1987 Miller American 400

1987 Miller American 400
Race details
Race 14 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 Miller American 400 program cover.
The 1987 Miller American 400 program cover.
Date June 28, 1987
Official name 19th Annual Miller American 400
Location Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Average speed 153.551 miles per hour (247.116 km/h)
Attendance 78,000
Pole position
Driver Blue Max Racing
Time 42.168
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 152
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, Chris Economaki
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1987 Miller American 400 was the 14th stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 19th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 28, 1987, before an audience of 78,000 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.

By race's end, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt dominated a majority of the race, leading 154 laps en route to his 27th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his seventh victory of the season. With the victory, Earnhardt was able to increase his driver's championship lead over Bill Elliott by 304 points.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Ranier-Lundy Racing's Davey Allison and Wood Brothers Racing's Kyle Petty 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.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Buick Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
04 Charlie Rudolph Rudolph Racing Chevrolet Sunoco
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet Kroger
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Chevrolet Throop Racing
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Chevrolet Alugard
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile Hardee's
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet All Pro Auto Parts
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac Almeda Auto Parts
38 Rickey Hood Hood Racing Ford Hood Racing
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
49 Bob Keselowski Keselowski Racing Chevrolet Arnold Jerome Enterprises
50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac Valvoline
51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet Mound Steel & Supply
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Copenhagen
62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac AC Spark Plug
64 Rodney Combs Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
68 Jerry Holden Holden Racing Chevrolet Altra-Dry
69 Donny Paul Paul Racing Chevrolet Cyclo Automotive
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Helen Rae Special
74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet Wawak Racing
75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
77 Eddie Bierschwale Ragan Racing Ford Ragan Racing
80 Gary Fedewa Burke Racing Chevrolet Burke Racing
81 Mike Potter Fillip Racing Ford Fillip Racing
82 Rick Jeffrey Jeffrey Racing Chevrolet Jeffrey Racing
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Wynn's, Kmart
85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet James Chevrolet
88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Crisco
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
91 Ken Bouchard Sullivan Racing Chevrolet Sullivan Racing

Qualifying

[edit]

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Saturday, June 27, 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 were given.

Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 42.168 and an average speed of 170.746 miles per hour (274.789 km/h) in the first round.[4]

12 drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

[edit]
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 42.168 170.746
2 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford 42.275 170.313
3 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 42.289 170.257
4 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 42.330 170.092
5 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 42.368 169.940
6 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 42.374 169.916
7 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 42.394 169.835
8 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 42.404 169.795
9 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 42.493 169.440
10 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 42.510 169.372
11 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 42.531 169.288
12 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 42.562 169.165
13 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 42.565 169.153
14 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 42.614 168.959
15 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 42.723 168.527
16 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 42.726 168.516
17 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 42.731 168.496
18 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 42.758 168.390
19 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 42.760 168.382
20 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 42.840 168.067
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 42.395 169.831
22 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 42.704 168.602
23 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 42.869 167.954
24 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 42.902 167.824
25 1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet 42.910 167.793
26 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 42.967 167.570
27 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 43.001 167.438
28 6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet 43.033 167.313
29 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 43.065 167.189
30 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 43.192 166.698
31 69 Donny Paul Paul Racing Chevrolet 43.222 166.582
32 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac 43.249 166.478
33 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 43.314 166.228
34 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 43.343 166.117
35 77 Eddie Bierschwale Ragan Racing Ford 43.398 165.906
36 91 Ken Bouchard Sullivan Racing Chevrolet 43.454 165.692
37 08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Chevrolet 43.468 165.639
38 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 43.600 165.138
39 51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet 43.643 164.975
40 64 Rodney Combs Langley Racing Ford 43.801 164.380
41 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile - -
Failed to qualify (results unknown)
42 04 Charlie Rudolph Rudolph Racing Chevrolet -* -*
43 38 Rickey Hood Hood Racing Ford -* -*
44 49 Bob Keselowski Keselowski Racing Chevrolet -* -*
45 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac -* -*
46 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
47 68 Jerry Holden Holden Racing Chevrolet -* -*
48 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac -* -*
49 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet -* -*
50 80 Gary Fedewa Burke Racing Chevrolet -* -*
51 81 Mike Potter Fillip Racing Ford -* -*
52 82 Rick Jeffrey Jeffrey Racing Chevrolet -* -*
53 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Official starting lineup

Race results

[edit]
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 6 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 152 running 185 $60,250
2 8 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 200 0 running 170 $27,575
3 23 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 0 running 165 $26,025
4 17 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 7 running 165 $13,175
5 1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 200 15 running 160 $25,150
6 11 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 200 0 running 150 $16,100
7 14 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 146 $10,655
8 3 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 199 3 running 147 $14,245
9 22 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 138 $16,500
10 30 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 199 0 running 134 $7,475
11 10 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 130 $12,625
12 15 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 199 0 running 127 $9,425
13 20 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 124 $8,965
14 18 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 199 0 running 121 $12,950
15 29 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 118 $8,505
16 9 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 199 0 running 115 $3,975
17 34 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 198 1 running 117 $7,585
18 41 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 198 0 running 109 $7,200
19 35 77 Eddie Bierschwale Ragan Racing Ford 197 0 running 0 $3,310
20 38 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 197 0 running 103 $7,060
21 13 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 196 0 running 100 $3,450
22 25 1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet 196 0 running 97 $2,835
23 40 64 Rodney Combs Langley Racing Ford 196 0 running 94 $5,930
24 27 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 195 0 running 91 $2,615
25 21 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 194 3 running 93 $5,650
26 39 51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet 194 0 running 85 $2,420
27 7 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 193 0 running 82 $9,360
28 5 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 192 0 running 79 $11,100
29 24 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 189 0 running 76 $2,230
30 12 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 169 0 engine 73 $2,180
31 19 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 163 0 engine 70 $5,900
32 36 91 Ken Bouchard Sullivan Racing Chevrolet 158 0 oil pressure 67 $2,075
33 26 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 130 0 brakes 64 $2,025
34 4 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 126 19 engine 66 $12,050
35 31 69 Donny Paul Paul Racing Chevrolet 104 0 engine 58 $1,915
36 37 08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Chevrolet 90 0 engine 0 $1,885
37 33 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 83 0 engine 52 $4,650
38 28 6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet 63 0 engine 0 $4,640
39 16 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 62 0 engine 46 $4,620
40 32 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac 32 0 crash 43 $1,875
41 2 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford 0 0 did not start 0 $0
Failed to qualify (results unknown)
42 04 Charlie Rudolph Rudolph Racing Chevrolet
43 38 Rickey Hood Hood Racing Ford
44 49 Bob Keselowski Keselowski Racing Chevrolet
45 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
46 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac
47 68 Jerry Holden Holden Racing Chevrolet
48 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
49 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet
50 80 Gary Fedewa Burke Racing Chevrolet
51 81 Mike Potter Fillip Racing Ford
52 82 Rick Jeffrey Jeffrey Racing Chevrolet
53 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 29, 1987). "Earnhardt Tops Allison At Michigan". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 8B. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Brown, Clifton (June 29, 1987). "Earnhardt wins 400 at MIS". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 9D. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. May 19, 1987. pp. 27A. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 28, 1987). "Wallace, Cope form Unlikely Front Row". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 7D. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


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1987 Budweiser 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1987 season
Next race:
1987 Pepsi Firecracker 400