1976 Firecracker 400
# 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 ($41.14 when adjusted for inflation) to $30 ($154.28 when adjusted for inflation).

## Race report

There were 40 drivers on the grid; all were American-born males except for Janet Guthrie. Buddy Arrington was first out due to ignition troubles before the start of the first lap out of the 160 laps. 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).

Cale Yarborough defeated David Pearson by eight seconds in front of an audience of 40,000 people. Two cautions (for 14 laps) and 41 different lead changes made the race two hours and twenty-nine minutes long. The green flag was waved at 10:00 A.M.

The winner of the race received $22,215 ($114,244.86 when adjusted for inflation) while the last place finisher went home with $1,310 ($6,736.92 when adjusted for inflation). 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.

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.

Buck and Buddy Baker both exited the race on lap 32, as the 57-year-old elder champion made his final Daytona start.

### Qualifying

| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 28 | A.J. Foyt | Chevrolet | Hoss Ellington |
| 2 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet | Junior Johnson |
| 3 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge | Petty Enterprises |
| 4 | 2 | Bobby Allison | Mercury | Roger Penske |
| 5 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | L.G. DeWitt |
| 6 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Dodge | Nord Krauskopf |
| 7 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury | Wood Brothers |
| 8 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Chevrolet | H.B. Cunningham |
| 9 | 41 | Grant Adcox | Chevrolet | Herb Adcox |
| 10 | 48 | James Hylton | Chevrolet | James Hylton |

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

## Finishing order

| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED | PTS |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Holly Farms (Junior Johnson) | Chevrolet | 160 | 22215 | running | 71 | 185 |
| 2 | 7 | 21 | David Pearson | Purolator (Wood Brothers) | Mercury | 160 | 13615 | running | 1 | 175 |
| 3 | 4 | 2 | Bobby Allison | CAM 2 (Roger Penske) | Mercury | 160 | 13245 | running | 64 | 170 |
| 4 | 1 | 28 | A.J. Foyt | Gilmore (Hoss Ellington) | Chevrolet | 159 | 7440 | running | 6 | |
| 5 | 6 | 71 | Dave Marcis | K & K Insurance (Nord Krauskopf) | Dodge | 157 | 7810 | running | 0 | 155 |
| 6 | 8 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Cunningham-Kelley (H.B. Cunningham) | Chevrolet | 157 | 6300 | running | 0 | 150 |
| 7 | 5 | 72 | Benny Parsons | King's Row Fireplace (L.G. DeWitt) | Chevrolet | 156 | 6630 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | 30 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Truxmore (Junie Donlavey) | Ford | 156 | 5170 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 15 | 05 | David Sisco | David Sisco | Chevrolet | 153 | 4660 | running | 1 | 143 |
| 10 | 22 | 22 | Ricky Rudd | Al Rudd Auto Parts (Al Rudd) | Chevrolet | 152 | 2590 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 29 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Howard's Machine Shop (Bill Gray) | Chevrolet | 149 | 2390 | running | 0 | 130 |
| 12 | 34 | 3 | Richard Childress | Kansas Jack (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 148 | 4150 | running | 0 | 127 |
| 13 | 20 | 79 | Frank Warren | Native Tan (Frank Warren) | Dodge | 148 | 3940 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 28 | 36 | Bobby Wawak | J & B Corvette (John Gwinn) | Chevrolet | 148 | 2115 | running | 0 | 121 |
| 15 | 33 | 68 | Janet Guthrie | Kelly Services (Lynda Ferreri) | Chevrolet | 147 | 1570 | running | 0 | |
| 16 | 36 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | Garden State Auto (J.R. DeLotto) | Chevrolet | 144 | 3530 | running | 0 | 115 |
| 17 | 31 | 78 | Dick Skillen | Goffco (Tom Goff) | Chevrolet | 143 | 1790 | running | 0 | 112 |
| 18 | 39 | 91 | Harold Miller | Bartow Paving (Harold Miller) | Chevrolet | 142 | 1690 | running | 0 | 109 |
| 19 | 38 | 10 | Bill Elliott | Sunny King (Bill Champion) | Ford | 141 | 3070 | running | 0 | 106 |
| 20 | 21 | 77 | Johnny Rutherford | Hy Gain (Johnny Ray) | Chevrolet | 139 | 1740 | rear end | 0 | |
| 21 | 25 | 26 | Jimmy Lee Capps | Sellers Automotive (David Lee Sellers) | Chevrolet | 132 | 1290 | running | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 3 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 126 | 5960 | engine | 1 | 102 |
| 23 | 32 | 61 | Joe Mihalic | Lou Viglione | Chevrolet | 125 | 1140 | running | 0 | 94 |
| 24 | 23 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Butler's (J.D. McDuffie) | Chevrolet | 122 | 2390 | engine | 0 | 91 |
| 25 | 13 | 47 | Bruce Hill | Howson Algraphy (Bruce Hill) | Chevrolet | 110 | 1990 | driveshaft | 0 | 88 |
| 26 | 10 | 48 | James Hylton | Hylton Engineering (James Hylton) | Chevrolet | 102 | 1815 | engine | 2 | 90 |
| 27 | 40 | 25 | Dick May | Don Robertson | Chevrolet | 81 | 1540 | rear end | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 26 | 82 | Ferrel Harris | Rossmeyer (Ferrel Harris) | Dodge | 75 | 1015 | rear end | 0 | 79 |
| 29 | 18 | 19 | Tommy Gale | Belden Asphalt (Henley Gray) | Chevrolet | 70 | 990 | electrical | 0 | 76 |
| 30 | 9 | 41 | Grant Adcox | Adcox-Kirby (Herb Adcox) | Chevrolet | 67 | 965 | engine | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 35 | 92 | Skip Manning | Stratagraph (Billy Hagan) | Chevrolet | 60 | 940 | electrical | 0 | 70 |
| 32 | 14 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Pepsi-Cola (Ronnie Elder) | Chevrolet | 48 | 1415 | engine | 0 | 67 |
| 33 | 11 | 12 | Neil Bonnett | Hawaiian Tropic (Neil Bonnett) | Chevrolet | 39 | 890 | wheel bearing | 0 | 64 |
| 34 | 16 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Burger King (Cecil Gordon) | Chevrolet | 33 | 1360 | crash | 0 | 61 |
| 35 | 12 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Norris Industries (Bud Moore) | Ford | 32 | 3835 | engine | 14 | 63 |
| 36 | 24 | 18 | Buck Baker | Excuse Lounge (Joe Frasson) | Chevrolet | 32 | 830 | crash | 0 | 55 |
| 37 | 37 | 7 | Ed Negre | Dean Dalton | Chevrolet | 16 | 825 | electrical | 0 | 52 |
| 38 | 19 | 60 | Jackie Rogers | Red Dog's (Lou Viglione) | Chevrolet | 13 | 820 | overheating | 0 | 49 |
| 39 | 17 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Gatorade (DiGard Racing) | Chevrolet | 9 | 3815 | engine | 0 | 46 |
| 40 | 27 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Sub-Tropic (Buddy Arrington) | Dodge | 0 | 1310 | ignition | 0 | 43 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| POS | NAME | NBR | SPONSOR | OWNER | CAR | | | | | |
| | Sam Sommers | 27 | M.C. Anderson Racing | M.C. Anderson | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| | Jerry Mabie | 34 | J-2 Racing | Jerry Mabie | Chevrolet | | | | | |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points | 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 |
