chevrolet vehicles because they were cheaper to operate in the 1970s as opposed to Ford and Mercury vehicles.
Cale Yarborough would re-take the points lead after this race and eventually become the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. David Pearson would also consider the 1976 NASCAR Cup Series season to be his "personal playground" with fast and consistent results throughout the year.
The grand total of this race's prize purse would be $105,355 ($443,415.17 when considering inflation).