19th race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Motor car race
The
1987 Champion Spark Plug 400
was the 19th
stock car race
of the
1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
season and the 18th iteration of the
event
. The race was held on Sunday, August 16, 1987, before an audience of 72,000 in
Brooklyn, Michigan
, at
Michigan International Speedway
, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped
speedway
. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.
In the final laps of the race,
Melling Racing
's
Bill Elliott
was able to hold off a late-race charges by
Richard Petty
and
Dale Earnhardt
, holding off the field on the final restart with eight laps left to take his 20th career
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
victory and his third victory of the season.
[1]
[2]
To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Dale Earnhardt and
King Racing
's
Morgan Shepherd
finished second and third, respectively.
Background
[
edit
]
The layout of
Michigan International Speedway
, the venue where the race was held.
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped
speedway
located in
Brooklyn, Michigan
. The track is used primarily for
NASCAR
events. It is known as a "sister track" to
Texas World Speedway
as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of
Auto Club Speedway
. The track is owned by
International Speedway Corporation
. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Entry list
[
edit
]
- (R)
denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
[
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]
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Saturday, August 15, at 11:30 AM
EST
. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round were guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, at 2:00 PM
EST
. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 were decided on time,
[3]
and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two provisionals were given.
Davey Allison
, driving for
Ranier-Lundy Racing
, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 42.178 and an average speed of 170.705 miles per hour (274.723 km/h) in the first round.
[4]
Ten drivers failed to qualify. Two drivers who failed to qualify,
Jocko Maggiacomo
and
Donny Paul
, were both involved in qualifying crashes.
[5]
Full qualifying results
[
edit
]
Race results
[
edit
]
Fin
|
St
|
#
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Make
|
Laps
|
Led
|
Status
|
Pts
|
Winnings
|
1
|
3
|
9
|
Bill Elliott
|
Melling Racing
|
Ford
|
200
|
16
|
running
|
180
|
$52,875
|
2
|
8
|
3
|
Dale Earnhardt
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
200
|
63
|
running
|
180
|
$34,325
|
3
|
15
|
26
|
Morgan Shepherd
|
King Racing
|
Buick
|
200
|
1
|
running
|
170
|
$20,505
|
4
|
20
|
27
|
Rusty Wallace
|
Blue Max Racing
|
Pontiac
|
200
|
58
|
running
|
165
|
$20,650
|
5
|
1
|
28
|
Davey Allison
(R)
|
Ranier-Lundy Racing
|
Ford
|
200
|
21
|
running
|
160
|
$13,500
|
6
|
2
|
7
|
Alan Kulwicki
|
AK Racing
|
Ford
|
200
|
0
|
running
|
150
|
$15,795
|
7
|
19
|
22
|
Bobby Allison
|
Stavola Brothers Racing
|
Buick
|
200
|
11
|
running
|
151
|
$14,290
|
8
|
31
|
88
|
Buddy Baker
|
Baker-Schiff Racing
|
Oldsmobile
|
200
|
0
|
running
|
142
|
$8,295
|
9
|
30
|
75
|
Neil Bonnett
|
RahMoc Enterprises
|
Pontiac
|
200
|
0
|
running
|
138
|
$10,310
|
10
|
22
|
5
|
Geoff Bodine
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
200
|
1
|
running
|
139
|
$13,955
|
11
|
11
|
43
|
Richard Petty
|
Petty Enterprises
|
Pontiac
|
199
|
28
|
crash
|
135
|
$9,990
|
12
|
13
|
4
|
Rick Wilson
|
Morgan?McClure Motorsports
|
Oldsmobile
|
199
|
0
|
running
|
127
|
$4,845
|
13
|
16
|
8
|
Bobby Hillin Jr.
|
Stavola Brothers Racing
|
Buick
|
199
|
0
|
running
|
124
|
$11,515
|
14
|
23
|
55
|
Phil Parsons
|
Jackson Bros. Motorsports
|
Oldsmobile
|
199
|
0
|
running
|
121
|
$4,185
|
15
|
21
|
44
|
Sterling Marlin
|
Hagan Racing
|
Oldsmobile
|
199
|
0
|
running
|
118
|
$8,665
|
16
|
14
|
83
|
Lake Speed
|
Speed Racing
|
Oldsmobile
|
199
|
0
|
running
|
115
|
$3,645
|
17
|
7
|
17
|
Darrell Waltrip
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
199
|
1
|
running
|
117
|
$5,270
|
18
|
6
|
35
|
Benny Parsons
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
199
|
0
|
running
|
109
|
$12,425
|
19
|
40
|
50
|
Greg Sacks
|
Dingman Brothers Racing
|
Pontiac
|
198
|
0
|
running
|
106
|
$3,015
|
20
|
28
|
30
|
Michael Waltrip
|
Bahari Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
198
|
0
|
running
|
103
|
$7,030
|
21
|
5
|
1
|
Brett Bodine
|
Ellington Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
196
|
0
|
running
|
100
|
$3,420
|
22
|
35
|
70
|
J. D. McDuffie
|
McDuffie Racing
|
Pontiac
|
195
|
0
|
running
|
97
|
$2,560
|
23
|
33
|
67
|
Buddy Arrington
|
Arrington Racing
|
Ford
|
194
|
0
|
running
|
94
|
$5,865
|
24
|
17
|
89
|
Jim Sauter
|
Mueller Brothers Racing
|
Pontiac
|
190
|
0
|
engine
|
91
|
$2,840
|
25
|
27
|
15
|
Ricky Rudd
|
Bud Moore Engineering
|
Ford
|
180
|
0
|
running
|
88
|
$11,485
|
26
|
12
|
33
|
Harry Gant
|
Mach 1 Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
179
|
0
|
engine
|
85
|
$5,360
|
27
|
18
|
21
|
Kyle Petty
|
Wood Brothers Racing
|
Ford
|
165
|
0
|
engine
|
82
|
$9,100
|
28
|
34
|
51
|
David Simko
|
Simko Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
164
|
0
|
engine
|
79
|
$2,045
|
29
|
25
|
25
|
Tim Richmond
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
149
|
0
|
engine
|
76
|
$1,990
|
30
|
26
|
77
|
Ken Ragan
|
Ragan Racing
|
Ford
|
146
|
0
|
crash
|
73
|
$1,930
|
31
|
24
|
64
|
Rodney Combs
|
Langley Racing
|
Ford
|
146
|
0
|
engine
|
70
|
$4,935
|
32
|
39
|
74
|
Bobby Wawak
|
Wawak Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
137
|
0
|
oil leak
|
67
|
$1,845
|
33
|
9
|
11
|
Terry Labonte
|
Junior Johnson & Associates
|
Chevrolet
|
129
|
0
|
water pump
|
64
|
$10,600
|
34
|
4
|
90
|
Ken Schrader
|
Donlavey Racing
|
Ford
|
89
|
0
|
engine
|
61
|
$4,630
|
35
|
29
|
71
|
Dave Marcis
|
Marcis Auto Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
77
|
0
|
engine
|
58
|
$4,465
|
36
|
38
|
04
|
Charlie Rudolph
|
Rudolph Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
68
|
0
|
transmission
|
55
|
$1,680
|
37
|
36
|
52
|
Jimmy Means
|
Jimmy Means Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
65
|
0
|
engine
|
52
|
$4,430
|
38
|
10
|
19
|
Derrike Cope
(R)
|
Stoke Racing
|
Ford
|
43
|
0
|
engine
|
49
|
$1,670
|
39
|
37
|
18
|
Dale Jarrett
(R)
|
Freedlander Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
25
|
0
|
engine
|
46
|
$4,400
|
40
|
32
|
29
|
Cale Yarborough
|
Cale Yarborough Motorsports
|
Oldsmobile
|
22
|
0
|
engine
|
43
|
$1,660
|
Failed to qualify (results unknown)
|
41
|
|
01
|
Dave Pletcher Sr.
|
Weaver Racing
|
Ford
|
|
42
|
6
|
Connie Saylor
|
U.S. Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
43
|
12
|
Trevor Boys
|
Hamby Racing
|
Oldsmobile
|
44
|
36
|
H. B. Bailey
|
Bailey Racing
|
Pontiac
|
45
|
38
|
Rickey Hood
|
Hood Racing
|
Ford
|
46
|
62
|
Steve Christman
(R)
|
Winkle Motorsports
|
Pontiac
|
47
|
80
|
Eddie Bierschwale
|
S&H Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
48
|
82
|
Rick Jeffrey
|
Jeffrey Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
49
|
63
|
Jocko Maggiacomo
|
Linro Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
50
|
69
|
Donny Paul
|
Paul Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
Official race results
|
Standings after the race
[
edit
]
- Drivers' Championship standings
|
Pos
|
Driver
|
Points
|
|
1
|
Dale Earnhardt
|
3,151
|
1
|
2
|
Bill Elliott
|
2,653 (-498)
|
1
|
3
|
Terry Labonte
|
2,552 (-599)
|
1
|
4
|
Neil Bonnett
|
2,507 (?644)
|
2
|
5
|
Rusty Wallace
|
2,480 (?671)
|
|
6
|
Darrell Waltrip
|
2,479 (?672)
|
3
|
7
|
Kyle Petty
|
2,463 (?688)
|
|
8
|
Ricky Rudd
|
2,402 (?749)
|
|
9
|
Ken Schrader
|
2,341 (?810)
|
|
10
|
Richard Petty
|
2,323 (?828)
|
Official driver's standings
|
- Note
: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Higgins, Tom (August 17, 1987).
"Petty Makes A Run, But Elliott Wins Michigan"
.
The Charlotte Observer
. pp. 1B,
4B
. Retrieved
November 4,
2023
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Brown, Clifton (August 17, 1987).
"Elliott survives a chaotic 400"
.
Detroit Free Press
. pp. 1F,
6F
. Retrieved
November 4,
2023
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"NASCAR Today"
.
The Charlotte Observer
. August 14, 1987. pp. 5C
. Retrieved
November 4,
2023
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Higgins, Tom (August 16, 1987).
"Davey Allison Charges To Pole At Michigan"
.
The Charlotte Observer
. pp. 1D,
10D
. Retrieved
November 1,
2023
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Griffis, Richard (August 16, 1987).
"Fords thunder to first four spots on grid"
.
Battle Creek Enquirer
. pp. 3D
. Retrieved
November 4,
2023
– via
Newspapers.com
.
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Points races
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Exhibition races
| |
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