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Date August 22, 1976 (1976-August-22) Official name Champion Spark Plug 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 approaching 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
The 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 22, 1976, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
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During this era, Michigan International Speedway was a Mercury-dominated track. It was also a track that suited a smooth driver or a driver that could change his driving tactics for Michigan International Speedway.
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
A grand total of 36 drivers took part in this race; David Hobbs was the only foreigner involved. The closing portion of the race would see Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, Benny Parsons, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson jointly dominate the race. Meanwhile the first 67 laps of the race would see fairly even competition. Tighe Scott's unfortunate last-place finish would be linked to his vehicle overheating on lap 6 of 200. Fifty-five thousand people would witness David Pearson defeating Cale Yarborough by slightly more than a second. The total time of the race was 171 minutes.
NASCAR treasury officials handed out a grand total of $120,025 to all the qualifying drivers ($505,157.85 when adjusted for inflation). The majority of the vehicles raced here belonged to the Chevrolet manufacturer. While the winner took home $11,950 after competing in this event ($50,294.82 when adjusted for inflation), the last-place finisher took home a meager paycheck of $1,250 ($5,260.96 when adjusted for inflation).
John Haver would make his NASCAR Cup Series debut at this event while David Hobbs would wrap up his professional stock car career afterwards.
Finishing order
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race