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.
Programs were sold for this race at a price of $1.50 per copy ($ when adjusted for inflation). The cost of admission to this race was relatively cheap; children got in for US$5 ($ when adjusted for inflation) while adults got decent seats for US$10 ($ when adjusted for inflation).
This was the first Cup race at Michigan International Speedway to have a corporate title sponsor. In all prior years, the August Michigan Cup race had been called the Yankee 400.
Background Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. Groundbreaking took place on September 28, 1967. Over of dirt were moved to form the D-shaped oval. The track opened in 1968 with a total capacity of 25,000 seats. The track was originally built and owned by Lawrence H. LoPatin, a Detroit-area land developer who built the speedway at an estimated cost of $4–6 million. Financing was arranged by Thomas W Itin. Its first race took place on Sunday, October 13, 1968, with the running of the USAC 250 mile Championship Car Race won by Ronnie Bucknum.
Race report Two hundred laps were completed in three hours and forty-five seconds on the paved oval track spanning . All of the 36 drivers who qualified for this race were born in the United States of America. Henley Gray started 374 races in Cup, but this is the only race where he led laps - two of them right after Coo Coo Marlin's wreck.
Six yellow flags slowed the race for 63 laps while the lead changed 25 times among twelve drivers. Richard Petty would defeat David Pearson by a distance of five feet as the lead changed four times between them in the final four laps in front of 47,000 audience members. This race was considered to be one of MRN's finest broadcasts; with interesting commentary during a long rain delay.
Pearson would win the pole position with a speed of while the average speed of the race would be . Even with David Pearson finishing in second place, he managed to keep his 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 for owner Lou Viglione and his 1975 Chevrolet team; he would match his career-best qualifying effort with a ninth-place starting spot but the motor on his #60 Chevrolet failed in the opening laps. The race saw A. J. Foyt lead sixty-eight laps before falling out with engine failure after 117 laps. Independent driver David Sisco led 28 laps en route to finishing 11th.
Prize winnings would range from $15,140 for the winner ($ when adjusted for inflation) to $700 for the last-place finisher ($ when adjusted for inflation). There were 36 cars on the official racing grid; most of them were Chevrolets. Terry Bivins would make his NASCAR debut in this race. Maynard Troyer would record his only top ten on his career. 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).
Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer 1 21 David Pearson '73 Mercury 2 15 Buddy Baker '75 Ford 3 28 A. J. Foyt '75 Chevrolet 4 43 Richard Petty '74 Dodge 5 16 Bobby Allison '75 AMC Matador 6 14 Coo Coo Marlin '75 Chevrolet 7 90 Dick Brooks '73 Ford 8 11 Cale Yarborough '75 Chevrolet 9 60 Jackie Rogers '75 Chevrolet 10 72 Benny Parsons '75 Chevrolet 11 88 Darrell Waltrip '75 Chevrolet 12 24 Cecil Gordon '75 Chevrolet 13 48 James Hylton '74 Chevrolet 14 47 Bruce Hill '75 Chevrolet 15 96 Richard Childress '75 Chevrolet 16 7 Dean Dalton '73 Ford 17 19 Henley Gray '74 Chevrolet 18 05 David Sisco '75 Chevrolet 19 79 Frank Warren '74 Dodge 20 8 Ed Negre '74 Dodge 21 71 Dave Marcis '74 Dodge 22 70 J.D. McDuffie '75 Chevrolet 23 98 Richie Panch '75 Chevrolet 24 30 Walter Ballard '75 Chevrolet 25 63 Terry Bivins '75 Chevrolet
Finishing order Section reference: POSST#DRIVERSPONSOR / OWNERCARLAPSMONEYSTATUSLEDPTS1443 Richard PettySTP (Petty Enterprises)'74 Dodge20018140running451802121 David PearsonPurolator (Wood Brothers)'73 Mercury20010735running331753811 Cale YarboroughHolly Farms (Junior Johnson)'75 Chevrolet2009385running01654516 Bobby AllisonCoca-Cola / AMC (Roger Penske)'75 Matador2004060running916552171 Dave MarcisK & K Insurance (Nord Krauskopf)'74 Dodge1996310running31606215 Buddy BakerBud Moore Engineering (Bud Moore)'75 Ford1985710running215571188 Darrell WaltripTerminal Transport (DiGard Racing)'75 Chevrolet1984610running315181447 Bruce HillDixie 500 (Bruce Hill)'75 Chevrolet1972510running114792563 Terry BivinsMoyer Chevrolet (Billy Moyer)'75 Chevrolet1961910running013810167 Dean DaltonBelden Asphalt (Dean Dalton)'73 Ford1961810running0134112430 Walter BallardClyde Lynn Auto Parts (Walter Ballard)'75 Chevrolet1962210running1135121805 David SiscoReliable Plumbing (David Sisco)'75 Chevrolet1962110running28132131224 Cecil GordonBob Stott Motors (Cecil Gordon)'75 Chevrolet1951905running0124142741 Grant AdcoxAdcox-Kirby (Herb Adcox)'75 Chevrolet1951285running0121153437 Bruce JacobiOpal's Truck Stop (Opal Voight)'75 Chevrolet1951185running0118163382 Ferrel HarrisDan Walters Forever (Ferrel Harris)'74 Dodge1941100running0115171348 James HyltonNitro 9 (James Hylton)'74 Chevrolet1941575running0112183164 Elmo LangleyIndependent Auto Salvage (Elmo Langley)'73 Ford1941550running0109193633 Dick MayJoli Boutique (Hiram Handy)'75 Chevrolet1931025running010620790 Dick BrooksTruxmore Industries (Junie Donlavey)'73 Ford1921500running0103212840 D.K. UlrichGarden State Auto Body (D.K. Ulrich)'75 Chevrolet192975running0100222967 Buddy ArringtonPagoda Motel (Buddy Arrington)'73 Plymouth1921450running097233525 Jabe ThomasThomas Racing (Don Robertson)'74 Chevrolet190925running094243091 Harold MillerMiller Racing (Harold Miller)'75 Chevrolet187900running091252398 Richie PanchGrey-Rock Brake Products (Bettie Panch)'75 Chevrolet1831375engine088261979 Frank WarrenJohn 3:16 (Frank Warren)'74 Dodge1541350running085271719 Henley GrayGray Racing (Henley Gray)'74 Chevrolet142825rear end287282270 J.D. McDuffieButler's / Glenn's Landscaping (J.D. McDuffie)'75 Chevrolet1321300engine079292665 Carl AdamsAdams Racing (Richard Mummert)'73 Ford119785engine07630328 A. J. FoytGilmore Enterprises (Hoss Ellington)'75 Chevrolet117940engine6983311596 Richard ChildressL.C. Newton Trucking (Tom Garn)'75 Chevrolet961250engine275323201 Earle CanavanKava Instant Coffee (Earle Canavan)'74 Dodge61740engine06733208 Ed Negre10,000 RPM Speed Equipment (Ed Negre)'74 Dodge581230engine269341072 Benny ParsonsKing's Row Fireplace (L.G. DeWitt)'75 Chevrolet463220engine06135614 Coo Coo MarlinCunningham-Kelley (H.B. Cunningham)'75 Chevrolet171210engine05836960 Jackie RogersViglione Racing (Lou Viglione)'75 Chevrolet6700engine055
Timeline Section reference: Start: David Pearson was leading the starting grid as the first official lap commenced. Lap 6: Jackie Roberts fell out with engine failure. Lap 20: Coo Coo Marlin fell out with engine failure, causing a lengthy caution for repairs. Lap 48: Benny Parsons fell out with engine failure. Lap 58: Ed Negre fell out with engine failure. Lap 61: Earle Canavan fell out with engine failure. Lap 67: Caution due to rain, ended on lap 87. Lap 97: Richard Childress fell out with engine failure. Lap 117: A. J. Foyt fell out with engine failure. Lap 119: Carl Adams fell out with engine failure. Lap 132: J. D. McDuffie fell out with engine failure. Lap 142: The rear end came off of Henley Gray's vehicle in an unsafe manner. Lap 183: Richie Panch fell out with engine failure. Lap 192: Caution due to Cale Yarborough and Dave Marcis spinning into the frontstretch, ended on lap 195. Finish: Richard Petty was officially declared the winner of the event.
Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Richard Petty 3329 0 2 Dave Marcis 2756 -573 3 James Hylton 2625 -704 4 Benny Parsons 2525 -804 5 Richard Childress 2493 -836 6 Darrell Waltrip 2474 -855 7 Cecil Gordon 2449 -880 8 Elmo Langley 2224 -1105 9 David Pearson 2183 -1146 10 Buddy Baker 2103 -1226 10 Walter Ballard 2103 -1226
References