1976 Firecracker 400
Race details[1]
Race 16 of 30 in the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
The official program of the 1976 Firecracker 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race.
The official program of the 1976 Firecracker 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race.
Date July 4, 1976 (1976-July-04)
Official name Firecracker 400
Location Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.500 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures up to 91.0 °F (32.8 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 160.966 miles per hour (259.050 km/h)
Attendance 50,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Ellington Racing
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 71
Winner
No. 11 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network ABC (tape delay)
Announcers Keith Jackson
Cover of a brochure for the 1976 Firecracker 400.

The 1976 Firecracker 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 4, 1976, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Ticket prices for this race ranged from $8 ($41.14 when adjusted for inflation) to $30 ($154.28 when adjusted for inflation).[3]

Race report

There were 40 drivers on the grid; all were American-born males except for Janet Guthrie.[2] Buddy Arrington was first out due to ignition troubles before the start of the first lap out of the 160 laps.[2][4] A. J. Foyt won the pole position with a speed of 183.090 miles per hour (294.655 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 160.966 miles per hour (259.050 km/h).[2][5]

Cale Yarborough defeated David Pearson by eight seconds in front of an audience of 40,000 people.[2] Two cautions (for 14 laps) and 41 different lead changes made the race two hours and twenty-nine minutes long.[2][5] The green flag was waved at 10:00 A.M.

The winner of the race received $22,215 ($114,244.86 when adjusted for inflation) while the last place finisher went home with $1,310 ($6,736.92 when adjusted for inflation).[2][4] Notable crew chiefs for this race included Billy Hagan, Junie Donlavey, Buddy Parrott, Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Bud Moore, Sterling Marlin, Herb Nab and Tim Brewer.[6]

The race was run on America's 200th birthday and was the site of Dick Skillen's best career finish of 17th. This race was the first career finish for Bill Elliott.[2]

Buck and Buddy Baker both exited the race on lap 32, as the 57-year-old elder champion made his final Daytona start.[2]

Qualifying

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 28 A.J. Foyt Chevrolet Hoss Ellington
2 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet Junior Johnson
3 43 Richard Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises
4 2 Bobby Allison Mercury Roger Penske
5 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet L.G. DeWitt
6 71 Dave Marcis Dodge Nord Krauskopf
7 21 David Pearson Mercury Wood Brothers
8 14 Coo Coo Marlin Chevrolet H.B. Cunningham
9 41 Grant Adcox Chevrolet Herb Adcox
10 48 James Hylton Chevrolet James Hylton

Failed to qualify: Sam Sommers (#27) and Jerry Mabie (#34)[7]

Finishing order

POS[8] ST # DRIVER SPONSOR / OWNER CAR LAPS MONEY STATUS LED PTS
1 2 11   Cale Yarborough Holly Farms   (Junior Johnson) Chevrolet 160 22215 running 71 185
2 7 21   David Pearson Purolator   (Wood Brothers) Mercury 160 13615 running 1 175
3 4 2   Bobby Allison CAM 2   (Roger Penske) Mercury 160 13245 running 64 170
4 1 28   A.J. Foyt Gilmore   (Hoss Ellington) Chevrolet 159 7440 running 6
5 6 71   Dave Marcis K & K Insurance   (Nord Krauskopf) Dodge 157 7810 running 0 155
6 8 14   Coo Coo Marlin Cunningham-Kelley   (H.B. Cunningham) Chevrolet 157 6300 running 0 150
7 5 72   Benny Parsons King's Row Fireplace   (L.G. DeWitt) Chevrolet 156 6630 running 0 146
8 30 90   Dick Brooks Truxmore   (Junie Donlavey) Ford 156 5170 running 0 142
9 15 05   David Sisco David Sisco Chevrolet 153 4660 running 1 143
10 22 22   Ricky Rudd Al Rudd Auto Parts   (Al Rudd) Chevrolet 152 2590 running 0 134
11 29 52   Jimmy Means Howard's Machine Shop   (Bill Gray) Chevrolet 149 2390 running 0 130
12 34 3   Richard Childress Kansas Jack   (Richard Childress) Chevrolet 148 4150 running 0 127
13 20 79   Frank Warren Native Tan   (Frank Warren) Dodge 148 3940 running 0 124
14 28 36   Bobby Wawak J & B Corvette   (John Gwinn) Chevrolet 148 2115 running 0 121
15 33 68   Janet Guthrie Kelly Services   (Lynda Ferreri) Chevrolet 147 1570 running 0
16 36 40   D.K. Ulrich Garden State Auto   (J.R. DeLotto) Chevrolet 144 3530 running 0 115
17 31 78   Dick Skillen Goffco   (Tom Goff) Chevrolet 143 1790 running 0 112
18 39 91   Harold Miller Bartow Paving   (Harold Miller) Chevrolet 142 1690 running 0 109
19 38 10   Bill Elliott Sunny King   (Bill Champion) Ford 141 3070 running 0 106
20 21 77   Johnny Rutherford Hy Gain   (Johnny Ray) Chevrolet 139 1740 rear end 0
21 25 26   Jimmy Lee Capps Sellers Automotive   (David Lee Sellers) Chevrolet 132 1290 running 0 100
22 3 43   Richard Petty STP   (Petty Enterprises) Dodge 126 5960 engine 1 102
23 32 61   Joe Mihalic Lou Viglione Chevrolet 125 1140 running 0 94
24 23 70   J.D. McDuffie Butler's   (J.D. McDuffie) Chevrolet 122 2390 engine 0 91
25 13 47   Bruce Hill Howson Algraphy   (Bruce Hill) Chevrolet 110 1990 driveshaft 0 88
26 10 48   James Hylton Hylton Engineering   (James Hylton) Chevrolet 102 1815 engine 2 90
27 40 25   Dick May Don Robertson Chevrolet 81 1540 rear end 0 82
28 26 82   Ferrel Harris Rossmeyer   (Ferrel Harris) Dodge 75 1015 rear end 0 79
29 18 19   Tommy Gale Belden Asphalt   (Henley Gray) Chevrolet 70 990 electrical 0 76
30 9 41   Grant Adcox Adcox-Kirby   (Herb Adcox) Chevrolet 67 965 engine 0 73
31 35 92   Skip Manning Stratagraph   (Billy Hagan) Chevrolet 60 940 electrical 0 70
32 14 54   Lennie Pond Pepsi-Cola   (Ronnie Elder) Chevrolet 48 1415 engine 0 67
33 11 12   Neil Bonnett Hawaiian Tropic   (Neil Bonnett) Chevrolet 39 890 wheel bearing 0 64
34 16 24   Cecil Gordon Burger King   (Cecil Gordon) Chevrolet 33 1360 crash 0 61
35 12 15   Buddy Baker Norris Industries   (Bud Moore) Ford 32 3835 engine 14 63
36 24 18   Buck Baker Excuse Lounge   (Joe Frasson) Chevrolet 32 830 crash 0 55
37 37 7   Ed Negre Dean Dalton Chevrolet 16 825 electrical 0 52
38 19 60   Jackie Rogers Red Dog's   (Lou Viglione) Chevrolet 13 820 overheating 0 49
39 17 88   Darrell Waltrip Gatorade   (DiGard Racing) Chevrolet 9 3815 engine 0 46
40 27 67   Buddy Arrington Sub-Tropic   (Buddy Arrington) Dodge 0 1310 ignition 0 43
Failed to qualify
POS NAME NBR SPONSOR OWNER CAR
Sam Sommers 27 M.C. Anderson Racing M.C. Anderson Chevrolet
Jerry Mabie 34 J-2 Racing Jerry Mabie Chevrolet

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1 Cale Yarborough 2503 0
2 Benny Parsons 2413 -90
3 Increase Bobby Allison 2331 -172
4 Decrease Richard Petty 2303 -200
5 Increase Dave Marcis 2060 -443
6 Decrease Lennie Pond 2031 -472
7 Richard Childress 1994 -509
8 Increase David Pearson 1918 -585
9 Decrease Buddy Baker 1886 -617
10 Increase Frank Warren 1798 -705

References

  1. ^ 1976 Firecracker 400 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Firecracker 400 racing information at Racing Reference
  3. ^ 1976 Firecracker Ticket Prices Archived 2012-03-28 at the Wayback Machine at Starport75.com
  4. ^ a b 1976 Firecracker 400 racing information Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  5. ^ a b 1976 Firecracker 400 racing information at Database Racing
  6. ^ 1976 Firecracker 400 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  7. ^ Qualifying information at Racing Reference
  8. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
Preceded by1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Season 1976 Succeeded by1976 Nashville 420
Preceded by1975 Firecracker 400 races 1976 Succeeded by1977
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