The 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 is a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 19, 1979 at Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...

 in Brooklyn

Brooklyn, Michigan

Brooklyn is a village in Jackson County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 1,176. It is located just off U.S. Highway 12 Brooklyn (formerly Swainsville) is a village in Jackson County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Summary

There were 36 American-born male drivers on the grid. Richard Petty

Richard Petty

Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

 defeated Buddy Baker

Buddy Baker

Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...

 by one second in front of 60,000 live audience members. There were 21 lead changes and five caution flags for 35 laps; making the race three hours and four minutes long. David Pearson earned the pole position with a speed of 162.992 miles per hour (262.3 km/h) while the average racing speed was 130.376 miles per hour (209.8 km/h). Blackie Wangerin

Blackie Wangerin

Blackie Wangerin is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver from Bloomington, Minnesota. In 1971 he attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 but did not make it past the qualifying race. He returned to the series in 1977 and made at least one start every season thereafter until 1984...

 would receive the last-place finish due to a crash with H.B. Bailey on lap 2 out of the 200 regulation laps. Al Rudd, Jr. would race his only NASCAR event here. The entire racing purse was valued at $142,905 ($ in today's money).

Top ten finishers

1. Benny Parsons
   Benny Parsons
   Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...
   
   
2. David Pearson
3. John Anderson
   John Anderson (NASCAR driver)
   John Anderson of Warren, Michigan was an American NASCAR driver who made 32 Winston Cup starts in an attempt to make it in the NASCAR division recorded a career best finish of 5th at his hometrack the Michigan International Speedway in 1979As short track late model racer, he won over 200 feature...
   
   
4. Joe Millikan
   Joe Millikan
   Joseph "Joe" Milikan was a NASCAR Winston Cup race car driver who competed from the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season to the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season along with Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, and Darrell Waltrip.He retired prior to 1993 and has never raced during the NEXTEL Cup or...
   
   
5. Ricky Rudd
   Ricky Rudd
   Ricky Rudd is a former American NASCAR driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and Nationwide Series driver Jason Rudd. Rudd is known as the "Iron Man" of NASCAR; holding the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Rudd had made 788...
   
   
6. Tighe Scott
   Tighe Scott
   Tighe Scott is a retired American racecar driver from Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. He competed in dirt modified racing before moving up into the NASCAR Winston Cup...
   
   
7. J.D. McDuffie
   J.D. McDuffie
   John Delphus McDuffie was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He raced in the top division of NASCAR from 1963 to 1991. McDuffie had 106 top-tens in his Cup Series career...