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 ($35.94 when adjusted for inflation) to $30 ($134.79 when adjusted for inflation).[3]

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.
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

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 ($99,811.61 when adjusted for inflation) while the last place finisher went home with $1,310 ($5,885.81 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 28A.J. FoytChevroletHoss Ellington
2 11Cale YarboroughChevroletJunior Johnson
3 43Richard PettyDodgePetty Enterprises
4 2Bobby AllisonMercuryRoger Penske
5 72Benny ParsonsChevroletL.G. DeWitt
6 71Dave MarcisDodgeNord Krauskopf
7 21David PearsonMercuryWood Brothers
8 14Coo Coo MarlinChevroletH.B. Cunningham
9 41Grant AdcoxChevroletHerb Adcox
10 48James HyltonChevroletJames Hylton

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

Finishing order
  1. Cale Yarborough (No. 11)
  2. David Pearson (No. 21)
  3. Bobby Allison (No. 2)
  4. A.J. Foyt (No. 28)
  5. Dave Marcis (No. 71)
  6. Coo Coo Marlin† (No. 14)
  7. Benny Parsons† (No. 72)
  8. Dick Brooks† (No. 90)
  9. David Sisco (No. 05)
  10. Ricky Rudd (No. 22)
  11. Jimmy Means (No. 52)
  12. Richard Childress (No. 3)
  13. Frank Warren (No. 79)
  14. Bobby Wawak† (No. 36)
  15. Janet Guthrie (No. 68)
  16. D.K. Ulrich (No. 40)
  17. Dick Skillen (No. 78)
  18. Harold Miller (No. 91)
  19. Bill Elliott (No. 10)
  20. Johnny Rutherford* (No. 77)
  21. Jimmy Lee Capps (No. 26)
  22. Richard Petty* (No. 43)
  23. Joe Mihalic (No. 61)
  24. J.D. McDuffie*† (No. 70)
  25. Bruce Hill* (No. 47)
  26. James Hylton*† (No. 48)
  27. Dick May*† (No. 25)
  28. Ferrel Harris*† (No. 82)
  29. Tommy Gale*† (No. 19)
  30. Grant Adcox*† (No. 41)
  31. Skip Manning* (No. 92)
  32. Lennie Pond* (No. 54)
  33. Neil Bonnett*† (No. 12)
  34. Cecil Gordon* (No. 24)
  35. Buddy Baker* (No. 15)
  36. Buck Baker*† (No. 18)
  37. Ed Negre*† (No. 7)
  38. Jackie Rogers* (No. 60)
  39. Darrell Waltrip* (No. 88)
  40. Buddy Arrington* (No. 67)

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

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

References
  1. 1976 Firecracker 400 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. Firecracker 400 racing information at Racing Reference
  3. 1976 Firecracker Ticket Prices Archived 2012-03-28 at the Wayback Machine at Starport75.com
  4. 1976 Firecracker 400 racing information Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  5. 1976 Firecracker 400 racing information at Database Racing
  6. 1976 Firecracker 400 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  7. Qualifying information at Racing Reference
Preceded by
1976 Cam 2 Motor Oil 400		 NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1976		 Succeeded by
1976 Nashville 420
Preceded by
1975		 Firecracker 400 races
1976		 Succeeded by
1977
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