1977 Firecracker 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway. | |||
| Date | July 4, 1977 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.500 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 90.9 °F (32.7 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 142.716 miles per hour (229.679 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Neil Bonnett | Jim Stacy Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Laps | 95 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 |
Richard Petty |
Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC (tape delay) | ||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson | ||
The 1977 Firecracker 400 is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 4, 1977, at Daytona International Speedway in the American community of Daytona Beach, Florida.
By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.
Summary
A racing grid of 41 drivers competed in this race; including Belgian driver Christine Beckers and Italian driving sensation Lella Lombardi. Out of this 160-lap racing event, D.K. Ulrich would be credited with the last-place finish due to an engine problem on the fourth lap. Janet Guthrie be the only American-born female driver on the grid; the rest of the American drivers were male. While A.J. Foyt, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip would monopolize the opening laps of the race, Donnie Allison and Richard Petty would fight it out for supremacy in the crucial final laps.[2]
Richard Petty would go on to defeat Darrell Waltrip by almost 18 seconds in front of a live audience of 65,000 people. Engine and steering problems knocked most of the drivers out of the race before it could be finished. Neil Bonnett would qualify for the race with a solo qualifying speed of 187.191 miles per hour (301.255 km/h) while the actual speed of the race averaged around 147.216 miles per hour (236.921 km/h).[2]
Most of the vehicles at this event were Dodge or Chevrolet with some Ford vehicles and a single entry by a Matador vehicle.[2] Winnings for this race ranged from $19,075 ($74,236.42 when adjusted for inflation) for the winner to a meager $1,390 for the last-place finisher ($5,409.63 when adjusted for inflation).[3] Ramo Stott would retire from professional stock car racing after this event.[4]
Top ten finishers
- Richard Petty – #43
- Darrell Waltrip – #88
- Benny Parsons – #72
- David Pearson – #21
- A.J. Foyt – #51
- Donnie Allison – #1
- Buddy Baker – #15
- Neil Bonnett – #5
- Dick Brooks – #90
- Sam Sommers – #27
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | 2630 |
| 2 | Richard Petty | 2613 |
| 3 | Benny Parsons | 2426 |
| 4 | Darrell Waltrip | 2315 |
| 5 | Buddy Baker | 2196 |
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1977 Firecracker 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 1977 Firecracker 400 racing information at Racing Reference
- ↑ 1977 Firecracker 400 racing information at Driver Averages
- ↑ '1977 Firecracker 400 racing information at Race Database
| Preceded by 1976 |
Firecracker 400 races 1976 |
Succeeded by 1978 |
| Preceded by 1977 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1977 |
Succeeded by 1977 Nashville 420 |
| Preceded by 1977 NAPA 400 |
Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960-1984 |
Succeeded by 1979 Daytona 500 |