Pure Michigan 400

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Pure Michigan 400
200px
Michigan International Speedway track map.png
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Venue Michigan International Speedway
Location Brooklyn, Michigan, United States
Corporate sponsor Pure Michigan
First race 1969 (1969)
Distance 400 miles (640 km)
Laps 200
Previous names Yankee 600 (1969)
Yankee 400 (1970–1972, 1974)
Champion Spark Plug 400 (1975–1993)
GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 (1994–1996)
DeVilbiss 400 (1997)
Pepsi 400 Presented by DeVilbiss (1998)
Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer (1999–2001)
Pepsi 400 Presented by Farmer Jack (2002)
GFS Marketplace 400 (2003–2006)
3M Performance 400 (2007)
3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo (2008)
Carfax 400 (2009–2010)
Most wins (driver) David Pearson (5)
Most wins (team) Roush Fenway Racing (7)
Most wins (manufacturer) Ford (18)
Circuit information
Surface Asphalt
Length 2.0 mi (3.2 km)
Turns 4

The Pure Michigan 400 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually during the month of August at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. The race was not held in 1973 after track owner Roger Penske replaced the race with a Champ car event.[1] The inaugural event was scheduled to be 600 miles (970 km), but was shortened because of inclement weather. Afterward, the race distance was changed to 400 miles (640 km). The event has had numerous companies sponsor the race, including Pepsi and Carfax. It is the second of two NASCAR races held annually at Michigan (the first race is held in June).

Overall

Overall, 26 different drivers have won the race, with David Pearson holding the record for most victories in the race with five. Pearson won the inaugural event, which was shortened from 600 miles (970 km) to 330 miles (530 km) miles because of rain. Bill Elliott has the record for most consecutive victories, winning three from 1985 to 1987. Ford has the most manufacturers' wins with 16. Matt Kenseth is the most recent winner of the race, winning the event in 2015.[2]

History

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  • 1970: Restrictor plates made their racing debut in the 1970 Yankee 400 and Charlie Glotzbach drove a Dodge Daytona to the win.
  • 1971: Bobby Allison duled with Richard Petty and Pete Hamilton before Hamilton fell out with engine failure. Allison edged Petty at the stripe for a season sweep at Michigan in the Holman-Moody Mercury.
  • 1973: Although the Yankee 400 was on the NASCAR Winston Cup schedule at the beginning of the 1973 season, set for August 5, Roger Penske announced on June 8 that the 1973 Yankee 400 would not be held, citing the tight schedule that Michigan International Speedway had to accommodate in the summer of 1973.[1]
  • 1974: Promoter Roger Penske reinserted the Yankee 400 to Michigan's schedule after 1973 after the Michigan 400 that June turned a strong profit. David Pearson and Cale Yarborough fought hard before Cale was stopped by a mismatched set of tires late in the race. The lead changed 45 times among eight drivers.
  • 1975: A late yellow set up a five-lap finish; Pearson and Richard Petty went at it and the lead changed on every lap down to the finish as Petty edged Pearson by a nose.
  • 1977: Rain postponed the race to Monday and Darrell Waltrip edged Pearson to the stripe.
  • 1978: Pearson's final win for the Wood Brothers came on a one-lap shootout as he passed Waltrip. Richard Petty crashed in the final laps, setting up the finish; he was making his debut in a second-hand 1974 bodied Chevrolet after abandoning his 1978 Dodge Magnum.
  • 1979: Pearson was hired to drive Rod Osterlund's Chevrolet after Dale Earnhardt was injured at Pocono and he won the Michigan pole, ultimately finishing fourth. Buddy Baker led late but Richard Petty took tires on a late stop and gunned him down on the final lap; the win began a rally from a 229-point deficit to the season championship.
  • 1981: The most competitive Michigan race ever erupted as Ron Bouchard won his first pole fresh off his electrifying Talladega win. There were 65 lead changes among 14 drivers and Richard Petty, who led 65 laps, roared from fifth to the lead with five to go and held off six other challengers. "This wasn't the toughest race, but it sure was the most aggravating," Petty said afterward.
  • 1987: Fellow drivers revolted against Tim Richmond at Watkins Glen the week before when he reported to the prerace drivers meeting looking sickly and acting belligerently. Before Michigan qualifying Richmond had to be rousted out of his motorhome and when he arrived at the qualifying line asked aloud, "Where are we?" When NASCAR officials Les Richter and Dick Beaty asked Hendrick officials what was wrong with Tim, Richmond appeared from nowhere and confronted both of them, then showed up late for the prerace drivers meeting. During the 400 he had an anxiety attack and the engine blew; he drove to the garage and when the crew checked the tachometer they found it had been pegged, because Richmond had deliberately overreved the engine to blow it. It became his final race ever.[3] Richard Petty rallied to the lead in the final 40 laps but had to pit on a late caution and crashed after colliding with Davey Allison on the final lap as Bill Elliott took the win, his sixth Michigan win in an eight-race span.
  • 1991: Dale Jarrett stayed out on a late caution, and in the final laps Davey Allison ran him down, but became locked in a side-by-side battle won by Jarrett by inches for his first win and the first for the Wood Brothers since 1987 at Charlotte.
  • 1994: Just after Wally Dallenbach, Jr. was released from his ride in Richard Petty's Pontiac, Indycar veteran John Andretti took over the seat and turned heads by qualifying second. However, the story of the weekend was a savage crash in practice that left Ernie Irvan critically injured with head injuries. Irvan would recover from near-fatal injury over a year later. The race itself began with a six-car melee where Bobby Hillin, Jr. nearly flew over the second turn wall. Geoff Bodine won on Hoosier Tires.
  • 1998: Irvan dominated the race, but Jeff Gordon ran down the leaders and won handily. Mark Martin was denied the win, the race coming days after the death of his father in a plane crash.
  • 1999: Goodyear brought tires to Michigan designed for Fontana for Winston West racing, where Hoosier Tire was still a presence in competition against Goodyear; the new tire featured greater stagger and handled more like bias-ply tires than radials. Dale Earnhardt grabbed the lead late and got into a spirited battle with Bobby Labonte before Labonte cleared for the win.
  • 2007. This was the first modern-day NASCAR race to be run on a Tuesday. Kurt Busch dominated all day, leading 96 laps out of the 203. Busch held off Martin Truex Jr and Jimmie Johnson in a Green White Checkered finish for his second win of the season.
  • 2012: Greg Biffle won his second race of 2012 after Jimmie Johnson's engine blew up with five laps to go. The race was also marked by a scary crash on lap 64. Mark Martin was leading Kasey Kahne into turn 4 and was about to lap Bobby Labonte and Juan Pablo Montoya when Labonte got loose and spun. Montoya got away, but Labonte collected Martin and Kahne. While Labonte and Kahne spun into the trioval grass, Martin's car spun down pit road and was impaled on the left rear side by an opening in the pit wall at Kahne's pit stall. Martin climbed out, unharmd. The day was also a sour day for Hendrick supplied engines as three of the six cars with this engine package - Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart - all had engine part failures (Johnson had two failed engines, as he blew another one in practice). The other three, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Ryan Newman, survived for top ten finishes.

Past winners

Year Date Driver Team Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)		 Report
Laps Miles (km)
1969 August 17 David Pearson Holman-Moody Ford 165* 330 (531.083) 2:51:25 115.508 Report
1970 August 16 Charlie Glotzbach Ray Nichels Dodge 197 401.8 (646.737) 2:48:32 147.571 Report
1971 August 16 Bobby Allison Holman-Moody Mercury 197 401.88 (646.763) 2:40:54 149.862 Report
1972 August 20 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 200 400 (643.737) 2:58:31 134.416 Report
1973 August 5
Not held
1974 August 25 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 200 400 (643.737) 3:00:23 133.045 Report
1975 August 24 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 200 400 (643.737) 3:43:05 107.583 Report
1976 August 22 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 200 400 (643.737) 2:51:20 140.078 Report
1977 August 22* Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:53:59 137.944 Report
1978 August 20 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 200 400 (643.737) 3:05:14 129.566 Report
1979 August 19 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 3:04:05 130.376 Report
1980 August 17 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:45:07 145.352 Report
1981 August 16 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Buick 200 400 (643.737) 3:14:24 123.457 Report
1982 August 22 Bobby Allison DiGard Motorsports Buick 200 400 (643.737) 2:45:53 136.454 Report
1983 August 21 Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:42:42 147.511 Report
1984 August 12 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:35:59 153.863 Report
1985 August 11 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:54:38 137.43 Report
1986 August 17 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:57:28 135.376 Report
1987 August 16 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:53:06 138.648 Report
1988 August 21 Davey Allison Ranier-Lundy Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:33:00 156.863 Report
1989 August 20 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 200 400 (643.737) 2:32:11 157.704 Report
1990 August 19 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:52:53 138.822 Report
1991 August 18 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:51:34 142.972 Report
1992 August 16 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 200 400 (643.737) 2:47:46 146.056 Report
1993 August 15 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:46:01 144.564 Report
1994 August 21 Geoffrey Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:51:32 139.914 Report
1995 August 20 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:32:09 157.739 Report
1996 August 18 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:51:41 139.792 Report
1997 August 17 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 3:09:09 126.883 Report
1998 August 16 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:37:54 151.995 Report
1999 August 22 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 200 400 (643.737) 2:46:17 144.332 Report
2000 August 20 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 3:01:00 132.597 Report
2001 August 19 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 162* 324 (521.427) 2:18:21 140.513 Report
2002 August 18 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:50:45 140.556 Report
2003 August 17 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Dodge 200 400 (643.737) 3:08:31 127.31 Report
2004 August 22 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:52:35 139.063 Report
2005 August 21 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 200 400 (643.737) 2:49:33 141.551 Report
2006 August 20 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:57:39 135.097 Report
2007 August 21* Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 203* 406 (653.393) 2:55:55 117.012 Report
2008 August 17 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:51:00 140.351 Report
2009 August 16 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 200 400 (643.737) 3:02:28 131.531 Report
2010 August 15 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:46:38 144.029 Report
2011 August 21 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 203* 406 (653.393) 2:41:26 150.898 Report
2012 August 19 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 201* 402 (646.956) 2:46:44 144.662 Report
2013 August 18 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 200 400 (643.737) 2:45:59 144.593 Report
2014 August 17 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 400 (643.737) 2:49:16 141.788 Report
2015 August 16 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 400 (643.737) 2:47:18 143.455 Report
  • 1969 & 2001: Race shortened due to rain.
  • 1973: Race on the 1973 schedule, later cancelled by track management
  • 1977: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
  • 2007: Race postponed twice from Sunday to Tuesday due to rain[2][4]
  • 2007, 2011, & 2012: Race extended due to a green–white–checker finish.

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins Driver Years Won
5 David Pearson 1969, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978
3 Richard Petty 1975, 1979, 1981
Bill Elliott 1985, 1986, 1987
Mark Martin 1990, 1993, 1997
Dale Jarrett 1991, 1996, 2002
2 Bobby Allison 1971, 1982
Cale Yarborough 1980, 1983
Darrell Waltrip 1977, 1984
Bobby Labonte 1995, 1999
Rusty Wallace 1989, 2000
Greg Biffle 2004, 2012
Jeff Gordon 1998, 2014
Matt Kenseth 2006, 2015

Multiple winners (teams)

# Wins Team Years Won
7 Roush Fenway Racing 1990, 1993, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012
5 Wood Brothers Racing 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1991
4 Penske Racing 2000, 2003, 2007, 2013
Joe Gibbs Racing 1995, 1999, 2011, 2015
3 Petty Enterprises 1975, 1979, 1981
Melling Racing 1985, 1986, 1987
2 Holman-Moody 1969, 1971
DiGard Motorsports 1977, 1982
Junior Johnson & Associates 1980, 1984
Ranier-Lundy 1983, 1988
Robert Yates Racing 1996, 2002
Hendrick Motorsports 1998, 2014

Manufacturer wins

# Wins Manufacturer Years Won
18 Ford 1969, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013
9 Chevrolet 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1995, 1998, 2010, 2014
6 Dodge 1970, 1975, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
5 Mercury 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978
3 Toyota 2009, 2011, 2015
2 Buick 1981, 1982
Pontiac 1989, 1999
1 Oldsmobile 1992

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Poole, David (2005): TIM RICHMOND: The Fast Life And Remarkable Times Of NASCAR's Top Gun (Sports Publishing LLC, Champaign, IL), pp. 155–8
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.


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