1987 Miller American 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 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
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
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
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
Race results
Standings after the race
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References
- ^ Higgins, Tom (June 29, 1987). "Earnhardt Tops Allison At Michigan". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 8B. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Brown, Clifton (June 29, 1987). "Earnhardt wins 400 at MIS". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 9D. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. May 19, 1987. pp. 27A. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (June 28, 1987). "Wallace, Cope form Unlikely Front Row". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 7D. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.