The 1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

race that was held on June 19, 1977, at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...

Brooklyn, Michigan Brooklyn is a village in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,206 at the 2010 census. It is located in the Irish Hills region of southern Michigan, just north of U.S. Route 12 along M-50. The village is located wi ...

Background

is a four-turn superspeedway that is 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 drivers started this 200-lap event; all of them were born in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

.''1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400''
racing information at Racing Reference Bill Seifert would return after a five-year absence from NASCAR and recorded a12th-place finish.

Ferrel Harris Ferrel Harris (October 8, 1940-May 7, 2000) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1982. Career Harris acquired no wins, no finishes in the top-five, and five finishes in the top ten. Out of the 8975 laps that H ...

was credited with the last-place finish due to difficulties with his engine on the ninth lap.

Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the bro ...

would be the highest place finisher not to finish the race; he acquired a similar problem on lap 176.

Cale Yarborough William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...

would defeat

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

by ten seconds. More than 61,000 fans would see nearly three hours of racing.

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, and ...

, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and future NASCAR on FOX personality

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...

would duel among each other for the lead early on in the race. Winnings for each driver varied from $20,625 for the race winner ($ when adjusted for inflation) to $1,300 for the last-place finisher ($ when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse of this race was $123,005 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Notable crew chiefs in the race were

Buddy Parrott James Kenneth "Buddy" Parrott is an American NASCAR crew chief. Over 18 years, Parrott won 49 races. Parrott's sons Todd and Brad also served as crew chiefs. Career Parrott's career began in 1968 when he became a tire changer for Huggins Tire, ...

Jake Elder J. C. "Jake" Elder (November 22, 1936 – February 24, 2010) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief. He was the championship crew chief for two years and for part of a third season. Elder had these successes despite never pas ...

Joey Arrington Joey Arrington (born July 25, 1956) is an American former NASCAR driver, team owner, and crew chief from Rocky Mount, Virginia. He made nine Winston Cup Series starts with a best finish of 12th. He made his first start in 1974 as a 17-year-old a ...

Kirk Shelmerdine Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Crew chief After spending his early NASCAR career as an engineer for Hylton Engineering, in 1984 ...

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

and

Tim Brewer Timothy Ivan "Tim" Brewer (born February 4, 1955) is an American former stock car racing crew chief and television analyst for '' NASCAR on ESPN''. He was part of '' NASCAR Countdown'', the pre-race show, with host Brent Musburger and fellow anal ...

.1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 crew chiefs
at Racing Reference

Janet Guthrie Janet Guthrie (born March 7, 1938) is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, both in 1977. She had first attempted to enter the Indianapolis 500 in 197 ...

was the lone female competitor in this race. 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 made his first NASCAR Cup start in more than two years and turned in a solid top-15 performance.

Roland Wlodyka Roland Wlodyka was an American stock car racing driver and mechanic, driving in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 1970s and later crew chiefing in the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series in the 1980s and 1990s. Racing career Wlodyka quit drag racin ...

made his NASCAR Cup debut but finished 29th after a transmission failure. It was the first start as an owner for eventual Cup Series Champion

Rod Osterlund Rod Osterlund was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series car owner spanning from 1977–1981, and then again from 1989–1991. He earned his money off rental property in California. Osterlund's first race as a car owner was at the 1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 whi ...

Qualifying

Results

Standings after the race

References

{{authority control Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 Cam 2 Motor Oil NASCAR races at Michigan International Speedway