1982 Champion Spark Plug 400

The 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on August 22, 1982, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.

1982 Champion Spark Plug 400
Race details[1]
Race 20 of 30 in the 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover
1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover
Date August 22, 1982 (1982-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 Temperatures approaching 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds up to 11.8 miles per hour (19.0 km/h)
Average speed 136.454 miles per hour (219.601 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Melling Racing
Time 44.173
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Allison DiGard Motorsports
Laps 120
Winner
No. 88 Bobby Allison DiGard Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

Background

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Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[2] Groundbreaking took place on September 28, 1967. Over 2.5 million cubic yards (1.9×10^6 m3) 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.[3] 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.

Summary

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It took two hours and forty-five minutes to complete this event. 38 American-born drivers competed on this 200-lap event; Joe Ruttman would become the last-place finisher due to a problem with his vehicle's oil pump on the second lap. Bill Elliott would end up finishing the race 96 laps behind the leaders while Tim Richmond would see the conclusion of his racing weekend by inflicting some damage to the back of his car on lap 161. This was the debut race for the Chrysler Imperial car of Buddy Arrington.[4]

Thirty thousand people watched Bobby Allison best Richard Petty by two car lengths. Bill Elliott won pole position with a speed of 162.995 miles per hour (262.315 km/h). The final 50 laps would be monopolized by three different drivers (Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison).

Terry Labonte would lead in championship points after this race; trailing by 50 points to Bobby Allison. The race average speed was 136.545 miles per hour (219.748 km/h).[4] Ronnie Thomas and Al Loquasto did not qualify on time but were added to the field through what would come to be known as provisionals.[4]

Tony Bettenhausen Jr. and Robin McCall would make their respective departures from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series after the conclusion of this event.[5]

Notable crew chiefs to participate in the race were Buddy Parrott, Junie Donlavey, Joey Arrington, Elmo Langley, Darrell Bryant, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Waddell Wilson, Tim Brewer, Bud Moore, Jeff Hammond, and Larry McReynolds.[6]

Individual race earnings ranged from the winner's share of $26,900 ($84,929.79 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $1,850 ($5,840.9 when adjusted for inflation). $222,875 went to all the drivers of this event ($703,670.17 when adjusted for inflation).[7]

Qualifying

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Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Qualifying time[8] Speed[8]
1 9 Bill Elliott Ford 44.173 162.995
2 11 Darrell Waltrip Buick 44.210 162.859
3 3 Ricky Rudd Pontiac 44.444 162.002
4 28 Buddy Baker Pontiac 44.513 161.750
5 67 Buddy Arrington Chrysler 44.598 161.442
6 44 Terry Labonte Buick 44.632 161.319
7 27 Cale Yarborough Buick 44.657 161.229
8 1 Kyle Petty Pontiac 44.731 160.962
9 2 Tim Richmond Buick 44.753 160.883
10 88 Bobby Allison Buick 44.768 160.829

Results

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POS[9] ST # DRIVER SPONSOR (OWNER) CAR LAPS MONEY STATUS LED PTS
1 10 88 Bobby Allison Gatorade (DiGard Racing) Buick 200 26900 running 120 185
2 11 43 Richard Petty STP (Petty Enterprises) Pontiac 200 20505 running 13 175
3 15 33 Harry Gant 7-Eleven/Skoal Bandit (Hal Needham) Buick 200 13255 running 0 165
4 13 50 Geoffrey Bodine Performance Connection (Cliff Stewart) Pontiac 200 15200 running 2 165
5 14 55 Benny Parsons Weyman & Bruton (Johnny Hayes) Buick 200 6725 running 2 160
6 5 67 Buddy Arrington Tom Prange Leasing (Buddy Arrington) Chrysler 199 8845 running 2 155
7 2 11 Darrell Waltrip Mountain Dew (Junior Johnson) Buick 198 16300 running 20 151
8 28 71 Dave Marcis Throttle's Food & Fuel (Dave Marcis) Buick 197 6725 running 3 147
9 17 21 Neil Bonnett Warner Hodgdon/National Eng. (Wood Brothers) Ford 197 3150 running 1 143
10 20 47 Ron Bouchard J.D. Stacy (Jack Beebe) Buick 197 10050 running 0 134
11 24 52 Jimmy Means Broadway Motors (Jimmy Means) Buick 197 5715 running 0 130
12 19 17 Lake Speed Yazoo Mowers (Roger Hamby) Buick 197 5405 running 0 127
13 27 77 Dean Combs Sports Specs/R.L. Monroe (Irv Sanderson) Buick 196 2250 running 0 124
14 3 3 Ricky Rudd Piedmont Airlines (Richard Childress) Pontiac 195 5160 running 0 121
15 8 1 Kyle Petty UNO / STP (Hoss Ellington) Pontiac 195 2100 running 0 118
16 21 70 J.D. McDuffie Bailey Excavating (J.D. McDuffie) Pontiac 193 5175 running 0 115
17 38 42 Ronnie Thomas Thomas Racing (Ronnie Thomas) Pontiac 193 1850 running 0 112
18 32 40 Joe Booher Booher Farms (D.K. Ulrich) Buick 192 1750 running 0 109
19 31 19 Charlie Baker H.M. Kelly Trucking (Henley Gray) Buick 192 1700 running 0 106
20 30 64 Tommy Gale Sunny King Ford & Honda (Elmo Langley) Ford 191 4165 running 0 103
21 6 44 Terry Labonte Texas Jeans/Stratagraph (Billy Hagan) Buick 187 3850 running 0 100
22 36 48 James Hylton Palatine Auto Parts (James Hylton) Chevrolet 179 3595 running 0 97
23 9 2 Tim Richmond Stacy-Pak (Jim Stacy) Buick 161 3275 rear end 1 99
24 33 24 Tony Bettenhausen Jr Provimi Veal (Cecil Gordon) Buick 139 3215 engine 0 91
25 4 28 Buddy Baker J.D. Stacy (Harry Ranier) Pontiac 109 9525 radiator 0 88
26 25 90 Jody Ridley J.D. Stacy (Junie Donlavey) Ford 108 8750 engine 0 85
27 1 9 Bill Elliott Melling Tool (Harry Melling) Ford 104 3500 running 6 87
28 7 27 Cale Yarborough Valvoline (M.C. Anderson) Buick 103 1250 transmission 28 84
29 35 54 David Simko GNF Prototype Casting (Elmer Simko) Buick 96 1200 engine 0 76
30 18 15 Dale Earnhardt Wrangler Jeans (Bud Moore) Ford 76 8750 brakes 0 73
31 22 03 David Pearson Carolina Tool (Bobby Hawkins) Buick 75 1100 oil pump 0 70
32 12 98 Morgan Shepherd Levi Garrett (Ron Benfield) Buick 68 2805 sway bar 2 72
33 29 5 Robin McCall Stacy-Pak (Jim Stacy) Buick 47 1000 crash 0 64
34 23 02 Mark Martin Briarwood Hilton (Bud Reeder) Pontiac 45 2685 rear end 0 61
35 26 36 H.B. Bailey Almeda Auto Parts (H.B. Bailey) Pontiac 42 900 handling 0 58
36 37 6 Al Loquasto Pentax Cameras (D.K. Ulrich) Buick 18 1850 crash 0 55
37 34 13 Earle Canavan JOB/Wyandotte Vapocure/Wynns (Earle Canavan) Oldsmobile 7 850 engine 0 52
38 16 75 Joe Ruttman Pet Dairy (Rahmoc Enterprises) Buick 2 1850 oil pump 0 49
Failed to qualify
POS NAME NBR SPONSOR OWNER CAR
Marty Robbins
Gil Roth
Bill Scott
Bob Slawinski
Bobby Wawak

Timeline

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Section reference: [4]

  • Start of race: Bill Elliott has the pole position to begin the race with.
  • Lap 2: Joe Ruttman's oil pump became problematic, forcing him to become the last-place finisher.
  • Lap 3: Caution for spun tire on turn three, green flag racing resumed on lap 6.
  • Lap 7: Earle Canavan's engine stopped working properly.
  • Lap 18: Al Loquasto had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 21: Caution due to a five-car accident, green flag racing resumed on lap 26.
  • Lap 42: H.B. Bailey could not handle his vehicle properly, forcing him to exit the race.
  • Lap 45: Mark Martin lost the rear end of his vehicle.
  • Lap 47: Robin McCall had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 51: Caution due to Robin McCall's accident, green flag racing resumed on lap 26.
  • Lap 68: The sway bar from Morgan Shepherd's vehicle came off, ending his race weekend early.
  • Lap 75: David Pearson's oil pump stopped working properly.
  • Lap 76: Dale Earnhardt's vehicle developed serious brake issues.
  • Lap 84: Caution due to rain, green flag racing resumed on lap 92.
  • Lap 96: Dave Simko's engine became more than a nuisance for him, causing him to leave the race.
  • Lap 103: Cale Yarborough's transmission problems ended his hopes of finishing the race.
  • Lap 108: Jody Ridley managed to blow the engine of his vehicle.
  • Lap 109: Buddy Baker's radiator stopped working properly.
  • Lap 115: Caution due to debris; green flag racing resumed on lap 118.
  • Lap 139: Tony Bettenhausen Jr.'s engine caused him to end his race weekend prematurely.
  • Lap 161: Tim Richmond managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle.
  • Finish: Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race

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Pos Driver Points[4] Differential
1 Bobby Allison 2962 0
2 Terry Labonte 2912 -50
3 Darrell Waltrip 2842 -120
4 Richard Petty 2537 -425
5 Buddy Arrington 2524 -438
6 Dave Marcis 2493 -469
7 Harry Gant 2460 -502
8 Ron Bouchard 2389 -573
9 Dale Earnhardt 2385 -577
10 Morgan Shepherd 2312 -650

References

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  1. ^ Weather information for the 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  3. ^ "Track History". Michigan International Speedway. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e Racing information for the 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Racing Reference
  5. ^ After-events of the 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Race-Database
  6. ^ 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 crew chiefs information at Racing Reference
  7. ^ Winnings information for the 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  8. ^ a b Qualifying information at Racing Reference
  9. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1982
Succeeded by