The MRN broadcast of the 1984 Champion Spark Plug 400 from Michigan International Speedway.
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MRN Classic Races
MRN Classic Races - 1981 Champion Spark Plug 400
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The last time we were talking to you at Talladega, Alabama, Ron Bouchard had just stunned the racing world with a finish, Mike Joy, that I don't think they'll forget for a long, long time. I know he won, and most of the drivers that were in that field are also, that's been the general topic of conversation here all week at Michigan. - Well, it may go down, Barney, as the peak coolest move of the year, that Bouchard pulled running third, going into the trioval at Talladega. He was actually, as we looked at the photos after the race, about three car links behind second place, Terry Labani. And Labani, of course, was right on Darryl Waltrip's bumper, and as the racing world knows by now, when Labani went high, Waltrip went high to try to hold him off, and was actually looking over at Labani when they crossed the finish line, and nobody saw Ron Bouchard. And it was quite a Cinderella story in many respects, 13 being such a lucky number to help for Bouchard and the race hill farms team. He was the 13th driver to win that prestigious Talladega 500. His girlfriend went to Talladega with him, Paula Flemke, and when she got home, she'd only worked one day that week, and her paycheck was $13. The victory party cost them $1,313 exactly, and Ronnie has picked up another 13 here at Michigan this weekend that we'll tell you about a little later on, but it's really pumped up the entire Winston Cup circuit, that this is youngster from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a four-time NASCAR Winston racing champion in New England. He told us what happened when he got home after winning at Talladega. - Oh, it's just so exciting. Before we got the Fitchburg, we hit Connecticut and Monday night they had a big party for us there, and Tuesday at Jack's Place, they had a big thing going on there, and then we got the Fitchburg, it was just unbelievable. Everything decorated, and everybody welcomed me home and stuff, and then they had a big victory party. It was really fantastic. - Well, and of course, we apologize to our stations, the American telephone and telegraph people, their long lines department knocked us off the air with four laps to go, and we were able to replay that finish for you folks listening around the country. The last couple of laps were also on CBS television. They had their own problems. They weren't on the air either with a finish, and Ron Buschard's father and brother took the family TV set up in Fitchburg and kicked it around and threw it against the wall when they lost the picture. Wonder if they got it fixed. - You see, he had to go get a new one. He kind of tore that one up a little bit. (laughing) - Quite a finish. - Well, today's running of the Champions Park Flug 400 will mark the 21st race on the Winston Cup calendar. It's been truly an amazing racing season. There were eight different winners in the first 20 events, 12 different bush pole winners this year, and the Battle for the Winston Cup National Driving Title being so hotly contested between at least five drivers. And of course, as we were just talking, the racing world was kind of stunned a couple of weeks ago when Buschard, the rookie driver from Fitchburg, came home victorious at Talladega. In fact, since we've left Talladega, NASCAR Grand National Racing has seen a lot of dramatic changes since we came here. For openers, Dale Earnhardt walked away from his regular ride for the last two and a half years when the team was purchased by Jim Stacey. He immediately teamed with Richard Childress to form a new Wrangler racing team. Then almost in the same breath, one of the top rookie drivers, Morgan Shepherd, felt his best interest would be served if he vacated the Cliff Stewart performance connection racing team. Earnhardt and Shepherd's chains brought two other drivers into the picture immediately. Joe Milliken was named to replace Shepherd and Joe Rutman, the California driver, moved into Earnhardt's regular seat in seat in the Stacey car with Dale Earnhardt as a crew chief. And while all that was going on, a purelator announced that they would not be sponsoring the wood brothers at the end of the year. And even before that had cooled down, Warner Hodgson immediately moved in and purchased the remainder of the contract. We understand from purelator for the year. So a purelator is off the car for the rest of this year and Warner Hodgson is on the wood brother's car. And you thought the TV soap operas had all the drama. Well, and there's no. There's a contract that the ink is still wet on that was just signed earlier this morning regarding a sponsorship for another driver on the Winston Cup tour. We'll tell you about that. Some of these other changes are still reeling from all the changes down on Fit Road in that starting line of right now. You'll hear more about them in Grandstand commentary just a little bit later on in our broadcast. ♪ Kyle Larson brings me some ♪ ♪ Poor Kyle's Sonoko racing fuel ♪ From fueling NASCAR champions on the track for over 20 years to innovating 94 octane, the highest octane on the market. Performance is what Sonoko does. All Sonoko fuel at the pump meets the same top tier standards as the fuel used in NASCAR. (indistinct) From the track to your tank, you can trust Sonoko to help your vehicle perform at its peak. It's a perfect day for racing here at one of the best race tracks on the Winston Cup tour. The temperature is cool. In fact, it's downright cool when we got up this morning. I would say it was down in the very high 50s and it's only forecast to go into the mid 70s. This afternoon, if indeed it goes that high. So it is a perfect day for racing here at one of the two mile facilities. - Don't believe it's 60 degrees yet outside and we'll check in with our turn reporters and see if we hear any teeth chattering a little bit later on. Everything is so confusing here at this race with all of the silly season changes thus far. In the last couple of weeks, even one of the Detroit newspapers is a little fouled up. The forecast on the front page of this morning's paper red, quote, clear and cloudy today, unquote. That's the kind of week it's been. Well, that kind of covers them anyway as far as that goes. Either way it goes, they're covered for today. Driver introduction is taking place track side right now and it's gonna be a little difficult for us. At least the first 100 miles of this race, I'm sure to keep up with who's and what car because there have been so many changes as we said up in that front pack and of course the two drivers that really came into prominence in the last week is Morgan Shepherd and they'll earn Hart. Earn Hart very enthusiastic about his new ride as he teamed up with Richard Childress, part of the crew left and went with him when he left the Jim Stacey team. Childress has always built a good race car. He's been a little short and cubic dollar, so to speak, to come up with some of the stronger engines. But I think that may be a good combination. Earn Hart's pretty enthusiastic about it. Well, Childress, the veteran independent driver, he's now hung up his helmet, at least for the duration of this agreement. He still has some thoughts about, he'd like to drive a race car again in the future and he's made, I believe, over 240 consecutive. Winston Cup starts without missing a race. And so this will be the first that he has missed and that would be about an eight year period. Very likable fella and reputed to be, pretty good as a team manager. Of course, it's tough. It's like a talent trying to direct yourself when you're trying to run your own racing team in operation, but I think if you look back at the folks who have run their own operations, fellas like Dave Marcus and certainly Richard Childress would stand out as those that have done a super job of running their own racing team and driving too. Well, we'll get the thoughts of Richard Childress before the afternoon is over and how he feels about having Earnhardt as his driver. - It's time for Grandstand commentary. Presenting a different viewpoint on the running of today's champion spark plug 400. Grandstand commentary is brought to you by goodies manufacturing company of Winston, Salem, North Carolina. Makers of goodies headache powders. More people are switching to goodies because goodies cost less. And makers of new goodies extra strength tablets. Today's thoughts from the Grandstand are written by veteran motor sports writer Jean Granger, voice by Fred Krantz. - Silly season is a term that has been applied to the last few weeks of any racing season. When the rumors of who will drive what car, for what owner under what sponsorship, with what crew fall faster than the leaves from the trees? Well, August or not, Silly season is here. And now, the last two weeks have produced a winner's full of surprises. What deals being made as late as one hour ago? MC Anderson owner of it, the car driven by Kale Yarbrough, admits there's a lot of money in the sport. However, he says it is falls far short of what athletes command and collect in other sports. Anderson says there are a few gold nuggets out there and everybody is rushing to get them. When the Garden City Georgia resident got involved in NASCAR's Winston Cup racing in 1976, it was unheard of to pay a crew chief or an engine builder $50,000 a year. Today, there are crew chiefs and engine builders making an excess of $50,000 a year. Harry Renaire, owner of the car is driven by point leader, Bobby Allison says he has assured his team twice that he is staying and racing, whether the Hardys team won or lost a national championship this year. Anderson and Renaire agree that there's a lot of nervous people in the garage area and it started when Ron Osterlin sold his team to Jim Stacy a week before the July 4th race at Daytona. Travers Carter, crew chief on the school bandit cars driven by Harry Gantt and Stan Barrett, feels that the recent changes have been triggered by frustration and coincidence. Dale Earnhardt, the 1980 Grand National Champion, never accepted Stacy. When the team's sponsors saw that the matter couldn't be resolved, Wrangler jeans and Earnhardt took up residence in Richard Childress's garage in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Stacy then moved Joe Rutman, 1980 USOC's stock car champion, into the number one ride vacated by Earnhardt. Rutman had been driving a second Stacy car in selected races. Meanwhile, Cliff Stewart fired everyone from Darrell Bryant on his performance connection team and hired Joe Milliken. Morgan Shepherd, the 1981 leader in the Champions Park Blog Rookie of the Year competition, thus found himself out of a ride. Shepherd, the winner of a race and a pole this year, is driving Mark Martin's car here, but has no idea what he'll do in the remaining 10 events of 1981. The change there became necessary because the team members would not accept Bryant as a team manager, according to Stewart. Then a week ago yesterday, Curilator, announced it would not participate in auto racing in 1982. That was a bombshell, as Curilator has sponsored the Wood Brothers since 1971. On Wednesday, it was announced to Warner Hodgson of San Bernardino, California, in his National Engineering Company, but sponsored the Wood Brothers, and driver Neil Bonnet through the 1984 season. Although, Curilator is still sponsoring the team and its other programs for the remainder of the season, the tow truck and car arrived here with Hodgson and National Engineering Identification. The Ford is the same colors, but only Curilator markings in the car are two decals on the front fenders. It is not a big deal with Curilator, according to director of racing operations, Whit Collins. Collins said he told the Woods and Hodgson that whatever they decided in regards to letting the car was OK with Curilator. The 1981 season has been unusual to say the least. If you can follow this, then you'll know what I mean. Ron Bouchard, winner of the Teladega 500, and on the poll today for the champion spark plug 400, did not compete in Grand National race until late March. He got the number 47 car when Harry Gantt left it to join the school team. So Gantt went from car 47 to car 33. Joe Millick and opened the season in the number 75 car. That ride now belongs to Gary Baloo, who first appearance was in-- this circuit wasn't until late July, and Millick and went from car 75 to car 5. Morgan Shepherd made his 1981 debut by winning the poll at Richmond. He went from car 5 to car 0-2 for today's race. Joe Rutman began the campaign in car 6, and now he's driving car number 2. Dale Earnhardt went from car number 2 to car 3. Richard Childress has made 231 consecutive starts in car number 3. Now he's Earnhardt's car owner and team manager, and a former driver. Tim Richmond started the season in car 99, which was owned by D.K. Ulrich, Richmond, and his sponsor. Uno, now race out of Kenny Children's Garage in Bluefield, Virginia. His car number is 12. Don Sprouse opened the season in Bob Rogers' car in early March. Rogers hired Mike Alexander to drive his car number 37. Elliott Forbes Robinson started the season driving for Richard Howard and Gary Gray Egerton. Herb Knab was hired as crew chief, and a garage was built in Abs property in Morrisville. But before the team moved in, Egerton suspended operations for the time being. It's unlikely that that team will return. Not one hour ago, Jim Stacey agreed with car owner, Jack Bebe, to sponsor Bebe and rookie sensation, Ron Bouchard for the next three years. It would take another 10 minutes or so to list the changes in sponsorships and personnel. To top it off, I've been told that the recent changes are just a tip of the iceberg that many more will follow in the ensuing months. When Ron Osterlin sells a $2 million facility and pure leader pulls out a racing, then anything's possible. Rancin Comitary has been brought to you by goodies that they powder. More people are switching to goodies because goodies cost less, and by new goodies, extra strength tablets. The thoughts expressed in Rancin Comitary are those of Gene Granger and not necessarily those of motor racing network, International Speedway Corporation, or this radio station. Later in this broadcast, we'll tell you how you can win a total 500 dream vacation in the goodies race for the money sweepstakes. Craftsman is back on track and racing for a miracle. Help support your local children's miracle network hospital and save 20% off. Select Craftsman V20 products. Shop this deal of the race at Ace Hardware. Do it fast. Do it proud. Do it with Craftsman. 20% savings offer available at participating Ace Hardware stores and on Ace Hardware.com. Restrictions apply. See Craftsman.com/dealoftherace for details. Well, most of the pre-race activity has concluded trackside and very shortly we'll be getting into the Champions Park Plug 400, and it should be a typical race here at Michigan. We were just looking at the field a little bit earlier today, and there are at least 20 of the 36 starters that have the talent and the equipment underneath them to come home in victory lane this afternoon. In fact, let's take a look at the starting lineup right now. Back in 36 position is James Hilton of Inman, South Carolina in the Palatine Auto Parts Pontiac. 35th starter is Bobby Waywalk of Midland, North Carolina, in the Waywalk Racing Buick. In row 17, 34th position has Dick May of Charlotte, North Carolina in the Belden Asphalt Buick. 33rd is Jimmy Means of Huntsville, Alabama in the Broadway Motors Pontiac. 32nd starter is Bruce Hill of Topeka, Kansas in the Hill Racing Buick. And in 31st position is Tommy Gale of North Huntington, Pennsylvania, and the Sonny King Honda Ford. Making his first Winston Cup start and going 30th is Sports Car Racer Rick Neup of Mission Viejo, California. He is in the Cargas Sport DK O'Rourke Buick. That's the number 99 car wheeled earlier this year by Tim Richman. All in the other Ulrich Renna Racer is Joe Boer of West Lafayette, Indiana, the gentleman farmer in the Boer Farms Buick. That'll carry number 40 today. Going 28th, ARCA driver Bob Schack of Lombard, Illinois has a brand new car in the Winston Cup circuit. It's the Test Tube Olds, carrying number 97. Going in 27th position, Buddy Arrington out of Martinsville, Virginia in the Jim Hills Racing Dodge. 26th starters Cecil Gordon out of South Hill, Virginia, the Gordon Racing Buick, and going 25th, hoping to perform well for his local sponsor today is J.D. McDuffey of Sanford, North Carolina in the Bailey Excavating Pontiac. Familiar name in a new ride is Joe Milliken. Now out of Franklinville, North Carolina, rather than Randallman, Milliken in the number 5 car. That's the Cliff Stewart Performance Connection Pontiac. And Tim Richman, one of the leading contenders for Rookie of the Year this season. Out of Ashland, Ohio is in the Uno Buick. That's the Kenny Children's Car number 12. 22nd starter is Lake Speed of Jackson, Mississippi. What a superb run he had a Talladega a few weeks ago. And he's looking for strong finish here today. Let's hope he has one. He's in the Speed Racing Buick. 21st starter Dave Marcus of Wassaw, Wisconsin in the Transmissions Unlimited Buick. 20th starter, young Mike Alexander of Franklin, Tennessee. And the Rogers Auto Leasing Buick, 19th starter, Buddy Baker. Far back in the field, Baker's got his work cut out for him. But the last time we were here, he kind of laid back, didn't make his move until late in the race. And had they not had problems, I think you would have run away with that one. Baker starts 19th in the International Games Buick, the Uno Buick. 18th starter, Jody Ridley of Chatsworth, Georgia, and the Trucksmore, Sonny King, Honda Ford. 17th starter, Kyle Petty of Randallman, North Carolina starts the STP Buick. Then Johnny Rutherford returns to Winston Cup racing after a layoff of a couple of weeks, actually about a month. Really, I think his last race was what? Daytona and the firecracker race. He'll be going in 16th position in the Levi Garrett Pontiac. 15th starter is Darryl Walter for Franklin, Tennessee in the Mountain Dew Buick. And Walter is still thinking about that finish at Talladega. We asked him yesterday, what did you think about Ron Bouchard's winning move out there? You know what happened is he came down through there. And all of a sudden, I'm sure he was watching Terry and I, and we were running side by side. And he was coming real fast, and he probably was thinking to himself, where the hell am I going to go? And all of a sudden, he ran up on us. He cut to the inside, and it was the way to go. I'm not certainly not taking anything away from a young man, because, like I said, he did a hell of a job. But he really didn't really have much of a choice. He had to go by us or go over us. That's the kind of finish at Talladega we saw a couple of weeks ago. And it's probably the kind we'll see here today. That's Walter starting in 15th position. Going 14th at a new ride is Morgan Shepherd. He is the champion spark plug rookie of the year point standing later. He's from Conover, North Carolina, in the Dillon Racing Amsoil Buick. He'll be going 14th. That's the 0-2 car that Mark Martin has driven on occasion and has already won a pole position with. Going in the 13th position, Benny Parsons, available in North Carolina. Local sponsorship on that car. That's the Melling Tool Company Ford. Melling Tool is based here in Jackson, Michigan. Of course, that's the Budmore machine. Going 12th is Bobby Allison, the Winston Cup point leader. Allison in the Hardys Buick out of the Harrier Stable from Huey Town, Alabama. And going 11th is Neil Bonnet out of Huey Town or Bessemer, Alabama, if you prefer. It's still the red, white, and gold number 21. And it's still the Wood Brothers Thunderbird. But there's a new name on the side and it's Warner Hodgdon. We asked Neil yesterday, he must have mixed emotions about the sponsorship change. Eddie Barney, you know, a purelater was so good at us in the long association with the Wood Brothers. And then the time that I've been involved with them, I really saw what caliber people with Cameron and Whit Colin, Joe Kennedy, and all the guys that work with me. And, you know, I'll always have a deep feeling for that. And, you know, right now, the thing dictated something happening at purelater. So we've got Warner Hodgdon with us now. I'm just hoping that things go as good with Horner's. I deal with purelater. We'll take a look at the top 10 in a second. And yes, there is a new face on the pole, the 13th different pole winner of the 1981 season. And if you heard early in our broadcast, to what driver, the number 13 is significant, you'll probably guess who it is. You can hear the engines warming in the background. It is a very cool day here at Michigan. It is ideal racing weather. I think we may see the fastest race they've ever run at this speedway for the 400 miles if we are limited to a relatively few caution flags this afternoon, which we kind of hope we are. Continuing with the starting lineup in 10th position, Dale Earnhardt of Conapolis, North Carolina starts the Wrangler Racing Pontiac. And that was a big change to the racing world after Talladega. I ask Irhart, why the sudden move away from the gym-stacy team? A sponsor you got to work with, and people you got to look after, the car owner and the whole bit. It's got to be an organization, and everybody's got to get along and work together. And I didn't feel like it was that way where it was at. And I do here. I'm happier on that sense. And I feel like the Wrangler people and Richard Chillers and myself can work real good together and it'll be a good organization. Lots of Dale Earnhardt, who starts. You car for the first time here this afternoon. It'll be crew chief by Richard Chillers. Continuing with the starting lineup in 9th position, Ricky Rudd of Chesapeake, Virginia, and the Gatorade die guard, Chevrolet, and 8th spot is Harry Gant of Taylor'sville, North Carolina in the Skoll Man at Pontiac. Then it's Richard Petty, random of North Carolina in the STP Buick. In the 6th position, Bill Alley, it always seems to perform well here at Michigan. He's from Dawsonville, Georgia. He too has local sponsorship. It's the Mel Gear Thunderbird. And going 5th is Joe Rutman of Upland, California. And he is the new driver of the number two car, the JD Stacey Pontiac, and the 1980 USAC stock car champ is really tickled about stepping into such a good car. Super thrilled. And obviously, I've got one guy to thank, Jim Stacey. And he's the man that gave me the opportunity to originally drive the car at Ontario. And so I'm just tickled to death to see if I can hold up my into the bargain now. Going 4th, Terri Labonti, the defending Southern 500 champion from Sofia, North Carolina in Corpus Christi, Texas. That's Billy Hagan's stratigraph, Buick, going 4th. And going 3rd, strong qualifying run, this car, in fact, was on the front row here in June. The number 75, Bobby Rehilly and Butch Mock Car, sponsorship from the Chaparral Company. It's the Raymock Buick. And Gary Hotshoe Baloo of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the driver. And on the front row on the outside, Kale Yarborough has hooked up the MC Anderson-owned David F. Prepared, Valvoline Buick to sit on the outside front row at 161.2 miles per hour. And on the pole, the 13th different Bush Pole winner of 1981, Ron Bouchard of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, the Jack Beebe, race hill farm Buick, 161.501 miles per hour. Bouchard is the 13th different pole winner, just as he was the 13th different Talladega winner. And Barney the Momentum is certainly in their court. That is one pumped up bunch of guys in the garage. Well, you could tell that just walking around on Barrow Walter predicted yesterday before they ever started qualifying that Bouchard would win the pole. I asked him, I said, why? He said, when you win, it does things. Not only to the driver, but to the entire racing team. And it certainly has for the last couple of weeks for this team. It's the field swings off into turn number one. Let's quickly take you to the Terms and get you familiar with the voices that'll be covering the action there this afternoon. And the south end of the track in Terms one and two is Eli Gold. OK, Barney, as the cars go rumbling by us now, of course, jackets and sweaters are definitely the way to go here today to kind of ward off the chill of this Michigan afternoon. Always a great crowd, the plus rolling greenery of Michigan and right in the middle of two mile racetrack, probably the most competitive in the nation. Terms one and two, of course, as we've said many times, you're already turning left as the front straightaway is not really straight, but really a sweeping left-hander. So as you enter turn number one, you can drive in a good bit deeper than you will in turn number three. And then you really start turning between turn one and two. You cut it left and go across the groove down low on the racetrack. And then exit the turn down the back stretch where the draft really kicks in. Can you handle the smoke? Then Toyota Racing wants you. Not the kind of smoke wafting from the grill on race days. Smells good. Kind of smoke from victory donuts, drifting less than a hair is width from walls and blasting off to the tune of 300 miles per hour, plus. If the smoke smells inviting, we're looking for you. Be part of the action at Toyota.com/racing. Toyota, let's go, places. The field is in the middle of the back stretch, getting ready to go this time around. The indication when they came across the start finish line, they'll put them under green next time by. Dave Despaint is up in three and four. Next time through here, it'll be a 175 mile an hour rush into the teeth of a stiff breeze that is blowing across turn three. Perhaps the most devilish spot on this racetrack. It's tricky. You've got to get out of the throttle at precisely the right moment, and then kind of feather that gas pedal through the 18-degree banking, unlike Talladega Daytona, for example, where 31-degree banking lets you run it flat out. It's a kind of razor-edged trip along the margin of traction. And if you make a mistake, there's a retaining wall up there waiting to greet you. They're rumbling off turn four now. The echo reverberating back off the Irish hills of Michigan. We're just about ready for a start of a champion. Sparkplug 400. Pace car dives on a pit road in 36 to the best race drivers in the world. Ease it down to the start finish line as Harold Kinder waves the green 200 yards away from it. And we are up to full song as they head for turn number one, Kale Jarvo and Ron Bouchard. Dies for the lead in one. Bouchard goes to the long side with Kale kick to the high side. Everybody, virtually among your top 20 maintaining double file, but now Kale leads. It's Bouchard dropping back to second LaPotti now to third. Gary Baloo going fourth, fifth is Joe Rotman. Moving up to sixth will be Bill Elliott with Richard Petty going seventh, Harry Gatt moving to eighth spot. Ninth now being held as Ricky Rudd. Clearly through the turn, they head to turn three. Jarvo takes him down the backshoot for the first time. Bouchard has closed it up right to his rear deck. Here comes LaPotti onto the inside as he'll run low. Under Ron Bouchard in the sideways. The LaPotti machine is spinning in turn three. He's down low on the grass magnificent driving. LaPotti kept it out of the way of all the leaders that they come off turn four. LaPotti goes onto the grass as the field comes across the line. Kale Yarbrough will lead the first lap. No caution on the speedway. Terry just simply got tagged a little bit. It looked like he might have got tapped up in that turn, jockeying to the front row. They're back in turn one. Moving now into fifth places, Richard Petty trying to chase Yarbrough in single file with Bouchard. Now Rotman goes to the inside of a Gary Baloo slowing automobile, and Rotman grabs third spot. So off turn number two, Baloo continues to slow as Richard Petty goes by him into fourth. That's going to allow the leaders the lead trio to break away with Yarbrough out front. Bouchard running in that number two spot in Rotman, sitting in third. Baloo has now slipped behind. Richard Petty, he is definitely off the pace. Petty rides fourth, and Baloo is fifth. A three-car gaggle running for six, seventh, and eight spots. As Yarbrough brings it down, he'll be challenged by Joe Rotman. As they come to the line, Rotman dives down to the bottom of the racetrack, gets underneath Bouchard, takes away the second spot. Now Terry LaPotti is going on around the racetrack. He will not lose the lap. The field is back in one. Bouchard battling in the high side of Rotman. Reassumed second places. Joe has dropped back to third, but here's Rotman again. Low and inside of Bouchard. He wants second place right back. As they dice it off third. Number two, the battle for second. Behind Yarbrough Bouchard to the outside Rotman of the inside, Petty watching. A lot of youngsters qualified well for this race. Two of them, Ron Bouchard and Joe Rotman are up in the thick of things now with Kayle Yarbrough out front, and Richard Petty closing up to fourth spot. Another quick word of praise for LaPotti. A nice piece of driving, as he spun that car right in the middle of the leaders on lap one. Out of turn number four, back through this trial will D-shaped front straight away. Single file, front four with Yarbrough Bouchard. Rotman and Richard Petty. Gary Baloo fifth leading that group in a break away for fifth spot. Great try to make a move. It's Ricky Rudd who goes to the inside. He'll hold down sixth spot now with Gary Baloo battling him to the high side of the racetrack. The top 15 and the tight draft. Now his Ricky Rudd works low on the racetrack. He wins that fifth place battle away from Gary Baloo. Moving up to sixth space now is Dale Earnhardt in seventh of a three-way battle. End of the back stretch. Bouchard will challenge the leader. Ron Bouchard moves under Kayle Yarbrough. He's got the fender out front. Bouchard has the line. Yarbrough slips to second. Rotman rides third. Petty moves inside on Ricky Rudd, and he'll slip back into fourth spot. Gary Baloo is back to speed running sixth. It is amazing what a win will do for you. As Darryl Walter said, hot battle for the leaders. Line is Yarbrough by just about a foot. Bouchard gets pumped to the outside. They're back in turn one. Typical Michigan, a flying wedge of eight cars. Yarbrough there, now with Rotman going second. Underneath Bouchard is into third. Richard Muddy, battling with Ricky Rudd, along with Dale Earnhardt and Gary Baloo. All those cars were fourth. One car is smoking and gets somewhat sideways. It's Jody Ridley now. He spins off turn number two in front of Lake Speed. No contact is made. Your leaders head to turn three. And caution is on the racetrack. They'll race back to the line in front of Dave Despaine. 15 cars are in that lead pack. The front runner is Joe Rotman. And Rotman has whipped under Kale Yarbrough to take the lead. Drop kicks Bouchard back to third. Richard Petty is fourth as they come to the flag. Off of turn four and back to the flag. There are three cars wide off the fourth quarter back at about six spot involving Earnhardt, Milliken, Betty Parsons, and Neil Bonnet. Caution is on the speedway after five laps. Jody Ridley got sideways up in turn number two. I believe he kept that car off the wall, got it down into the grass. And he will motor around to take the caution flag. Six laps completed. We're under caution of Michigan international speedway. And the caution flag is a break for Terry Labani. He's come into the pits right in front of Ned Jarrett. It is a break for him, Mike Joy. And the crew go to work, changing the right side tires. Of course, that spins sometimes. We'll cause flat spots on the tire. Fortunately for him, the caution did come out. He gets to do that under the caution. You're changing all four. Kyle Petty also came in that popped the gasoline tank off and also made a weight chassis adjustment on. It shifted weight from one corner of the car to the other, apparently it was a little bit loose. The Harry Gantt team was ready for him to come in to change four tires. But he did not come in that time around. We'll wait to see if he comes in the next time. Terry Labani has changed those four tires and has a weight. Likewise, Jody Ridley on pit road for a four tire change. Bobby Walwack and Joe Bure. Also made pit stops under this caution flag. And Dick May has taken the Henley Gray car to the garage. For Michigan International Speedway, this is MRN, the Motor Racing Network. Back at Michigan International Speedway, the first caution coming out on lap number five when Jody Ridley spun going off the number two corner. They're getting ready to go back to green. It'll be a single file restart with Joe Ruttman of Upland, California riding out front in the JD Stacey car. Back in second spot is Kale Yarburo, third is Bouchard. And you can tell Mike Joy from just watching Bouchard run in the early laps that he has pumped higher than a kite. Oh, he just went out there and raced with him. We're earlier right, trying to get his feet wet in the sport. We'll kind of hang with the pack and learn and see what was going on. He's arrived at the inner circle now, and he's up there fighting for the lead right in the opening couple of laps. I think we're going to see some other drivers. We'll be trying maybe to prove a little bit of something to themselves and their new car owners here today this afternoon before the day is gone. Pace car is on pit road as they get ready to come and dig in out of turn number four and back down to the start finish line. Harold Kinder gives them that Matador flag wave, and we go back to full song racing. As a hit for turn number one. Russell is off the battle is the third spot. Bouchard slowly through the gearbox. He is fast by Richard Freddie. Likewise, Ricky Run, so two day of Earnhardt. You battle now for third between Run, low on the racetrack. Richard Petty upstairs. Everybody chasing Joe Rutman and Kale Yarborough. Off turn number two now using that 18 degree banking. It's Petty off the high side. Sneaks in front of Ricky. Red grabs third. Rutman obviously proud of that new ride, has put it right back out front here on the restart. Now he'll be challenged by Yarborough as they hit turn three. Yarborough nips inside, and they run door post to door post. With Petty third, they're three of us for four spot Earnhardt has worked a Wrangler Pontiac up into the thick of it. Fastest car on the speedway. I was about to say the pure later Mercury, but it's the Warner-Hodston engineering car of Neil Bonnet. He is flying up to the field three. A breast across the start finish line for the lead. Richard Petty may get it, turn one. Richard does off the low side as he sequenced Yarborough in between himself and Rutman. And now Rutman kicked to the high side, opens the door for Earnhardt. He moves up to third. Now low on the racetrack. Neil Bonnet battling with Rutman for fourth place. Neil Bonnet's going to win that battle. So Rutman is back for fifth. Battling their 2-2 Ricky Rudd and a challenge mounting for the lead. Well, all of those youngsters are looking at the tail ends of two of the veterans of NASCAR racing. Richard Petty and Kale Yarborough run one, two. Up into that number three spot goes Earnhardt. Fourth is Rutman, and their side by side for fifth spot with Bonnet down on the low side and Ricky Rudd up on top. The fords have really been working well. Bonnet and Benny Parsons have climbed their way up through traffic. They go three wide off the fourth corner again, and this time it is Walter, who goes right to the bottom of the racetrack. This is for seventh spot against Bouchard and Baloo. Gary Baloo is working in the highest side of that battle. And now it's Bouchard who's proud of the middle, having him lift just a bit. Now he tries to battle back for seventh, but everybody goes high, opens it downstairs for Walchapoo Zips by. Off turn number two, your leader is Petty Yarborough's second third now for Earnhardt. Fourth for Rutman, Bonnet is fifth. The lead duo have opened up about an eight to nine car separation over a four car war going on for the number two spot, 17 cars all bunched up in that lead draft. But Petty and Yarborough are trying to open up that separation, hook up and a draft, and run away. Earnhardt wants none of that. He's third in closing. Remember in Pocono a few weeks ago, Richard Petty jumped out into the lead and really took off and left the field. He may be trying to do the same thing today. Richard across the line, leads Kale Yarborough to his second. Ruffin is up the third. Fourth is Neil Bonnet, and Bonnet still has the quickest car on the racetrack, and Eli Goldies about to move up a position. He just goes underneath Dale Earnhardt, and though Earnhardt was standing still, craps third, but now Neil keeps going high up the banking. And again, that opens the door downstairs for Earnhardt, who will try and reassume third place. But Neil Bonnet tried to turn the mustard up three wide, with Bonnet now sandwiched in between, with Earnhardt who has to lift and run. An unbelievable six car battle for that number three spot. Bonnet survived that hard charge through one and two to hold on to that spot. Rut comes down on the low side, but he's going to lose fourth spot to Darryl Walter, who has now taken that position away. And Earnhardt falls back to six. They'll go three abreast. So many battles going on in this one. It's hard to watch them all. Good hot battle for the lead right now. Richard Petty and Dale Yarbrough run close to Dale. Been back in third spot. There are six cars running for that third position. Third place for Neil Bonnet right now. Fourth for Darryl Walter. Going fifth as Neil Earnhardt. Betty Parsons sneaks in front of Rutman Grab sixth, with Joe in seventh place. Now Ricky Runners going eighth, Harry Gant knife. And going 10, Gary Baloo, off turn number two. Back straight away Yarbrough, hounding on Petty. Those six cars running for third now have sorted it out a little bit. They'll run single file with Bonnet running in that third spot. Walter is fourth. It is Dale Earnhardt running in the fifth spot. The leaders, Petty and Yarbrough continue to open up a little bit of a separation. They've got maybe 50 yards on the race for third. Petty and Kale not battling for position, but keeping a tight draft and hoping to break away a bit, because it is calamity behind them. There are six cars contesting that third spot. Right now it's Walter. No, make that Walter. Yes, on the bottom underneath Neil Bonnet for third. He wants third, but Neil goes high on the banking and hangs on the third spot. So Walter fiddling for fourth. Meanwhile, fifth goes to Dale Earnhardt. Sixth for many parsons, Ricky Runners going seventh. Joe Rutman now has his hands full as Harry Gant goes high, grabs eighth place away from Rutman as they work the back stretch. Both Walter and Bonnet qualified well down field in this race. Walter was back in 15 starting spot, but their side by side for third as they hit turn three. And now here comes the rest of that charge right up there with him. Earnhardt goes to the outside and runs side by side. It was Walter fourth fourth as they chase Bonnet off turn four. 15 laps completed here at Michigan. And Kayla Garbero has just worked underneath. Richard Petty to take over the lead. Neil Bonnet rides third. Walter is fourth. Earnhardt's in the fifth spot. Ricky Rudd is battling Benny Parsons for sixth. Eighth is the Joe Rutman automobile. Ninth is Harry Gant. In tenth is Buddy Baker with Bobby Allison 11th. Gary Baloo, 12th. Johnny Rutherford, 13th. In 14th is Ron Bouchard. And in the 15th spot is Morgan Shepherd, ahead of Dave Marcus and Joe Milliken. You'd think it was the last lap here at Michigan away. The front 15 cars are dicing back and forth to the lead. Neil Bonnet's right up in the thick of things. Kayla Garbero has just eased up in front. Richard Petty and Bonnet ride door to door for the second spot right now as they worked their way down the back stretch. 175 mile an hour speeds and a good time to give a call to Terry Labotti, who did not lose a lap on that first lap spent. And he's now starting to reel in the leaders. He's still got a good ways to go. But Labotti is showing good speed. Now the battle for second spot goes side by side as Bonnet whips to the outside of Richard Petty and they're really stacking up coming off turn four. 12 cars in the lead draft. Garbero has broken that draft a little bit, but they're three wide per second spot. If they start to finish line, Betty Parsons takes the Velling 2-4 down underneath Richard Petty and he may get the spot at turn one. And Neil Bonnet is to the high side and they're going to squeeze off Richard. Petty who has to lift it down the two-way battle for second place. But he parsends to the downstire. Downstairs, Neil Bonnet going high. And now Betty has the nose to that Melling 2-lot of a wheel in front, but here comes the National Engineering Machine. Neil Bonnet wants second and Betty to the inside. Holds on. Parsons proud of that local sponsorship. Melling tools right up the road in Jackson, Michigan. And he's put that car back into second spot as he does out horsepower at Bonnet. Now in the back stretch, Petty comes to the inside on Bonnet. So the leader is Garbero second. His Parsons third is Bonnet fourth is Petty. In the back stretch, they had Petty squeeze like a tube of toothpaste right out through the middle and he scored it out from between Ricky run and wall trip. And that move picked him up the fourth spot. He still works to the bottom of the racetrack, but he's out of the draft in turn one. He is, Darrell Waltship going to the high side in the draft, trying to work by Richard Petty. But Petty must be strong. He tried to hold on downstairs and does. Richard Petty now in the battle for fourth place with Waltship who goes high. And Richard Petty puts an STP car out of the draft back into it. But here comes Waltship again. Darrell's squeezing by to the outside and they'll stack it up again on the back stretch. 15 cars are strung out down the stretch. All in that lead draft. And they pretty much run single file except for Petty who has squeezed to the bottom of the racetrack and is losing spots. He's back side by side now with Dale Earnhardt in the race for sixth position. He had been as high as the leader in this race running with Garbero. If they can catch you out of that lead draft, squeeze you out. Single file, put you downstairs for yourself. You'll go backwards. And that's what's happening to Richard Petty right now. Now he finds an opening squeezes back in single file and turn one. And there are 15 cars, knows to tell, heading over to turn two and Eli Gold. Benny Parsons the leader, going second as Garbero, positive third. Waltship is fourth with Ricky Rudd fifth, six for Earnhardt. Now seventh the battle between Richard Petty to the inside of Joe Rutman, ninth for Buddy Baker, and tenth now Bobby Allison the battle still for seventh and eighth. Baker and Allison trying to move up. But they're not getting any help from the draft. They're pretty much stuck back there in traffic. And having to watch the leaders work turn three. That leader is Benny Parsons who has taken the advantage away from Kale Yarborough. Whoa, trouble in turn three, right in front of Dave Despaine. Down the car, spinning off the racetrack second car, colliding there is contact with the O2 machine, which is over on its top for a moment. Morgan Shepherd's car has come to a dead stop in the middle of the banking. Car is whipping high and low to get out of the way. The second machine involved is slid down to a stop. And it looks like the number 98 of Johnny Rutherford that first came loose and started that two car chain reaction collision. Second caution flag of the afternoon was out at Michigan International Speedway in a scary moment for Morgan Shepherd, who had the car upside down and hit the wall. It flipped over on its top, on the side, skidded long for about 70 or 80 feet and then dropped back down on the wheels while traffic went below and above it. Let's go back today to Spain. The accident started with Rutherford's spin. He came sideways in the middle of the banking. And Shepherd was behind him with very little alternative. Rutherford managed to wrestle the car down low onto the apron, finally got it into the grass. But by that time, for Morgan Shepherd in this one right deal in the Mark Martin automobile, he simply had nowhere to go. It came sideways the other way, went up and banged the armcoat barrier. And it just acted like a wedge under the outside of the car, tipped it up, the wind got underneath it, and dropped the car on its top. It spun down off the armcoat, off the 18 degree banking. And as it did so, the racetrack just sort of scooped the car back up and set it back down on its wheels. The car did not come all the way over. It bounced once on its top. And it's obviously sustained a good bit of damage. They, a cruiser, they're with Morgan Shepherd now. Johnny Rutherford was able to continue on around the racetrack, and he'll be headed back for the pit. Let's go back to their tower. Well, Shepherd's debut in the '02 car will be spectacular, but not particularly impressive. Everybody's on pit road. Let's go to Ned. They certainly are, Mike. They're taking advantage of this caution period to come in and change the right side tires. Many of them are changing left side tires, too. They're all woke up in your portions. Area Gant, Dale Earnhardt, just practically everybody is changing all four tires, making any adjustments that they might need to make. And there's very few cars left on the racetrack right now. The second car out of the race is Buddy Errington, a Martinsville, Virginia. He coached it into the garage area a few minutes ago. They think they dropped the valve in the engine, and he's out of it for the day. The Dillon Racing, Amsoil Buick, is parked up and turned four down in the grass. Let's go back to Dave to Spain for a quick update. Morgan Shepherd is out of the car. He unbuckled himself, climbed out through the window, walked around the car, and surveyed the extensive damage sustained by that machine. Now he has climbed into the ambulance, and has been taken into the infield care center for a checkover. But Morgan Shepherd appears to be OK. Ned Jaron, on Pit Road, any apparent damage to the Johnny Rutherford car. Not to appear to be any damage to it. Apparently, he survived it much better than Morgan Shepherd. He's been in the pits twice now, and apparently stayed in the same lap. He's going down Pit Road right now after having come in and change the right side tires first, and then the left side tires. Word 23 laps into the Champions Park plug 400 at Michigan, and James Hilton is being posted as the leader. Cecil Gordon in second spot, Bobby Walwack in third. Those cars did not make pit stops of those that did. Terry Labadi in fourth. And then Ron Bouchard ran out the top five. From Michigan International Speedway, this is MRN, the motor racing network. Back at Michigan International Speedway, the second caution flag of the afternoon coming out on lap number 22 when Morgan Shepherd and Johnny Rutherford both had trouble up in turn number four. Morgan Shepherd has been taken to the Enfield Care Center, but he did get out of the car under his own power. Ned Jarrett is checking on his condition. We'll check in with that in just a moment. This will give us a chance to chat with Jack Smith, one of the all-time Grand National drivers who will be inducted into the National Motorsports Hall of Fame in Darlington, South Carolina in a couple of weeks. Jack, I know you're enjoying this one this afternoon. Barney, I believe I'm enjoying this as much as any race that I've ever watched. I've never had the pleasure coming up into the tower many times because it was just something that I never did do. But this is one of the most beautiful racetracks that I've ever seen, and they are putting on a show here today. Jack did the, what's the caliber of competition in your day like it is as good as it is now? I know fireball and weatherly and guys like that that you knocked heads with and caught no ones and some of the greats in this business were some of the best drivers. But there seems to be more 20 to 25 guys that can win now. Barney, I was down in Talladega the other day and it was a 24-car draft. And any one of them 24 cars was subject to win the race. It looks like today that we got about 14 to 15. I don't never recall that about 12 cars when I was running, that we figured that we had to run against competition. So I believe that the competition is the greatest right now that it's ever been in NASCAR racing. Do you think any of those guys had any idea back in the late '50s when you were running all the circuit that Grand National Racing would advance to what it is today? Barney, I sure would have liked to thought about it. And I sure would have liked to have been able to run for the kind of person the boys is running for the day. And I don't believe we would have had to slap in the cars and got them cheap motel rooms if we'd have had the things that the boys has now. They own their own airplanes and they fly from place to place. We didn't have that kind of luck. We slept in a car half the time, we porting beans and sardines and made it to the next race. It has indeed changed a lot. Elmo Langley told me something the other day, and I'm sure it's true. He said back when you guys were running in the '50s in Darlington, South Carolina, now they come in and change tires just any time they need them. But he said back then, the only way you knew when you needed a tire change, you'd hear the thing coming apart and chunks of rubber slapping the bottom of the fender or something. He said, when you heard that, you'd go in and get tires. Well, Barney, we did do that, but we also put inspection holes down to the floorboard so that you could look down and see if you had a tire that was chunking out. And I believe that Carl Kieckefer was the first band that ever come up with that id of cutting a hole where you could look across. But now that didn't always mean that it was true. If you could see the air in the tire, it was going. Jack, what stands out as your biggest career highlight? Daytona Beach. And the firecracker 400? Right. It's always quite a race, I'm sure it was. When you wanted it, and it certainly still is. Yes, it sure was. We'll look forward to Darlington and your Hall of Fame induction next month. Thank you. Let's go to that chart. Quickly as we get ready to go back to Green. Barney, we're standing by the track hospital here. And the report is that Morgan Shepherd has a bruised foot. Nothing serious at all. They're just continuing to check him over. And we hope to get a word with him here very shortly. But we are happy to report that apparently everything's OK. Well, spectacular accident up in front of Dave Despaine is the car, banged the outside guard rail, flew up in the air, landed on its side, skidded along. And nobody tagged the car, which is very fortunate that all the traffic either got above or below it. James Hilton is the leader here in the champion spark plug 400, Cecil Gordon, a second-place car. Terry Labadi is third. Ron Bouchard in the fourth spot. Jody Ridley, we don't believe he lost a lap. He's posted his fifth up on the scoreboard. Sixth is young Mike Alexander. Neil Bonnet will take the restart in seventh position. Eighth goes Kayle Yarborough. In night has Benny Parsons in tenth. Is Darrell Walter? Bobby Allison has the 11th spot, 12th to be Richard Petty. In the 13th position would be Gary Baloo. As they head toward Dave Despaine, looking for the restart. All those leaders who were among the front runners early on are now stuck back in traffic and are going to have to thread the needle to get back to the front. Terry Labadi, who spun on lap one, is up in third spot now. He never really got a chance to see if he could run with the leaders prior to the caution. Let's see what he does now as we go green. Harold Kinder puts them back under green. And Hilton comes up through the gearbox. Gets a pretty good jump on the field. And James Hilton leads them into turn one. She's so boring right there, holding down second now with La Bonnet, he's still single-file third. Ronnie Busard is going fourth, fifth now for Jody Ridley. Six and on the move is Neil Bonnet. He takes the Hodgson machine in and around Mike Alexander and grabs a spot away. Meanwhile, cars that were leading early in the race still, having a heck of a time working their way back through traffic, Hilton the leader on the back stretch. Mike Alexander in seventh spot in Kayle Yarborough, who led it early, runs eighth. He's inside Alexander down the backshoot and will pick up another position. Meanwhile, La Bonnet has whipped into second spot. And here comes Ron Busard moving up to take over third from Cecil Gordon. The leader is still James Hilton. Remarkable comeback for Terry La Bonnet, who spun the car up in turn four a little bit earlier. He's about to go for the lead at the start finish line, and he may get it away from Hilton. He does. Busard picks up the draft, snips it out, and they go sailing as a turn number one. Neil Bonnet is up to third now, and Yarborough moves into the inside of Jody Ridley to grab fifth spot as Hilton tucks into fourth. Sixth will be Betty Parsons. Ridley is seventh now, Mike Alexander going eighth. Walter is up to ninth. Richard Petty is 10th with Bobby Allison 11th. Cecil Gordon is 12th. Your leader is off turn number two. It's going to be a Busard La Bonnet battle. A dozen-car draft down the back stretch. With La Bonnet out front, Busard wants the lead. He nips inside going into three. He's got the spot. He brings Bonnet with him in the draft, and Neil takes over the number two position. La Bonnet kicked back into third spot, and there he meets Kayle Yarborough, who is challenging on the inside to take over third. Field comes down to the line. There are 10 cars, and that lead draft, and they're all trying to get a piece of the lead. Bonnet brings La Bonnet's drive. Betty Parsons dives down to the inside, and I've got a feeling these two forwards want to get linked up in a draft, because the Ford products work better here in Texas than any two speedways on the circuit. We pause now for station identification. Neil Bonnet out front, heading for turn number three. Kayle Yarborough chops off Benny Parsons to keep him from getting up there in the draft. Yarborough taking over that number two spot. Parsons is kicked back to third. Bouchard goes side by side with La Bonnet for fourth. Bouchard on the low side, La Bonnet up top, and he's got Darryl Waltrip coming with him to take over sixth spot. Martin Hall, Morgan Shepherd, had just come out of the track hospital here. Morgan, are you okay? Yeah, I'm okay. What happened over there? Johnny Ruffer got sideways and lost it, and come down. I was low on the track, and he come down across the track in front of me, and so I tried to avoid him, and I got all the way down to the grass, and when I hit the grass, the car turned, and went back up the cross track into the wall, and turned over on the side. That's sort of a wild ride. Yeah, it's pretty wild. Without a car spinning, in turn number two, Johnny Rufferford again spins. Here come two other cars to avoid. Rufferford is down the banking, and again, two cars just do skitter by, as your leaders are in turn number four, Rufferford out of the way. Let's continue our conversation with Morgan Shepherd. Morgan, I know that you're disappointed having this ride for the one race deal it looked like was working well for you. It was, Ned. I was going through the corner so much better than everybody else. They was pulling me a little bit down the straightaway, but when the time of the track got real slick, we would have been in good shape, because I was making up like five car lengths down in the corners. What's the future hold from Morgan Shepherd now? I don't know, Ned. I need a sponsor to keep this operation going. Well, we're glad that you're okay, the best to you. Thank you, Ned. 31 laps completed here at Michigan. We're under the third caution of the day. Johnny Rufferford's spin at turn number two has prompted the caution flag, and it is indicative of the type of racing here. Barney, we've already had seven drivers officially lead this race at the start finish line, and there are at least three others that have had the lead in the back stretch or somewhere else on the speedway. Well, we may have a record number of lead changes here before the day has gone. There have been no less than 12 to 15 cars in the lead draft inches apart since they put them under green, although we've had three caution flags already. We're working the 31st lap of the 200 that will make up the Champions Park Plug 400. And we may see another rise of pit stops as the field comes around. Caution car will get ready to pick up Benny Parsons as the leader. Two weeks from today, we'll be at the California Los Angeles Times 500 out of Les Richter's Riverside International Raceway in California, and bring you that round of the championship auto racing team's PPG Series. As the Indy cars take to the road course at Riverside, that's coming your way on motor racing network two weeks from today. Our next Winston Cup Grand National Race on MRN, the CRC Chemicals 500 from the incredible mile of Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware. And that comes your way in just about a month. September 20th is the date Sunday. One week later, we'll be at Martin'sville, the beautiful half mile speed plant of Clay Earls in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. That's the old Dominion 500 for Winston Cup cars Sunday, September 27th. MRN then moves back to Martin'sville on November 1st to bring you the wild double-header action of the Cardinal 500 for NASCAR modified to late model sportsman machines. And we'll close out our broadcast season back at Riverside, November 22nd, to decide the Winston Cup champion with the running of the Winston Western 500. Why not drop a note to your MRN station you're listening to and let them know how you appreciate their carrying these broadcasts of Winston Cup, cart, motorcycle and NASCAR modified and sportsman races. And don't forget that next year, we'll have an expanded schedule of broadcast. As in addition to the tracks that we've covered in 1981, Daytona, Talladega, Martin'sville, and Michigan, we've been up to Stafford and out to Riverside, to Texas as well, and up to Dover Downs, we'll be adding some speedways. And with some Winston Cup races to our broadcast next year, you'll hear MRN from Atlanta International Raceway, from Bristol International Raceway, from the North Carolina Motor Speedway at Rockingham, and from the Richmond Fairground Speedway in 1982 as part of our 28 race schedule. We hope to have you in all of these motor racing network stations along with us for our expanded schedule next season. Well, let's give a call today. All right, Richard Chiller is first shot out of the box. This afternoon, a brand new team and kind of a pickup team, so to speak. Part of the crew, as we told you, left the Jim Stacey group when Earnhardt decided to go out on his own and form up with Richard Childress. I had caught up with Richard in the garage area yesterday. How does he feel about this new arrangement with one of the sports toughest drivers? I think we'll have a real competitive team to start with. And I would think we'd have a chance to win a race before the year is out. We brought their engine people, Steve Blackwell and Roger Legan. We've got Doug Reicher, the crew chief with Dale. So you know, everything is basically like it was. We're just going to try to change the organization around a little bit and have a real good, comfortable work and relationship with everybody. And that's what we've got now. Let's go to the garage and dead Jarret. Barney, two cars pulled into the garage area almost simultaneously during this cost of period. Bobby Walwack pushed his car into the garage area with an oil pump problem. Bruce Hill is out of the race. He's with us. Bruce, what went wrong with your car? I didn't hit on that-- when Rutherford spun down in four, went slowed down. And then when I saw he wasn't going to come up the racetrack, I put it in third gear. And since I dumped a clutch, well, it swung the dry shaft out. And it looks like the yoke broke and threw the dry shaft out. Hasn't been a very good year for Bruce Hill. No, it hasn't. It's disappointing, really. We qualified bad here. But once the race started, the car drove good. And we moved up several spots. And I thought, well, this might be our day, but it didn't turn out that way. Well, we're sorry to see you out. Better luck next time. Thank you, Ned. We are about to go back to Green in the Champions Park plug 433 laps are flashed on the board. The leader is Benny Parsons. Cale Yarbrough is second. Neil Boddett rides third. Richard Petty is fourth. And fifth is Bobby Allison. As Harold Kinder waves the green, and we go back to racing. The two Ford products have been trying to link up here all after those. Benny Parsons and Neil Boddett is only one car to keep them from that right now. That's Cale Yarbrough in turn one. He has second, but Neil Boddett has his hands. Don't try the battle, Richard Petty, for third. Petty is low on the racetrack. And Neil goes to the high side, and Petty is hanging right there. Meanwhile, Bobby Allison begins to rear the colors of Hardee's now as he's up to fifth. Richard Petty wins the battle from Neil Boddett grabs third, and rumbling his buddy Baker. Down the back stretch they go with Parsons leading the way. Yarbrough wants that front spot. He sticks the nose out front. As they hit turn three, they are side by side, rubbing numbers for the lead. And the battle for second spot is a carbon copy. With Boddett on the inside, and Petty on the outside, side by side. Now, here come Allison and Baker in tandem for fifth and sixth. Just unreal racing here at Michigan International Speedway as they flash across the line. That would have been a dead heat had it been the finish. Parsons will now scoot down the outside, take the lead there three wide, and turn one. Neil Boddett is there along with Cale Yarbrough trying to deploy in behind Benny Parsons. The battle now for second is Benny with holes that challenge. Richard Petty is up to second. He thinks about a bid for the lead. Nothing there. Yarbrough is up to third now. And here's Richard Petty. He goes to the outside of Benny Parsons. Yarbrough, now to the inside. They'll make it three wide for the lead. Unbelievable of a nerve to skill the courage of these drivers as Yarbrough takes the inside line running three abreast and retakes the lead. Same spot he took it a lap ago. This time it's Petty back in at number two spot. Six cars are all stacked up for third. They're running two and three abreast as the pack comes off turn four. The 15 cars are in that lead draft. It looks like Talladega all over again. Yarbroughs in front. Richard Petty is back up in the second spot of the STB Buick. They drop Parsons back to third, but there's nine more cars chasing him for the lead and turn one again. Buddy Baker is there in fourth with Joe Watman for fifth. Neil Bonneton, Bobby Allison, battling for sixth and seventh. Earnhardt is there for eighth place along with Darryl Walsh, a Bouchard, wants ninth. LeBani there with tenth along with Harry Ganon, 11th, and Ricky running 12th. That's the way they stack. And now battle for the lead to turn three. It's Petty on the inside. He's got Benny Parsons in tow. They both whip under K.O. Yarbrough and drop kick. The Timmonsville, South Carolinian from first to third. Parsons taking that number two spot, slipping up wide, and he's going to drive K.O. Yarbrough up close to the wall. Yarbrough stays right in the throttle as he goes after Richard Petty. They come off the walls or off the fourth turn, rather, seven rows back at two cars wide in every single row. Petty is the only man by himself, and he's the leader. They're stacked two by two. Seven rows deep heading for turn one. It looks like they've just started the race coming off turn four. They're in that kind of symmetry, two by two. But now between turns one and two as they dive to the lower side of the race track. Petty pulls away just a bit. The battle for second place held by Yarbrough. Third spot, Joe Rutman to the outside of Benny Parsons. Back in that fifth position is Buddy Baker, who slips on the outside of Neil Bonner to take over that spot. He brings Bobby Allison right with him, but they just shuffle positions all over. This is a big wide open two-mile race track, but it's clogged with automobiles and turns three and four as Petty leads him toward the start finish line. It's no wonder that Winston Cup's stock car racing is one of the most popular sports in the United States today when you see one race. Here they are four wide. Back in the pack, that's for about 10th position, and that's the kind of scramble all the way back to the field. When you see this kind of racing early, Bobby Allison, are you kind of feeling the other guys out to see what they've got or do you need to lay back a bit? Well, I think you do get a good feel for the race track and for the conditions of that particular day. And sometimes you kind of get an idea of who's engines running good and whose cars are handling good. But see, that changes during the race, too, because if a guy is not handling well and a team can work on the car on pit stops and all and get it picked up better, a lot of times their competition between the other cars changes. But at least you know what kind of things you'd want to do to your own car. And so it's worth it to run hard early. Bobby Allison has not been a factor for the lead thus far, but he's beginning to be one. He's riding along right now back in sixth position and their single file in turn one. Entering the turn. Richard Petty is the leader now with Garbero. Second, Runtman is third. Benny Parsons is fourth. Petty Baker is up to fifth now with Bobby Allison. Sixth, Darrell Walsh of going seventh. Ronnie Bouchard is eighth. Nice is going to be the day of Earnhardt automobile. As you lead automobiles, work down the back straight. There are 17 cars in that lead pack of automobiles. The biggest interval anywhere from first to 17th spot is about two car lengths. And that's between the leader, Richard Petty and the second place man, Kayle Yarborough, tucking into that third spot is the Joe Runtman machine, as he's kept the leaders right in his sights all day. They're off turn four. Bobby Allison jumps to the bottom. He's racing for fifth spot, running along there with Buddy Baker. Walter Bo has Baker's draft, and that'll kick Allison back a bit. We're 40 laps into the champion spark plug 480 miles with Richard Petty, the leader. Kayle Yarborough in the second spot, Joe Runtman rides third. And fourth is Betty Parsons in fifth. He is Allison. Well, Richard Petty is giving him a run for the money in the STP Buick as they head for turn number three. Petty at Pocono a couple of weeks ago, took off into the lead, and it's unusual to watch Petty have that kind of racing style. I talked with him about it in time or two, and he said if it's comfortable to run out front, that's the best place to be. He pulls the field around, and they go three wide at the start finish line again for that second spot. This time, it's Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, and Kayle Yarborough still door to door. And as they hold that position, Joe Runtman joins to make it a four car gaggle. And as they shuffle them up through the turn, it's going to be Benny Parsons who has second spot. Bobby Allison is third, Yarborough is fourth, but here comes Walsh up to the high side. He wants fourth place away from Yarborough. Off turn number two and down the back stretch. It's going to be Walsh up to fourth, Yarborough to fifth. Allison with so much super speedway strength this year is showing his strongest performance at the race thus far. He had second for a moment. He's now slipped back to third right behind Benny Parsons. And Richard Petty continues to maintain three to four car length separation as he leads the field around. It's become evident here in the front stretch that the bottom groove is the place to be coming off turn four. You can get a good jump down on the bottom. And that is where the lead changing has been taking place for the great part. Between turn four and the start finish line, but now everything seems to have sorted out kind of single file here at 45 laps or 90 miles, Petty, with a two car length advantage. Over the Benny Parsons machine, and Bobby Allison has settled into third, the fords, which work very well at the bottom of this racetrack, have not been able to link up in the draft. But Benny Parsons has punched the button in Dave to Spain, here he comes for the lead. As the speeds escalate to 175 miles an hour Parsons, ducks to the inside, under Richard Petty, and he takes the lead. Petty maintains the high racing groove for second spot, Bobby Allison closes it up in third. As they went side by side, it slowed him up just a little bit. And the 28 machine of Allison was right there to take advantage of it. Bobby Allison, who is slowly but surely working his way to the front, he hasn't let a lap feel this afternoon. He needs two to pick up some more points in his battle for the Winston Cup championship. A single file for the first time, as they go back into turn number one, and it's back through 12th position. And as they work it up through 12th, Daryl Walter McCall starting 15th. He is now in fourth. Rutman is fifth, sixth place. Yarburo's slowing down, Kale slows down. He'll take Buddy Baker with him, but he has nowhere to go. As he gets caught in the Yarburo's slowing maneuver, everybody's going by Kale, as boot shard moves up in the rest of the pack. Yarburo got that car very, very sideways. They were smoked rolling off the rear wheels. It looked like it was going to come on around. Yarburo was able to straighten it out, but he really stacked up the traffic behind him as they all waited to see what was going to happen, and that's broken up that lead draft a bit. Three and four of rest as they went in that turn, and Yarburo's rear end came out about 25 degrees. He did a heck of a job just to keep the car in a straight line and keep it from spinning out. They head back into turn number one, Betty Parsons right now, the head of the field. But Bobby Allison makes a move. He'll go underneath Richard Petty and grab second place away. Petty continues to rip right in here in Michigan. He'll hold third until the challenge is mounted here by Waltrip. Now as one car is up in the wall, off turn number two, Gary Baloo, he straightens it out as others go by, and they've got a battle towards the point. Unbelievable, looks like short track racing out there. Yarburo's move of Elapico has let the first five cars open up some separation. Benny Parsons is leading Bobby Allison, Richard Petty. Darryl Waltrip and the number two car of Joe Rutman, and that lead quintet is coming off turn four. Front five have broken the draft on six, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth position right now. As they have to work again to catch up front, Bouchard is linked up in a draft with Neil Bonnet. Now Bonnet, early in the race, had had one of the fastest cars on the track. And then, Jared, I've got a feeling if Benny Parsons and Neil Bonnet can get linked up. The Ford's always run here, and Texas probably better than any place we go. Yes, they do, Barney, they run exceptionally well here. In practice yesterday morning, they limited a amount of practice ahead because of early morning showers. Parsons is one of the fastest cars, and thought he had a shot at his first pole of the 1981 season. But there was a change in the weather. He drew a big number and had to qualify when the sun was shining down rather brightly, and that slowed him down. So he started back in the 13th position, but he told me this morning that he felt very good. The car feels good to him. He said this kind of day is the kind of day that a Ford needs, and he's showing it right now. A moment ago, a couple of cars had pulled away for the rest of the field, and now three more have chased down the leaders to make it a five-car battle for the lead at his Benny Parsons back in front. Bobby Allison arrived second. Richard Petty is third, as they work up in a turn number three in front of Dave to Spain. Darrell Walter, brightening in that fourth spot, and the fifth spot belongs to Joe Rutman. They have whipped around some slower traffic, putting a couple of automobiles a lap down, but those five run in tight formation off the banking. Heading back down to the line, the front five run knows to tell that it's about three and a half seconds back to Neil Bonitzkar. He's still drafting along with Ron Bouchard, then's Ricky Rudd in sixth position, like that eighth position, as they work turn one. And as you watch the leaders doing battle, don't think they're not racing back in the pack, because James Hilton, J.D. McDuffie, and Ricky Nuke just came through turn number one and two, and they were going three wide into the turn to their battling all the way back to the rear of the pack. Your leaders on the back stretch, Parsons with Allison Chasing. Well, the leaders have just put the first couple of cars a lap down, that being Cecil Gordon and Joe Buer, and up until that point, through the first 50 laps, the entire field has stayed on the lead lap, and that's an indication of just how competitive this speedway is, as the front five cars try to break away a bit from the field at lap 52, Benny Parsons keeping the Ford out front for Harry Melling, and a lot of his employees and friends and fans are here today to watch them run with the Melling Toolcar. They're at turn one. As that five car lead draft goes off in turn number two, try to chase them down still. The Neil Bonitzkar in sixth, with Bouchard, seventh Ricky Rudd in eighth, Harry Gant going ninth, and 10th plate, Terry Labani. Those are the five cars most severely affected, along with Buddy Baker, of that move by K.L. Yarbrough before his car got somewhat out of shape, and the draft found itself breaking up. Benny Parsons, whose formative automotive experiences, including driving a taxi cab in Detroit, just a couple of hours up the road, is currently 175 mile an hour chauffeur, in front of a five car pack leading the champion's spark plug 400. Well, we told you Johnny Rutherford spun out a little bit earlier, and we didn't say that he came back into the race. He is still out there running all right. He made a pit stop, they changed the tires on the car. He is still on the lead lap according to the last report we had trouble over in turn number three, and it looks to be Buddy Baker. The car down low on the apron, a lot of smoke, is pouring from beneath the number one, Uno Automobile, and Buddy Baker, who has not run with the front runners for very much of today, appears to be in big trouble, as he brings the car on pit road. Paul Ellington and Buddy Baker's luck continues to be all bad for them this year, and caution is on the speedway as apparently Baker, and his number 12 car, and not Baker's car, let's make that the Uno car of Tim Richmond, and we thought it was Baker's car, but it will be Tim Richmond, a lot of smoke out of the car, has brought out the caution flag. Let's go to Ned Jared on pit road. Ned's on his way down to the pit. To check on the problem, the hood is up on the Richmond car, and that is indeed a bad sign. So caution is out here, it'll be the fourth one of the afternoon coming out on lap 55, for an apparent blown engine or problem on the Tim Richmond automobile. You can win a dream vacation of the Daytona 500 for 1982, including two tickets. Reserve seats to the 81 82 Daytona 500, an escorted tour of the NASCAR garage area, two tickets to the 82 Daytona Sportsman 300, and lodging for two nights at the King's Inn in Daytona Beach, Florida, plus $500 in cash. That's the grand prize in the goodies raced for the money sweepstakes. All you need to do to enter is pick up a package of goodies headache powder, and send us the front panel from any size packet. Add your name, address, and phone number. If you're over 18, you're eligible to enter and eligible to win, either the grand prize, or one of several racing holiday of the month prizes. That include two tickets to a Winston Cup race and $250 in spending money. Take the front panel from any size package of goodies, or the name, goodies headache powders, written on a plain piece of paper, and send that with your name and address two, goodies raced for the money sweepstakes. Post Office Box 500, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32015. Enter as often as you like, your odds of winning, depend on the number of entries received, and an address again is goodies raced for the money sweepstakes. Post Office Box 500, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32015. This stops our the order of the day, let's check with Ned. - We're with Tim Richmond, who had just pulled the Uno Car Number 12 into the garage area. Tim, what went wrong? - The motor blew up again, Ned. I don't know what it is, I don't know if it's the valve, or I think it's up in the valve train somewhere, it's what it acts like. Might have heard a piston, I don't know. - Well, we're sorry to see you out of it, but glad to see you're okay. - I'll be at Bristol next week. - Okay, and everybody else is in the pits right now, Mike. It looks like taking on tires, gasoline, and getting the service that they would need. - The rash of yellow fever here this afternoon, this will be the fourth caution flag, coming out on lap number 55, when Tim Richmond lost the engine, and they have taken the car behind the wall. Let's go to Ned Jarrett. - Barney, we're in K.O. Yarborough's piss. He had slowed down a little bit earlier. David F is talking to Kale on the headset right now. David had slowed down there. What was the problem? - Well, you know, we got a little loose there. We're running about 25 laps, and we had a tire going down, so we're lucky to get that caution. - So everything is corrected now, and back okay, huh? - Yeah, we got another set of tires on there. We should be all right now. - All right, another time that a caution has helped one of the front running cars here. - Well, let's save Carrie Lebani a little bit earlier this afternoon, kept him on the lead lap, and it's helped the several drivers, and that may be the final outcome here today. It's usually some freak circumstance for the last four or five races, has won one of the Winston Cup events. 57 laps complete of the 200 that make up the Champions Park plug 400. - Danny Bender, who administers champions racing program, and they're specifically the Champions Park plug rookie of the year program now, for NASCAR Winston Cup racing, and you've got to be doubly pleased. First of all, with a tremendous crowd that's on hand here for your promotion, and also with the fierce competition in the rookie of the year battle this year, as has been in past years. - That's quite right, Mike. The turnout today at this race is most gratifying, and our company is pleased to be associated with such an outstanding racing facility as Michigan International Speedway. You were talking earlier about how some fluke situations and yellow flags benefits front runners. Well, the situation we have right now in our rookie race is changing greatly, with both Morgan Shepherd and Tim Richmond experiencing problems. They're the front two drivers in the Champions Park plug rookie point standing, so Ron Bouchard and Mike Alexander, the two rookies still in the race, have a golden opportunity to move up in the chase for our season championship. - While the rookie point battle counts only the best 15 finishes, so there's really a 40 or 50 point bulge there, unlike the Winston Cup point lead, is really of little consequence, because once a driver establishes 15 races, then he can always improve on his worst race and bump that one out, and you really never know until the last race, who's gonna win it? - The picture is constantly changing, and Ron Bouchard, who won it Talladega two weeks ago, and was the pole sitter here for our race, is only competed in 11 races, so he's gaining considerable ground in the next four that he competes in, and then he will start losing some of his poorer finishes if he improves on it, so the race could tighten up considerably in the next leg of the Winston Cup series. - Well of course, and two champion actually supports all the teams with your technical advice and spark plugs for these Chevrolet and Ford and Chrysler engines that run on the Winston Cup circuit. - We do have a multifaceted program, not only are we a race sponsor and a program sponsor with the rookies, but we also provide technical assistance to all competitors here, and Earl Parker of our Racing Division does an outstanding job in assisting these teams. - Let's get you back in the next caution, we'll talk a little about that because Earl has won folks that all the NASCAR people are really proud of. Denny Bender of Champion. - Thank you, Mike. - Field Bunch is tightly up in turn over four, pace car, whips on a pit road, and we'll go back to racing. James Hilton again is the leader for the second time this afternoon as they put him under green on lap number 59, Betty Parsons right. Second, third is Walker, fourth is Bobby Allison, fifth is Richard Petty as they scramble in one. - At each time James is on the lead, he's gotten up to the gearbox quickly, and is held the advantage for a while. This time, though, he feels the heat. Denny Parsons breathing down the neck of James Hilton, midway between one and two. James goes upstairs, opens the door for Benny, who takes advantage down low. Likewise, going by, Daryl Waltship, so too, Bobby Allison is there as the leaders from earlier move to the point. - Parsons, Waltship and Allison were able to get a good jackrabbit start on the field. They have moved around James Hilton and sandwiched him between them and Richard Petty, who is in fifth spot with Neil Bonnet in his draft, the lead sextet opening it up, and they're side-by-side for the lead. - Hard scramble for the lead, back to the line, door to door, and this might be a photo finish. If it had been in the last lap, it would have been. Benny Parsons by a half a car link over Daryl Waltship. Now scooting around on the outside, Bobby Allison makes it a three-way battle. - Bobby front and joint in there, and watch what happened. It's gonna be Walter blow on the racetrack. Benny has to settle back in a second. Bobby now obligingly back in a third. Richard Petty is up to fourth. Neil Bonnet is going fifth. James Hilton running sixth, Ron Bouchard is seventh. Lebani going eighth, ninth for Earnhardt, tenth for Rutman. - Trying to make it a two-car race. Waltship and Parsons take it down the backshoot, entrance to turn three, Parsons inside, and Parsons grabs the lead away from Waltship. Petty goes to the inside of Allison, has a notion. Then ducks back in line, Parsons and Waltship are side-by-side. Then Petty and Allison go door post to door post with Neil Bonnet on the tail. - Well, it's five cars for the lead, and then five cars for six-spot. - Petty from the top to the bottom of the racetrack in one fell swoop. He's right on the bottom, and he's got the lead. - It's a sandwich as Benny was caught in the middle, and Richard Petty goes low to grab the lead. Waltship was to the high side. He's holding on now for second as he goes by Benny Parsons. But finally, the hookup we look for, Neil Bonnet now, right there alongside Benny Parsons, the two Ford products. They are in line as they come off turn number two behind Petty and Waltship. - Petty has shown a sincere desire to lead this race today. That was a daring move on the front straight away. - He takes Waltship down the back stretch with about a one-car advantage, Parsons in that third spot, and he is hooked up with Neil Bonnet. Bobby Allison has fallen back to the tail end of that five-car draft, and there's about 50 yards back to the sixth place, man, Dale Earnhardt. - And Dale Earnhardt was what mother fella was happy to see that last caution come out because the left rear power was going right on his car. So it can help him again, and we were chasing stories around down here. The causing continues to help some of the guys that are in need. - That's about the fourth driver this afternoon has been able to stay on the lead lap due to the fact that the caution has come out and bailed him out of a little trouble. - Ronnie Bouchard. - And trouble in two. - He gets squirrely as he smokes the tires going high on the racetrack. He gathers it back in, though the car does the double wiggle. A host of automobiles go by and Ronnie Bouchard now well off the pace as he limps down the back straight away. - The leader's working turn three with Petty out front. The man making the move is Neil Bonnet. Bonnet has come from fifth up to right second. He's got Darrell Waltship right on his outside as they move through the 18 degree banking chasing Richard Petty. - As they come back down the line again, Benny Parsons and Neil Bonnet have a chance to leak up in that draft they've been trying to get going all afternoon. Parsons goes underneath, Bonnet in turn one. - No one's cooperating as Benny breaks the draft this time and tries on the low side of the racetrack to grab second place away. He goes alongside Waltship, the current second place holder. But Darrell goes high. It's going to be three wide off the turn with Waltship outside, Petty to the inside. Now going to the low side as Benny Parsons, now here's Neil Bonnet, they'll mix it up four wide. - They are four abreast on the back stretch to move on the inside by Neil Bonnet who goes from fourth to first. Unbelievable Michigan racing. Waltship is in the number two spot and Richard Petty shaking his head went from first to fifth in that drag race down the back shoot. Bonnet and Waltship side by side for the lead. - Coming down to the line, door to door again to the stripe. Here comes Bobby Allison down to the inside. Three wide at the start finish line for the lead and they stay that way in turn one. Three wide, that's commonplace now. After they go four wide earlier, it's Bobby Allison as they shuffle to that to leader now. Benny Parsons holding down second, but here's Waltship. Darrell wants it to the high side and again, they're getting ready to stack it up as they come off turn number two, Benny goes low. He wants to lead as he tucks the nose inside the Hardy's machine. It's the hamburgers against the oil filters. - All that's scrambling in the lead quintet have let the second phalanx of five automobiles start to close up the interval. We got Kayle Yarbrough running six. Dale Earnhardt is seventh, Joe Rutman, eighth, ninth spot belongs to Terry LaVonie and eighth, a tenth is Ricky Rutt and they're tightening up the lead 10-car draft. - Richard Petty trying to reel in Benny Parsons who is out front of the Champion Spark Plug 400, just a beautiful sight here this afternoon. There have been no fewer than 10 to 12 cars in the lead draft all afternoon and Dave Despaint, it doesn't look like it's gonna be any different all the way to the checkered flag. - If anything, that delete draft is increasing in number because Buddy Baker, whom we inadvertently tried to put out of the race a few minutes ago with a blown engine has now caught that lead pack of 10 to make it 11 cars scrambling off turn four. - Back to the line, Parsons in front. Petty riding second, Bobby Allison third, Neil Bonnet forth, Waltherp is fifth, six is Kayle Yarbrough, seventh right now as they head back in the turn of the one is Joe Ruttman. - And now Dale Earnhardt moves up into the seventh spot kicking Ruttman back to eighth with LaVonie, ninth, Ricky Rutt going tenth and Buddy Baker 11th. Meanwhile, the battle for third, it's going to be the Huey town hustle, Bobby Allison to the inside of Neil Bonnet and Neil tries to whisk by on the back stretch. - Alabama gang putting on a show in Michigan and that time, the best of that went to Neil Bonnet as he was able to hold off Allison down the backshoot and in fact opened up a couple of car lengths of separation now and Allison suddenly finds his hands full with Darryl Waltherp, storming around the outside to make it side by side for fourth spot. - Well they've been running nose to tail, door to door, three, four wide here all afternoon. I asked Darryl Waltherp when you go flashing in to number one turn or number three turn, three and four breast, who has the advantage area? Inside, outside, middle, where? - It's ready to be low. - You know, you can show up and you might push you up a little bit and force other guys high, but if you're at the bottom, you got a lot of racetracks that go up before you get any trouble. And if you're in the middle or at the top, you could get forced into the wall or get pinched in between two cars, which has happened here before. So really going in to turn here in the middle or up high is not always the best place to be. - Well it would seem that the Ford products have a bit of advantage all day. They've been running better on the bottom part of the racetrack, being the short way. That's the fast way around. Benny Parsons leads this five car battle off of turn number four and they have had such a hot and cold season. They've won races, they've had a lot of problems and he just figures his luck has got to change. - Yeah, I thought it has changed about four times so far this year, but every time that I say, "Well it has changed and something else comes along." And I said, "No, it ain't changed yet." - Well maybe it's changed today because Parsons has done a stellar job at keeping that car in front. Barney, I don't think anybody's led as long at one clip. - Well I think they were more enthusiastic here this week than I've seen them in a long time and Ned Jarrett can probably shed a little light on that. They seem to feel like here Ned that their chances are better than any place we've been. - Yes Barney, I had dinner with Bud Moore last night and he was very enthusiastic about their chances here. He felt that they should have won the pole but as we mentioned earlier, the sun came out on him and that always slows him down here and could have made the difference. Now taking anything away from long for charge because he made a fantastic run. But the point is that they had that car well prepared when they came here. One thing you're of course wanting to impress their local sponsors and all the people, employees of Melling Tool who would come out here to watch them run today plus the fact that they need and want to change that look around again. - He really does need a win because Parsons has been a little bit down of a doubt but Moore has. The team is just too good not to win but then there's about five or six teams that have had the same problem this year including the Wood Brothers of Stuart, Virginia. Dale Earnhardt, the defending Winston Cup champion has had more than his share of problems. Front five run nose to tail to Dave to Spain. - Richard Petty is breaking up the potential of that four draft. Parsons is the leader and Neil Bonnet is in third. They've got Petty sandwiched in the middle in the lead five car battle. - Five cars on the lead draft and another six right back through 11th position. In that six position is Ricky Rudd's seventh right now as Joe is, and I'm gonna have to get my mind in gear. That is Dale Earnhardt in that car. - Let's pray that JD Stacey will change the paint job because those two cars are so identical. - Well for the folks at home, let's kind of fill you in there. Rutman, the new driver for Stacey. That was the Wrangler car number two. It is still the number two car and it is still blue and yellow. Although the front part of that car has now more blue than yellow. Meanwhile, Earnhardt took the Wrangler sponsorship and color scheme with him to Richard Childress's team. So Childress's car still carries number three but Earnhardt is the driver and it's the blue and yellow colors of the Wrangler racing team. And if you're confused, welcome to the club. - Hey, y'all, I'll be here working this way. Back across the line. Parsons continues to lead Richard Petty and Neil Bottock. Those are the front three as they head back to Eli Gold. - Bobby Adelson is fourth now single file with fifth spot going for Darryl Waltrip. Then the big drop off to the next set of draft fees, if you will. Sixth spot for Ricky Rudd, seventh for Earnhardt, eight for Kale Yarbrough, Buddy Baker, nine, 10 for Joe Rutman and Terry Lebani moving up to the 11th position. Johnny Rutherford having all sorts of trouble here. Hit turns one and two each time by. He inches closer and closer to the retaining wall. - After running three and four breaths down the back stretch for much of this session between the yellow flags, this field has apparently decided that perhaps sanity is the better course here for the next couple of laps. They are choosing to run single file for a while and the race is stabilized with Parsons out front. - And while it has, let's update you as to the running order. This would be at 70 laps, 140 miles. - We'll correct ourselves. Richard Petty led this race for nine laps consecutively. That's the most, or excuse me, Benny Parsons did earlier in the race. He's now been out front for eight laps and that's the most that anybody's run in the front spot all day. Parsons the leader, Richard Petty's in second. Neil Bonas, the third place car. Fourth is Bobby Allison in fifth as Darryl Waltrip. Sixth rides Ricky Rudd with Dale Earnhardt in seventh. Eighth position, Kale Yarbrough. Terry Lebani is ninth and Joe Rutman is tenth. And 11th is Buddy Baker, 12th is Harry Gann and 13th Johnny Rutherford. 14th is Kyle Petty. 15th is Ron Bouchard and 16th is Joe Milliken. In 17th is Jody Ridley. 18th is Dave Marcus. Mike Alexander is 19th with Bill Elliott 20th. Lake Speed is 21st. Gary Baloo in the 22nd spot. 23rd is James Hilton. In the 24th position is the 99 car for Rick Newpe. 25th is J.D. McDuffey, 26th. His Tommy Gale, 27th and 28th and 29th positions are all laps down. That's Jimmy Means, Joe Boor and Cecil Gordon. And Mike Joy, the caution is on the speedway once again. I don't know the reason, but it came at an opportune time for two drivers. Darryl Waltrip had almost committed himself to come down Pit Road under green. He saw the caution coming out alert. They stayed up on the track, so he'll come around now and get to make that tire change. Under the yellow flag, Ron Bouchard was dropping back in the field. He had a tire going down on that guard. Now he'll get to change those during the caution. Well, I don't think I've ever seen as many drivers get a break on caution flags as we have seen this afternoon. The reason for the caution, one car limping slowly around the racetrack up in the north end of the speedway in front of Dave the Spain. That'd be the James Hilton automobile, which slowed up on turn number three. The black and yellow car, colors of the Palatine Auto Parts Company now coasting around toward the garage area. The leaders hit Pit Road, let's go to net. Everybody coming down Pit Road once again. I don't think there'll be anything left on the racetrack, but the pace car, they take advantage of the caution once again. They'll earn hard end in the Ranger Gene machine, changing right side tires. Wolther comes down the Mountain Dew car. Many parts ones are one of the first ones then. He's changing right side tires, filling it up with gasoline. Now the crew goes to the left side. So many of them will be changing all four tires. And the fans might wonder, especially if they're new racing fans, why they would change all four tires to 1,100 miles into James those tires. But normally cool tires will run faster than heated up tires. And in many cases, they will let those tires cool off, with the same tires back on later in the race. 77 laps completed, and the champion spark plug, 400. We're under caution. From Michigan International Speedway, this is MRN, the Motor Racing Network. Back at Michigan International Speedway with 78 laps complete, we're working the fifth caution flag of the day here at one of the best racetracks on the Winston Cup circuit. It's been a good one all day, no less than 12 to 15 cars in the lead draft. And I don't think there's been more than six or seven cars out of the lead lap all day. No, we've got our ninth different leader of the champions spark plug, 400. After following Kale Yarborough, Joe Rutman, Richard Petty, and Benny Parsons, Neil Bonnet's been in the front of this one, so is James Hilton, Terry Labonti, and Bobby Allison. Of course, a lot of different leaders in the back stretch, but it only counts at the start finish line. And now Tommy Gail, an Elmo Langley, sunny King Ford Honda Thunderbird, is at the head of the field. And it's just another of the many surprises we've had here this week. Eric Joy, we mentioned earlier that Bobby Walwack had gone into the garage area. We speculated that it had an oil pump problem, Bobby. As with us, what was the problem, Bobby? Yeah, a piece of trash from the motor got into oil pump and locked it up, so we lost the oil pressure. But at least we didn't blow the motor. It was just a spare we had. I lost the camshaft on the motor I planned and run, so it run pretty fair for just a spare motor. Well, I know that you'd like to be out there and all of that action is pretty fierce out there today. Yeah, this is a close to home racetrack from Villa Park, Illinois. And I'd like to say hi to my mind, all my brothers and sisters over there. Which Bobby now makes his home in North Carolina down near Charlotte to this where he has his race shelf. Better luck next time around. Thank you, Nick. 79 laps have been completed. They'll complete the 160th mile next time by. Tommy Gail is the leader. Johnny Rutherford is second after this round of pit stops. Harry Gadd is running in third and fourth. This Bobby Allison in the fifth spot is Neil Bonnet. Can't stop talking about that Talladega race in the incredible finish. Rookie Ron Bouchard posting his first win. And earlier in our broadcast, you heard Darryl Waltrip's comments that Bouchard went the only place that he could and that was to the bottom side. And they caught up with him in the garage area this week. And it asked him if he really had a strategy for that last lap or did it all just kind of happen. That was kind of what I was thinking. When we come down the last couple of laps so we were in a single line and Darryl was leading and Terry was second. And I just kind of figured when we come for the checkered flag that Terry would make his move, seeing he was second. I'd let him go first. And whatever road was open after that, that's where I was going. He took the right road because he wanted. And I don't think there was more than a couple of feet difference between first, second, and third. I saw a photograph that NASCAR had of that finish. And depending on the angle you were looking at it, if you had been kind of 15 degrees off right straight across the start finish line, there was no way you could have really told who did win that race until you looked at the picture. No, most of the-- except for the photos off the photo finish camera aligned with the start finish line, you could have drawn a line across the three bumpers. That's the way they finished at Talladega. And that's the way they've been running all afternoon here at Michigan in this champion spark plug 400. With 80 laps completed, they'll be taking the green next time by to give us an opportunity to tell you that the most competitive auto racing series in the world next heads for Bristol, Tennessee in the Bush Volunteer 500. It's one of just a couple of Saturday night races on the Winston Cup circuit. So you can enjoy the coolest of Saturday night, August 22. The Bush Volunteer 500, and that's at Bristol, Tennessee on the 5/8 mile high bank super speedway. They ticket offices open today, and they'd love to hear from you. That is quite a show there on that half mile speedway. It's banked as steeply as Talladega. Quite an operation. Well, the drivers, they kind of dread to go up there. But the fans love it. And I think actually the drivers do. Because the speeds they turn, physically it beats you, really just beats you down. But if you win there, it's kind of like going to your awful proud of your victory. Well, after Bristol, they'll head for Darlington, South Carolina, and the oldest super speedway race on the circuit, the southern 500, the granddaddy of them all. But Barney Wallace's speedplats, September 7, the traditional Labor Day date. One week later, the Wrangler Sanford Set 400 takes place on the flat half mile at Richmond Fairgrounds Speedway in Virginia. Paul Sawyer and the crew up there constantly making improvements to Richmond Fairgrounds Speedway. If you've not been there in several years, treat yourself and go on down to the half mile, I think you'll be impressed with what they've done with that speedway. It's quite a place to go watch a race, as you see the Winston Cup cars slam bang on the short track at Richmond. Then it'll be Dover Delaware, and the CRC Chemicals 500 on the incredible mile. That's our next MRN Winston Cup broadcast on September 20, September 27. We'll be at Martin's Hill, Virginia, for the Old Dominion 500. Hope you can join us there. All season long, attendance records have been set all up and down the Winston Cup Trail. And certainly, as we went on the air today, it told you that there are 20 different cars that had a chance to win here, an honest chance to win. The Chapter is Park Book 400. The series has never been more competitive, and the racing has never been more exciting. You owe it to yourself to see it. Sitting home listening to the radio is great, but it just cannot capture the thrill of being there. And you'd almost have to think we'd make some of this up about cars racing three wide and four wide, but it's all happening right here this afternoon. And it's pretty unbelievable, but that's the kind of season we've had. Well, we've got-- I'd joyfully update the fans. We've mentioned that James Hilton was coming around the track slowly the reason for this latest caution. And they finally, when they got it, pushed him down pit road, all four towers were flat on that car number 48. He's since come in and got four fresh tires on it. So he's been back out in the action. He came back in the last time around, but whatever he came back in for, they haven't repaired, and have sent him back on his way again. They had a strong field of cars here at Michigan for the champion, 442 of them. There were six cars that were unable to qualify fast enough to break into the field. Tommy Houston, the short track chap, was here from Hickory North Carolina. With the kings in of Daytona View, he failed to qualify. Archidriver Bobby Tinkham bought the Billy Harvey car. Now running it as the Valley Pontiac, he didn't make the field. Neither did Rick Newsom from Lake Wiley, South Carolina. His Chevrolet, Bob Riley, the track champion from Danbury, Connecticut. Was here with his Atlantic Interstate Messenger Pontiac. HB Bailey came all the way up from Houston, Texas, with his Almeida Auto Parts Pontiac. And Jerry Churchill of Dearborn, Michigan was driving Ronnie Thomas' car, and none of those were able to make the field. So strong lineup of the 36 cars that did get into the Champion 400. Johnny Rutherford's Pontiac is lined up right behind the safety car, and he'll be in front when they take the green flag in just about a lap. Well, that's amazing here at Michigan, but it gives you an idea of the kind of competition we see every time we come to this track. John has been in trouble twice this afternoon, spinning out up in turn three and four in front of Dave the Spain. Then he's fun to bring out another caution down in turns one and two off the number two corner. And still, has not lost a lap on his leading the field as we get ready to go back to green here in just a moment. Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Gordon, John Cock and Mario Andretti. That's the STP racing team, the finest in the world. And to celebrate this team, STP is offering racing fans everywhere the official STP racing team keyring. Free when you buy two cans of STP oil treatment, or two bottles of STP gas treatment or one of each. And as a bonus, STP will send you $7 in refund certificates good on other fine products in the STP car care family. Be a part of the STP racing team. You're participating STP dealer has all the details. See 'em soon. Supplies are limited. And join the STP racing team. When you see the Wrangler Jeans machine bank in a turn at 200 miles an hour, you're seeing Dale Earnhardt, the Grand National Champ. Every race out, Dale shows the guts and talent it takes to win the Winston Cup. Off the trike, Dale takes it easy and is comfortable Wrangler gear, jeans, shirts, boots, and Western wear for the whole family. Comfortable clothes for the tough customers, like Dale Earnhardt and you. Ready to get it on again here at Michigan International Speedway on the 83rd lap. Harold Kinder will put him back under green. It's Johnny Rutherford up front. And he gets a good jump on the rest of the field. About eight car lengths on Harry Gantt who's picked his way to second spot. There in turn one. On Bobby Adelson now holding down third spot. Neil Bonham there in fourth. Is everybody wends their way through here on the restart? The big battle behind your leader, Rutherford, is for second spot, Bobby Adelson low. Inside of Harry Gantt, Neil Bonham is right there watching. Off turn number two now along straight away. Closing in on your leader, Rutherford, it's a flying wedge still with Allison, Bonham and Gantt. Mike Alexander didn't get much of a restart. He was fifth. He held up Richard Petty and Benny Parsons and let the fleet quartet get away. Now Richard Petty comes to the inside of Alexander. He'll be going after fifth spot. It is still Rutherford who leads it off turn four with Gantt second, then Bonham and Allison. Haven't talked about Harry Gantt very much this afternoon. He's been in the lead draft back in 10th, 11th, and 12th position. Now he's challenging Rutherford for the lead. He's going to get it in turn one. Better start talking about Harry. He housed that 33 car in front, but here comes Neil Bonham. He'll go by Johnny Rutherford. Neil moves into second spot. So the new leader here this afternoon right now is Harry Gantt, but hold on, here's Bonham. He goes down low on the racetrack. And off turn number two, he'll scoot by that number 33 and Gantt is relegated back to second. Then Rutherford and Allison. Bonham just flattening the throttle and stomping down the back stretch, opens up a car like separation over Gantt. Rutherford sticks the nose right in to take over that third spot with Allison fourth. Now Petty has caught up to that lead draft. He is fifth, Parsons is sixth. Seventh spot is Ricky Rudd. Mike Alexander is seventh. A lot of the drivers who have led this afternoon are caught back in the pack having to pick their way back to the front. It is Neil Bonham out front by six car lakes, still riding in second spot right now is Harry Gantt. Rutherford rides third. Rutherford's hard. And here's the blue as he goes into turn four from here. We have trouble in turn number one is three cars kick loose through a maze of smoke. Up and down the banking they go, lake speed involved. So two Joe Millikens out of a be a likewise that of Ronnie Bouchard who now spins off turn number two. And he comes to a stop on the apron of the racetrack. Three cars kick loose. One car limping near the high side of the racetrack as Cecil Gordon. He will get by though at a reduced speed as your leaders are in turn three. Racing back to the start finish line, Neil Bonham brings him up into turn number four in front of Dave Despaine. It's Bonham coming off for with the lead. Gantt tucked in tight behind him, trying to race down to the flag and take it away. The yellow flag flying and it will be Bonham. Under the strike first. Neil Bonham will lead him back across the line as they get out of the throttle in a hurry as they had trouble down. In turn number one, one car. Still resting on the apron of the track. Let's go back to Eli Gold. Barney Hall right in the midst of that big, big battle among the leaders and again the draft is awfully extensive. Three cars almost simultaneously kick loose to the outside and to the inside of the racetrack. The reasons to be determined in close quarters like that with all the smoke billowing up will reserve a statement on that. Yet all of a sudden Ronnie Busard kicked loose to the inside of the racetrack. Joe Milliken kicked to the high side. Lake Speed found himself with absolutely nowhere to go. And he got involved with Joe Milliken's automobile. And then Cecil Gordon, somewhat behind again as he was working his way up near the rear of the pack. He tried to wind his way through and just stomped on the binders and went through the accident scene at maybe five miles an hour rim riding the racetrack as best he could. So as everybody is preceded Iran through with the exception of Joe Milliken in that car, of course, vacated by Morgan Shepard prior to this race, those other automobiles involved, Lake Speed, Ronnie Busard, and Cecil Gordon have continued on their way. Well, apparently Ned Jarrett, it looked like Busard might have lost an engine, right? Yes, it did. As he went down to the front straightaway approaching the first turn, there was smoke came up from the car number 47. And it appeared as if he did lose an engine. We don't see him in the field as he comes back around here. The crew is directly in front of my position here in the pit. As many of the cars come down pit road now to check those tires as they ran through that debris to be sure that they don't have any tires going down. But his crew, Busard, is waiting for him to come around. The car is still sitting inside of turn number two, Ned. The safety crew is on the scene, checking it over. The car had left the scene where it had spun to a stop and then limped maybe 200 feet or so further towards the exit of turn number two and has come to stop just near the Winston racing side. So Ronnie Busard being helped there with the maintenance crew and the area quickly. And now the Joe Milliken automobile is being given a push by the wrecker here through turn number one. And it is on its way, though, with help from its friends. We have just confirmed from the Jack Bebe owned a car. Number 47 is now sponsored by JD Stacy that the engine indeed did blow as he went into that first turn. And apparently the reason for the other cars getting out of shape and spinning around as they hit his oil. Well, that will leave Mike Alexander as the lone contender for the champion spark plug rookie of the year honors, running in the champ spark 400. Morgan Shepherd is out, Tim Richmond is out. And now Ron Busard is by the wayside as well. But picking up the pole position, the faces can't be too long on that crew. Well, we've got a minute under caution and Danny Bender is back with us with the champion spark plug folks. There's a lot of folks that we consider to be unsung heroes on the NASCAR circuit. And they are the various technicals and support people that help make the sport go and really keep things running on an even keel and are quite a help to the racing teams. And one of those is Earl Parker of your staff, who's been a fixture for a long time. And Barney, you can best talk about Earl. I know you and he are our good friends from way back. Well Earl, I guess probably is one of the most important people in the garage area. And then he will agree with that champion, of course, furnishes all the spark plugs for the grand national cars. But Earl Parker, who's one of the best engineers in the business at reading spark plugs. I used to wonder when he looked through the little glass at the plugs, what are you looking for? But he can tell everything from whether the certain cylinders running rich to whether the engine needs another two or three degrees of timing or almost anything, Kenny. It's amazing the things that Earl can detect on reading his spark plug as we call it. A spark plug is the most readily accessible component within the engine to the combustion process. And it's actually kind of an eyewitness to what's going on inside the engine. And when to a trained eye like Earl's, he can detect a possible blown engine before it happens, or ways in which to increase horsepower. And quite frankly, there would not be a champion spark plug racing program in NASCAR if we're not for Earl Parker. He's been a tremendous asset in not only to our program, but I think in the engine preparation to a lot of teams in this circuit. He's about to be recognized for some of that effort in the next couple of weeks in Darlington, South Carolina. He has been named the 1981 recipient of the Southern 500 award, and I know you folks are champion of proud of that. Indeed we are. We think it's a just award in recognition for one of this sports unsung heroes. And not only because he works for us, but he's a tremendous individual and willing to help any and every team that has a problem. There are no favorites to Earl Parker, and he does an outstanding job of servicing all wincing cup teams. Barney, can I interrupt you for just a moment? Ron Bouchard has just coasted the JD Stacey Card number 47 into the garage area. We reported that the engine let go. Is that correct, Ron? Yes, something happened. I think we either dropped a valve or broke a rod. It just all of a sudden it's something broke inside. Well, it has to be somewhat of a letdown after the tremendous things that's happened to you in the last couple of weeks. Oh, I guess. We run good all day long. We got on a bad set of tires once, but I think we would have run up front, and it was just too bad it had to happen. Well, we're sorry to see you out of it. Better luck next time around. Thank you, Ned. We have been corrected from Hickory, North Carolina. And our apologies, Tommy Houston, have been listed as the driver on the Roger Hamby. Kings in of Daytona Card number 17 this weekend. In fact, it was Lowell Cowell that was here to drive that machine here at Michigan and was unable to qualify it. Houston has called from down south. He's listening to us on the radio. Hello, Tommy. We wish you could be here, because this has been one heck of a race, and we would like to see you in it. Well, as we said, when we went on the air, it's so difficult and late to keep up with who is and what car. We thought at the beginning of the season, we had, what, seven major driver changes. We'd be home for you after a few races, and kind of get familiar with who was where. But all of a sudden, toward the end of the season, there have been more changes and more drivers and different cars. It is extremely difficult to keep up with, but our apologies to Tommy Houston, who was one fine race driver. And we would like to see him in the field this afternoon. 90 laps are complete of the 200 that make up the Champions Park Plug 400. Here at Michigan International Speedway, a little breeze blowing. It's been an ideal day for racing, and it has been one of the best. I think we've ever seen here no less than 12 cars. We've been in that lead draft all the way through where we are right now, which is 180 miles. One of the big surprises in the mid-season, and probably the biggest surprise, is Jim Stacey's re-entry into Winston Cup Grand National Racing. You bought the Austrian team. Joe Rutman is now his number one driver, and he's had his name on Ron Hushard's car now. It's been on the side of Lenny Pons, of course, Rutman's machine, and several others over the last couple of weeks. We asked Joe Rutman if Stacey has tipped his hand about his future plans in racing. Well, at the present moment, Jim says that we roll on the rest of races, and obviously for next year, I mean, well, it's early to say, but maybe Jim would be the one to answer that. I think that number one, I'm sure he wants to see how good Joe Rutman does before he makes any total commitment to what to do later on down the road. There have been so much speculation about Jim Stacey and what his goals are in Winston Cup racing. Depending on who you talk to, you'll get a variety of answers, but the general one that seems to keep coming up, in 1982, he hopes to field five of the top teams in Winston Cup stock car racing, and it appears that he is well on his way to doing that, as he has been signing up talent, driving talent, mechanics, crew chiefs, whatever. And I think Ned Jarrett could probably fill us in on that a little bit. Ned is making his way back to his position on pit road after having talked with Ronnie Bouchard. We'll guess. Yes. Bernie, I'm in the Joe Milliken pits. They've just made repairs on the car number five that was involved in that altercation up there in the first turn and have sent him back out, but probably the fellow who has a more wear on him than anybody else is Darryl Bryant, the general manager and crew chief of that car, something hit him on the head. Of course, he's still in the pits. Here he's nursing the wound himself. Cliff Stewart, do you know what happened to Darryl there? The piece of the clutch linkage hit him in the fart and kind of plays out nothing serious. Is the car going to be OK now? We've not got a clutch. We're running without a clutch. OK, the car number five, the performance connection Pontiac being driven by Joe Milliken is running without a clutch, but he is still out there, so he'll just have to take off and hide gear, leave it in that gear all the time. Let's take a look at the way they're running as of 90 laps, 180 miles as Neil Bonnet has posted in the leader in the Hodgdon Wood Brothers Ford Thunderbird. Second is Harry Gadda, third. He is Johnny Rutherford. Now Rutherford has spun that car a couple of times, but each time the caution has come out and he's been able to stay on the lead lap. Fourth is Bobby Addison, and fifth is Benny Parsons. Richard Petty rides sixth. Ricky Rudd is seventh. Dale Earnhardt. He is eighth. Mike Alexander is ninth. And Terry Lebody is tenth. Kale Yarbrough rides 11th. Darryl Walter is 12th. In the 13th position is Joe Rutman in 14th. His Dave Marcus in 15th is Tommy Gale. 16th is Kyle Petty. 17th is Buddy Baker. In the 18th spot is Lake Speed. Jody Ridley is 19th and 20th is the Bill Elliott car. 21st is the number 70 for J.U.D. McDuffie in 22nd is Gary Baloo. All of those cars are still on the lead lap. One lap down are Cecil Gordon, Rick Noop, and Joe Boer. Five laps down is that Stewart Performance Connection car with Joe Milliken behind the wheel. And seven laps down is Jimmy Means. It's been a lengthy caution flag with a lot of debris strewn all the way down into turn number one, but it should be no more than a couple of laps before we'll be getting back to green. One of the big stories that have developed in the last couple of weeks since we were at Talladega, of course, is the Morgan Shepherd story. And of course, Dale Earnhardt, both quitting their teams and leaving at the end of the race at Talladega. Morgan Shepherd, who left the Cliff Stewart Performance Connection car, we asked him to fill us in a bit on what happened there. Well, it's just as simple as this. They were just misunderstandings with the pit crew, and some things happened, you know. Darryl Bront come to work for us. And I don't know if things just kind of got fouled up and Cliff wouldn't satisfied with it with the way things was going. And so he, you might say, retired all of us. And he kept Darryl in hard Joe Milliken as new driver, you know. But right now, the way things are, well, we really don't know what we're going to do. And we didn't know that it was going to be at this race till Mark Martin called me. And I couldn't believe it when he did call me. He called me and offered his car to me to help me out. And I know Mark really can't afford to do, you know, be along this car out to somebody. But the boy is something else. I mean, he just realized the situation I was in. I'm running for a rookie of the year, you know. And he's trying to help me out this race. So right now, we're going to run this race. Prototype Ron Neal from Chicago was, we're running his engine. And the cars are running good. We're trying to get everything worked out right now, you know, for the race. And right now, we're looking for a sponsor. It's the thoughts of Morgan Shepherd about his departure from the Cliff Stewart Performance Connection Racing team. Joe Milliken was tapped to drive the car. We asked Joe, was that a big surprise? You know, the biggest surprise was him and Morgan having trouble. You know, I guess things just didn't go like he should. But then, you know, I was going to talk to Cliff. And then I found out he was trying to get ahold of me. And so, you know, I always talk to them. People at the racetracks. And so, you know, you just do what you have to. Well, you do. Well, and, of course, the other big change in the last couple of weeks, Dale Earnhardt, leaving the Stacey Racing operation and teaming up with veteran independent racer Richard Childress. There were some fast changes in Earnhardt's status. Barney asked him if that was really the right way to go. Do, you know, I just made the decision to go with Richard Childress after leaving Stacey. Fairly quick, you know, we had to make some quick moves. And Michael Moore's count and Wrangler and myself decided, you know, we'd try out with Richard Childress. And fortunately, two of our injured men came with us and our crew chief Doug Richards. So, I feel like we can, you know, really make the thing real competitive and have a good shot at winning some races and doing real good. I thank a lot of Richard. And he's got a nice operation up there in Winston. He just been a little less on the side he hadn't had the money to spend on it. You know, putting it to a car like he really wanted to. He's really done a real good job in the last two weeks with getting things moving, with getting a new engine room built and the place to work on the car, you know, the engines and stuff. And they rebuilt this old car. He had, well, I say old cars. So when he's been running, he's not got about 6'8" races on it. And they rebuilt it and went through it and made it like a brand new again. And they built in another new car. So I feel real good about the thing. And I don't have any regrets at all by doing what I did. Barney Hall, as we get ready to go back to green the next time around, Darryl Walter just came in, tapped the gas tank off. Two laps ago, Benny Parsons came in, kept his gas tank off with gas, and also changed all four tires. So a better strategy there by Bud Moore and junior Johnson, the owners of those two cars. They'll be able to run a little bit longer should this thing go a while under the green. Sometimes that can make a big difference. Sometimes it doesn't end at all, but it's not a bad move on their part if it does come into play. We are 95 laps into the Champions Park plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway. And it's going to be a barn burner when they turn them loose again this time around. Pace cars getting down on the apron of the track up in front of Dave Dispain. We'll get it ready to go back to green. Field setting up with Neil Bonnet on the point. The lap car is moving down to the bottom of the racetrack. Harry Gantt will occupy the number two spot. Johnny Rutherford will start from third. Bobby Allison 4th, Richard Petty 5th, as they get set to drop the hammer under green. Well, the field is bunched just inches apart. Let's see who comes out in front as they shuffle down to turn number one. And Harold Kinder waves them under green again. Neil Bonnet gets the jump on Harry Gantt by two parlinks. But Gantts snips out the draft. Ruffers there as they hit turn one. And now Richard Petty moves to the inside with Bobby Allison and what's going to be a fourth and fifth place. The cars going through the stay dry. That was put down by the maintenance crew. And as they shuffle four position through one and two, Neil Bonnet showing as the leader. Everybody gingerly working their way through race traffic. Right on Neil's bumper of turn number two is Harry Gantt. And they will look to mix it up for the lead shortly. Parsons and Walter who use that strategy to stop are going to be way back in the pack. And they've got a lot of people to pass. As Neil Bonnet moves into turn three with a two car length advantage over Harry Gantt. Closing up tight in third is Johnny Rutherford, who's been around in circles twice here today. Two spins, but still running third on the lead lap. Now Allison goes inside the challenge for third. Here they come, almost three. A breast Richard Petty took a look down to the inside of Bobby Allison, tucks it back in. They don't want to lose too much ground on this front too. So Miss Bonnet takes them back into the south, into the track. Neil and Harry Gantt scooting away. But Bobby Allison now in third with Richard Petty going fourth, the battle for fifth place. Being handled on the low side of the race, tracked by Ricky Rudd with Johnny Rutherford pushing to the high side. So as Rutherford now drops back to sixth, it's clear sailing among your lead out of a beals. Neil Bonnet and Gantt, and there are folks chasing him. Gantt shows that poor front spoiler right under the rear deck of Neil Bonnet as they hit the entrance to turn three. Bonnet holding the throttle down just a moment longer. Opens up a couple of lengths of separation. And now Allison closes up on Harry Gantt. He's got Richard Petty right inside his left rear quarter panel. Front five come off the fourth third single file on the break from the restart. Dave Marcus pulled out a line a little too quickly. That's why the black flag is out. They'll bring Marcus into the pits. Stop him and then let him go as a penalty. They're in turn one. Single file Bonnet your leader going second is Gantt. Third for Bobby Allison. Richard Petty is fourth. Fifth now for Ricky Rudd with Johnny Rutherford going sixth. Seventh for Dale Earnhardt. Eighth for Mike Alexander. Kale Yarborough is ninth. Terry Lappati is tenth with Joe Ruckman, 11. Kyle Petty, 12-13 for Buddy Baker. The lean quartet freight train down the back stretch trying to open up the draft and separate themselves from Ricky Rudd who rides in fifth spot. It is Bonnet still the leader. Gantt second. Allison third and Petty fourth. Fifth spot, Ricky Rudd sixth is Johnny Rutherford. And Dale Earnhardt is in seventh spot. If ever a racing team felt they were due to win, it is certainly the wood brothers as they come down to the line. Neil Bonnet flexes the muscles of the water in front of the sponsorship now. Here goes Gantt after the lead. He may get it in one. Harry Watson and goes underneath. Neil Bonnet and squeezes back into the lead. So Harry Gantt now flanking his automobile in front with Neil Bonnet moving to the second position. Bobby Allison is there in third and Richard Petty tightly in fourth. Off turn number two now those four cars bunched tightly beginning to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field. Gantt who has been the runner up so many times in Winston Cup racing but never a winner didn't hold the lead for long. Here comes Bonnet right back in on the inside. He retakes the lead from Gantt. Allison is right there in third spot. If anything happens to that lead duo and Richard Petty enjoys the show from four spot. Great racing here at Michigan. Richard Petty has been riding along this afternoon in the front five. He's led quite a few laps. It'll be halfway home. 100 laps are complete as they come across the line with Petty. Riding in fourth position, it is still Bonnet out front. Meanwhile the battle's back behind the front four showing Ricky Rudd in fifth now with six still being held by Johnny Rutherford and Dale Earnhardt in seventh. Trying to make a move up with Mike Alexander holding down eighth. Off turn number two and down the 2,500 foot back straightaway. No change in position. Everybody stabilizing for the moment except for the lead. And that lead battle hits turn three side by side. Gantt determined to take that front spot away from Neil Bonnet. Bonnet equally determined. Just flat puts it up onto the 18 degree banking and their door post to door post. Allison drops back a couple of car lengths to watch the show Petty is fourth. It's about 50 yards back to the fifth place man Ricky Rudd. They scramble coming toward the start finish line like a squadron of fighters, but it is Bonnet with Allison on the low side underneath Gantt, Richard Petty, right with him as they wrestle for the lead. And Bobby Allison is strong holding down second spot. But no, here's Gantt using the high side of the banking to try and reassume the position. Bobby Allison low and Richard Petty even lower. We'll try and go three wide off turn number two as they go fighter bomber pattern down the back straightaway. Everybody mixing it up for shucking. This is where the horsepower comes into play. And it looks like Petty's got it. Three are breast all the way down the back stretch. They hit turn three, Petty on the inside. Allison up on the outside. It'll be Allison who grabs the number two spot. Nice piece of driving by Bobby as he holds off Petty for the moment. Now Petty rumps and stops back up on the inside with Gantt running fourth. Richard Petty has looked good all afternoon. He'll be three wide a sandwich this time as they cross the line with Harry Gantt, Richard Petty and Bobby Allison riding three wide and turn one. And don't forget Ricky Rudd. He is right there now to make it a tight five car battle. But now as Neil Bonant scoots away, it's Harry Gantt holding down second. Third place battle is being now won by Ricky Rudd who flexes the muscles on the Gatorade car. Bobby Allison, now he tries to hold on to fourth with Richard Petty in a three wide battle. Bonant has opened up a good bit of separation for that lead. He's got about 10 car lengths on Harry Gantt. Up into that third spot goes Rudd. Petty and Allison side by side for fourth and fifth. Darryl Waldtrup who is way down field on the restart has worked his way back up into about 11th spot and he's in a 10 car draft that's running in positions five on back. Richard Petty and Harry Gantt have been twisting that second spot back and forth for the last couple of laps. And all of a sudden they get tired of that. Richard gets a little help from Gantt and he takes the lead away from Neil Bonant. And in the process of that, Bonant gets kicked back to second. Gantt is now third. They're back and turn one. Bobby Allison and single file formation holding down for a spot with Ricky Rudd going fifth. Six now for Dale Earnhardt. Kyle Yarbrough is seventh, eighth for Joe Rutman and closing quickly in ninth spot. Darryl Waldtrup, 10 for Terry LeBuddy. 11th for Kyle Petty, 12th now for Buddy Baker. And the 13th car being held on this race track is Petty Parsons. Petty Bonant and Gantt run pretty much nose to tail in the first three spots. Now Allison closes it up tight and fourth. And Ricky Rudd is right there and fifth. About three car lengths of separation back to Earnhardt the sixth place, man. Yarbrough who is a front runner through much of this race until that near spin up and turn two is back in seventh spot. Neil Boditz found the handle on the Warner Hodgdon Racing Thunderbird of the Wood Brothers. He took the high line coming out of turn number four. Look out and turn number one. They're three wide for the lead and Richard Petty's caught in the middle. Richard has squeezed out and Harry Gantt off the low side of the race track grabs the lead. Dale Bonant who has kicked to the high side now has his hands full in the battle for second place with Richard Petty. Behind Harry Gantt who drove smartly that time to grab the lead. Richard Petty works inside of the Hodgdon automobile. But here comes Neil turning up the wick and he wants second, maybe the lead. The lead nine cars are all hooked up. Bonant had a notion to go inside. But Richard Petty is right there alongside and took that line away. Still Harry Gantt with the lead. This time Bonant will move to the top of the race track. He's going to go on the outside of Gantt Petty's on the low side and they're three abreast right in the middle of turn four. Beautiful drafting at Michigan International Speedway as they come out of turn number four. They are three wide coming down the line. It's Richard Petty at the bottom of the race track and he leads the left left foot. They're still three wide in turn one. Doesn't pay to be the man in the middle. As you end the turn one each time by, he's gotten squeezed out this time. Harry Gantt, he's relegated back to third. Maybe fourth as the battle is for the lead. Richard Petty to the low side of Neil Bonantt. Then in double file formation. Harry Gantt for third to the inside of Bobby Allison and Ricky Rudders right there watching. They mix it up four for the lead. Nine cars are in that lead draft. The lead four are running over the top of each other. Petty and Bonant are side by side just inches apart. Allison moves up to the outside of the racetrack behind his Huey Town running main Allison. Petty taking the low line. Rudd and Gantt side by side for fourth and fifth. Richard Petty has the handle on the bottom side of the racetrack and he has company Harry Gantt. Drafting along with him but up in the high groove, it's Bonantt with Allison and on back six cars deep. Those six automobiles now still trying to use the higher groove trying to relegate Richard Petty and Harry Gantt further back with that draft breaking just a bit. As Bobby Allison will settle back into fourth, Neil Bonantt continues with the high pace to grab the lead. But here's Richard Petty. He wants it and works on the inside of Neil on the back stretch. Petty has been able to run anywhere he wants on this racetrack. That time he took the low groove, went around Bonantt on the inside. Bonantt just holds the pedal down as they hit turn three and storms back around Petty on the outside. Harry Gantt is tucked in behind Bonant. He's side by side with Bobby Allison for third and fourth. Rudd and now Earnhardt are side by side for fifth and sixth. When you see this kind of racing at any racetrack around the Whitford film circuit, the drivers feeling each other out to set up for the finish to find out who's strong and what are the racetrack? Three wide again and turn one. This time it's Allison. And he is strong this time as he goes underneath Richard Petty. But Neil Bonantt goes to the high side of Richard and tries to use the banking to hang under the lead. And here's Petty. They'll go three wide off turn number two. Petty with Allison and Neil Bonant that position off turn number two and down the back straightaway of flying wedge for the lead. The unbelievable scramble of the three abreast racing is letting that second phalanx of cars start to catch up. Kyle Petty, who is running in 10th spot is bringing Terry LaBotti with him. And they are catching the lead draft before you know it. This is going to be 14 or 15 cars out front. Unbelievable. Nobody's had time to catch their breath at Michigan International Speedway. And Richard Petty's been right in the thick of it all day. He's door to door with Neil Bonant across the sprite. Again, it's Richard by just about a foot. And there's two wide again all the way back through eighth position in turn one. Identical symmetry now, four lines back from double file racing, now for the lead. Petty, low, Neil Bonant high, right behind them for third. Bobby Allison, low, and Harry Gantai. But back to the point, it's Richard Petty. Off the downstairs side of the racetrack, throws the nose of the STP car in front and out tracks. Bonant on the midpoint of the back straight. It's such an unbelievable traffic jam out there. The slightest misskey on anybody's part. And this could turn into a sudden demolition derby. Super skill driving stars out front and Richard Petty and Neil Bonant. Three car lengths back to Bobby Allison. And that's been the biggest separation in the last five laps. Well, three rows deep. And they're about three cars wide as they battle up front. But let's try to give you some sort of rundown at 110 laps, 200 and 20 miles in front Neil Bonant. In second, Richard Petty, that has swapped four times since this rundown was handed to us. Third is Allison, and fourth is Gant, fifth is Ricky Rudd. In sixth is Earnhardt. Seventh is Yarbrough. Rutman lies eighth. In ninth is Waldrapin, tenth is Kyle Petty. In 11th Terry Labani. Then he parsons his 12th. Buddy Baker is 13th. And 14th is Johnny Rutherford. 15th is Mike Alexander. And 16th is Lake Speed. 17th is Gary Baloo. And in the 18th spot is Joe Milliken. And you can bet six or seven of those spots changed just as we were reading them. It has been that competitive race. There has been quite a bit of smoke off the Kale Yarbrough car for the last four or five times around. But it appears to be only in the turns. Ned Jared is making his way over to David F. The crew chiefs on that car to find out if there's a problem with the engine or if it is just tire smoke. But there's been quite a bit coming out from under the car. Leader is Richard Petty, riding in the number two spot right now is Neil Bottock. Third is Bobby Allison. Fourth is Ricky Rudd, as they work up to Dave Despaine. Bottock and Petty have been having a real squabble over that lead. Bottock seems to like the high line through turn three and four runs way up to the top of the track. King Richard taking the bottom, and he's got the lead. Back to the line single file. And there are 15 cars in the lead rack. Back in fifth position is Carol Waldrip, as they shuffle back into turn one. 15 cars in a row now, with Richard Petty showing the way. Second is Neil Bottock and Bobby Allison is third. Ricky Rudd going fourth, Waldrip is fifth now, feeling a talent from Harry Gadd higher on the racetrack. Sixth is Gadd, seven now for Dale Earnhardt. Yarbrough smoking a bit in the turn is eighth. Ninth for Joe Rutman. Kyle Petty is 10th, but he parsons 11th. Waldrip is the man who has been on the move. He has run down this lead pack from behind. He was about 18th or 19th on the restart after the last yellow. Now he is three of us with Ricky Rudd and Harry Gadd in the race for fourth spot. Petty still leads with Bonnet. Second, Allison is third. Then it's Rudd with the battle of Kaliar of Checta. Dale Waldrip right there with him. Down to the start finish line, black flag being issued to Kaliarrough. That car is smoking just a bit, and they have put out the black flag. Ned Jarrett is in the Arbrough pits. And David F is talking with the NASCAR official here. They have recognized the smoke they're trying to figure out what it is. He's talking to Kaliarrough on the head set, so they're bringing him in. We'll stay here. Report back later. And as that was going on, Kale slowing just a bit, allowing Joe Rutman to go by him. And Betty Parsons to close on the box stretch. That may be a costly pit stop for Kale when he appears on pit road. The car smoking badly in the corners in the straightaway, very little smoke off the machine. We'll find out what it is in a moment. As Ned Jarrett is standing by when Kale makes his appearance on pit road. Richard Petty leads him out of turn number four. Neil Bonitz twisted his arm a time or two, took the lead away, and Richard just wouldn't give it up. It came charging right back. They've broken away from Bobby Allison by about eight car lengths who rides in third spot back in turn one. How's the field works now? Trying to look to the inside moment. Sarah Lee was Neil Bonitz. But again, Richard Petty shut the doors downstairs, so everybody maintains a single file formation. Even further back in the pocket, Kale Yarrough stays on the racetrack this time by. Off turn number two, it's going to be Richard Petty. Barreling down on the Tommy Gayo. Lapped on him a wheel, and cannot shake Neil Bonitz. Petty has been very aggressive, going for the lead all day long, and he's taken it back away from Bonitz. It runs with a one car separation as they go single-file around that Lapped on a mobile. Allison closing it up in third. Ricky run his fourth. Walter V. Earnhardt is in sixth spot. Back in seventh is Harry Gannon, eighth is Joe Rutman. Neil Bonitz, very strong at this juncture of the race. He has been all day with the fourth automobile. But here, we'll get back to that in a minute. Yarrough is coming down, pit road toward Ned Jarrett. They think that valve cover is leaking and is causing the smoke. Mike, of course, the NASCAR is asking them to come in. David F will go into the hood. They will also change the right side tires only that fill it up to the Union 76 gasoline. And as David F raises the hood, we're looking over the pit wall here. And it does, indeed, look like the smoke might be coming from the valve cover gasket. If comes back, gets the tool to tighten it down. And sure enough, it was a little bit loose. Whether it will cure the problem or not, we don't know. But he's still in the pits, and he's going to lose a lap if he's not careful. Here are the leaders, off of turn four. And Yarborough will lose one lap in the pits as they slam down the hood on the MC Anderson machine. It is Neil Bonitz, forging into the lead on the bottom of the racetrack. Bonitz knows when he comes to Michigan, the Wood brothers are always stout at this racetrack. The car-- they've got a good combination of this racetrack. At the first race this year, we got a lap down. And after that, I got out front, tried to get the lap back, which showed the car was capable of leading the race. It's just one of those things where, if we have a good day here Sunday, this car got a real, real good chance of winning the race. Kale Yarborough was out of pit road. He's back in contention with Bonitz in the lead. Yarborough has lost a lap. Let's do back with Ned. Mike, he might have lost more than a lap, too. After they serviced the car, the NASCAR official was holding him here, apparently, a penalty from not obeying the black flag when they first put it out. Yarborough was a little upset about it, and he just literally took off after setting there for maybe five to 10 seconds. Now, we'll wait here and see what does happen if they are going to bring you back in. He had run out of his penalty, so maybe there will not be any other penalty involved. Kale Yarborough is having his troubles here at Michigan International Speedway this afternoon. It's still a hot one up front for the lead and has been since they put him under green on the opening lap with the Champions Park plug 400. Like now, there's nine cars riding along the lead draft as they shuffle down the back straightaway. It's Neil Bonnet in front, Richard Petty riding second. Bobby Allison is third, Ricky Rudd is fourth, and they've dismayed if this were coming down to the last five or six laps. There's been at least eight to 10 cars that are all handling and have enough horsepower up in your end of the track. It'd be hard to pick a winner. It would be very difficult because they're able to use so many different lines here at Michigan. You can run high, you can run low, and in fact, you can change lines in the middle of the turns. If you see an opening, you can dart down into it. For the moment at least, it's Neil Bonnet and Richard Petty content to run one too, but they will swap positions up in three and four, and that should set up a very exciting finish. Now, we saw Buddy Baker kind of lay back here, and when we were here earlier in the spring race at Michigan International Speedway, Baker didn't even appear to be a factor in the Uno car until late in the race, and then all of a sudden, after they made that last pit stop, he came flying up through the field, took the lead, and then had mechanical problems the last few laps. Right now, there are still six cars, inches apart, running for the lead, make that eight. As Joe Rutman and Dale Earnhardt joined that draft. Mike Joy. - Listening in on the NASCAR radio of Barney the officials communicating, there was a 10 second penalty, and I believe it was for too many men over the pit wall, and working on the kale-yarbrow car, that's the reason he was held for that 10 seconds, but the infraction the penalty has been taken care of, and Kale will be allowed to continue. The smoke appears to have stopped, Ned, so Kale should be okay from here on out. - Yes, I would say so, but it still looks like there is a little bit of smoke coming from it, but it's not nearly as severely as it was, and David, he had talked about cover down some, and I stood there and watched him as he turned the wrench, and it was loose. Sometimes those things will vibrate loose a little bit. It's sort of uncommon that they will, but nevertheless, it happened here, but as we said, he had run out that 10 second penalty, and I guess in almost running over the NASCAR official, it was just that close he didn't want to lose any more time. - Well, Ned, if you spill some oil out on the headers, that will continue to smoke for a little bit, will it not? - Yes, it would, exactly. - And naturally, the RPM, the beef engine turn, then in a little bit of a sweep anywhere, will throw oil out, and it'll get out on the exhaust, or even on the side of the engine, then drip down on the exhaust, and will cause smoke to continue, so maybe they have it cured, and he'll be able to stay out there and run the rest of the way. - Here in turn number two, let's see who wants to lead. Richard Petty off the turn, working to the inside of Neal Conant. Those two cars side by side through the turn, and now on the back stretch. - Petty, edges the nose out front, taking the advantage, Allison sees that opening, ducks to the inside, they hit the turn, three abreast, and Petty got the worst of that. He had to get out of the throttle and let Bonnet go. Allison came by on the inside. Now Petty is side by side with Ricky Rudd for third and fourth, and Dale Earnhardt had some sandling problems here the last time through, and he's dropped off the pace. - Petty jumps right back down to the bottom of the racetrack, racing for third spot, it won't work, he gets kicked back to fourth. Bonnet will be the leader as they go into turn number one, Ricky Rudd is right there, but Allison is second, Rudd will be third, Petty is in the fourth spot, and Harry Gat will pick up fifth. In sixth, Darrell Waltzer was closed right up with the leaders. Seventh is Joe Rutman, and eighth is Dale Earnhardt. Ninth to Benny Parsons, tenth spot to Kyle Petty having a good run this afternoon. In 11th is Terri Lovati, and 12th is Buddy Baker. That is the lead draft. Let's take you a little further back into the field. In 13th is Johnny Rutherford. Bill Elliott rides 14th, 15th is Mike Alexander. Lake speed is in the 16th position. 17th is Gary Baloo, and 18th is Jody Ridley. 124 laps, 248 miles complete. Here in the champion, spark plug 400. From Michigan International Speedway, this is MRN, the motor racing network. - Tough break for Neil Bobby, just made an unscheduled stop, and it appeared one of the tires on the right side of the car was going down. They changed the right rear and the left front. He is back on the racetrack. It's a hot one again for the lead up front. This time it's Bobby Allison in turn one. - And Aaron Gadd is still hounding away tightly in single-file formation in second. Third now for Ricky Rudd, who rumbles well. Fourth for Richard Petty. Fifth now going Darrell Walter, and sixth for Joe Rump, and Petty Parsons up to seventh. Gary Lovati is eighth Kyle Petty again this week, running well in ninth. 10th for Earnhardt, 11th for Baker. - You got about a five or six car length separation from sixth place back to seventh place. Benny Parsons, that's significant in that Parsons, who made that stop just two laps before the end of the previous caution, had come back out onto the racetrack in 18th spot. He has run down the leaders from behind, and now he's starting to pass people. - Peele comes out of turn four. Bobby Allison leads him down to the line, and it looks like Harry Gadd is diving on the pit road, and this would almost have to be an unscheduled pit stop. Let's go to Medjera and see if he's in that vicinity. Apparently he's making his way back to his position after talking with some of the crews on pit road down at David F. But Harry Gadd is in, and it would definitely be an early stop, and they're changing right-side tires on his car. As just a moment ago, Neil Voditz bet. Let's go to Ned. - Oh, Ned's still moving up toward the Harry Gadd pit as they continue and complete the service. Right-side tires and Gadd is away. - So Gadd, apparently having a tire problem, as Medjera makes his way over there, we'll find out in just a moment what the problem was. Leader continues to be Allison. Richard Petty's trying to take it away, and they have Allison high in turn four. - Allison took it all the way out to the Armco barrier, and drops back to second spot as Petty came underneath him, and also coming up underneath was Ricky Rhett, and now Darryl Waldtrib. Three are pressed for the second spot as they cross the finish line. There's still that way, make that four in turn one. - Joe Rutman wants to go far wide, thinks better of it. They peel off two by two behind Richard Petty. The second place battle is now won by Waldtrib, who asserts himself by Allison. Bobby goes high, Rutman goes underneath him, and Bobby Allison's still trying to hang on. He stays higher on the racetrack, and everybody else going by, at least for the moment, Betty Parsons and Ricky Rhett. - Trouble out of turn four in front of Dave to Spain. - We've got a car spinning down into the infield. It is Lake Speed off the racetrack out of harm's way. No traffic involved, he got it down onto the apron, a big cloud of dust over the speedway, and the leaders are just coming off turn four into that cloud. - Back to the start finish line, the race and caution goes on the racetrack. It will be Richard Petty taking the caution flag ahead of Darryl Waldtrib. Joe Rutman, Benny Parsons in the fifth spot, will be the Ricky Rhett automobile. Six will go Buddy Baker and seven. Will be the number 44 machine for Terry Labani. Let's check in with Ned Jarrant. - Mike, those were schedule pit stops that Harry Gant just made. We checked with Travis Carter, and he said that it was a routine pit stop. Apparently the same thing was true as far as Neil Bonnet was concerned, because as we noted in the past, sometimes the forts don't get quite as good a gas mileage as the General Motors cars, Benny Parsons had made a late pit stop during the last caution, so he was able to go a little bit longer. So we would have had regular pit stops coming up. The first one's under the green today, and had this caution not come out. - Well Bonnet was among the leaders, if not the leader, when he made his pit stop, he was able to stay on the lead lap, and we'll double check on the Harry Gant automobile, but believe both of those cars could have gotten in and out of the pits and stayed on the lead lap. - They should have. Here comes the rest of the field coming down off the banking in turn number four, as Richard Petty leads at least the first 12 positions onto pit road, and these would be regular schedule pit stops coming up within the next few laps. They are pinning a little bit early, 'cause they could go probably another 10 or 12 laps, Ned, but apparently most of them are electric to come in a little bit quick. - Well, they're running awfully hard out there, Barney, and of course that makes them use up a little bit more gasoline, although many of them are running in the draft, and sometimes that will conserve gasoline, but as hard as they were running, they don't want to take any kind of chances of running out, and we see Harry Gant going by now, so it's my opinion that he did stay on the lead lap, and definitely Neil Bonnet stayed on the lead lap, so they should be right back in it. Earnhardt is in, changing all four tires, so is Darryl Walter. Benny Parsons already has his service back out, Bill Elliot is in. Terry Labotti. Practically everybody in now taking advantage of this caution period to change those tires, fill it up with the Union 76 gasoline. - And a little smoke out of Dave Marcus's cars, he went off into turn number one a moment ago, KO Jarboros back in the pits, and the hood is up on that machine, and then they've had their troubles. - Yes they have, Barney. They continue to work on that valve cover oil leak that they had, 'cause the smoke did continue to come from it, not nearly as severely as it was, when they had to pull in during the green flag, but Jarbor, as a result of his problems, is a lap down, taking advantage now of this caution period to further work on that car, hoping to keep it in there. - Jody Ridley, who had trouble earlier this afternoon to bring out a caution flag over in turn number two, and spun the car over there, has worked his way back up in the field, he's been running pretty strong here all afternoon, I had a chance to catch up with him in the garage yesterday. Jody's a very competitive race driver, and he hasn't been able to run up front as much as he'd like to this year, even though they won the race at Dover back in the spring, and I ask him about that. - That's true, Barney. We seem like, after one of the race, I think it's been kind of downhill for us, but we've been trying to get a new car together, and we've run this car every race, been run the whole year, and it seemed like it gets you behind, you know, you're setting up for a short track one week, and you know, super feet away the nakes, and you have to wait 'til that particular race is over before you get ready, but nakes wanna, seem to keep it behind, but you know, I think we're gonna get COVID out and get going a little better. And he is quite a race driver, and he would certainly like to be able to run up front, and I think Ned Jarrett, you've probably been around Jody Ridley as much as any of us. He is definitely a competitor, and if he had the equipment underneath him, and some of the engines that some of these other guys do, you'd see him up in that lead lap all day long everywhere we went. - No question about it, Barney. He likes to run on the one way, and that's up front, although he has reconciled the fact that he doesn't have quite the equipment that some of the others have to be able to run up there, even though he is a winner by nature. He's won, I guess, six or 700 feature events in short-track competition around the Southeastern part of the country, and that's the way that he wants to do it, but he still knows that he's in the toughest league that there is, and auto racing here, and he accepts that fact and just tries to get better. - Well, he's had a pretty good year with the Junior Don Levy Trucksmore crew and Sunday King sponsorship out of Aniston, Alabama. They've made quite a bit of money, and had some good finishes, and they were tickled to death to win that one up at Dover this spring. One driver who'd really like to win this race today, Darryl Walter, from the Mountain Dew Machine, and he has a special reason for it. I think yesterday was his 12th anniversary, and I had talked with him about that. He said he'd be quite a present. - Today, Saturday is our 12th anniversary, and when we got married, I was racing. We were on a two-day honeymoon, and we went to a race in Salem, Indiana to get enough money to get back home on, and tonight I'm racing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. So bless her heart. She knows what it's like to be married to a racer, and it's not the greatest thing in the world, I guess, but she copes with it very well, and I'm proud of her. - She is talking about, of course, his Stevie Walter, and she attends just about every race that it's possible to get to, and I understand she is here today, and watching Darryl's progress, he is still very much in the thick of things, although he hasn't been running up front as much. Ned, I got a feeling that there's about four or five drivers in that front 12-car draft. They really haven't tipped their hand yet. - Good be, Barney, but I'll tell you, the competition has been so fierce up there so far. It's sort of hard to tell if anybody is laying back or not, because, as you mentioned, Sheryl times, if you get out of that draft and get out of the particular fast lane, then you drop back four or five positions, and it takes a long time to work your way back up through there, so it's really hard to tell who might have a little bit more left. I think it's going to boil down to who's in the right position right at the end of this race. - What have we, the last what? Eight or nine times we've been here looking back through the record book. I don't think there's been less than five cars on the lead lap, and they all came across the start finish line, no more than four or five car links apart, and usually about a foot separated the first from second spot. - There are no runaway races here. The track has what we like to call a rubber band effect. The field may string out a little bit, although strung out today means a five car length lead, but then the way the draft affects the cars here, they'll just all snap right back together, just like you released a rubber band that should stretch, and at the finish, it's all snapped back together every time. And you got four, five, six or eight cars racing for the lead. The situation we had here a year and a half ago, when they came across four wide for that fifth position, is one that will not soon forget, a four wide finish at the checkered flag, and that's just the way it always is here. I would have to say the comments that we've had back and forth today that Bobby Allison certainly has the power, and it looks to me, like Neil Bonnet has got the handle. He can keep the car right on the bottom of the racetrack, and coming off that corner, he is getting as good a bite and a handle as anybody. So if I'm looking up in the north end of the speedway, up in Dave Despaine's position, he has had the best handling car up there, and usually that's where the maneuver is set up for a final lap shootout here at Michigan, is either getting in the number three corner, or coming off that fourth turn. If you have the handle, it can take the outside, or inside lane, or wherever you need to go, and have the horsepower to go with it, you got a good chance of winning, and he's looked awfully strong up there all day. But then Richard Petty has, and Bobby Allison has. And as David Pearson told us out in Talladega a couple of weeks ago, when he worked with us on the broadcast, a lot of times, Allison is, he's kind of like David is. Used to be rather, when Pearson was running regular with the wood brothers, he kind of saves a little bit for the end if you can. And Ned said a moment ago, as hard as they've been running here today, there's no way you can do that, but I think Ned, probably the difference today, has been the fact that we've had about seven caution flags, and that's kept the field bunch, and the drivers are kind of getting to anticipate those, and may have kind of cooled it just a little bit, it's hard to tell. - It has kept them bunched up, and I think that every one of them, it feels that there has not been much of a chance to pull away, and so why not just ride there in that draft, conserve their automobile, and just run along with the pack, if somebody does have a little bit more, and not tip their hand, and that would be smart thinking. Now Harry Gantt just came back into the pit, some moment ago, he came in after the caution, first came out, changed the left side tires, remember he had just been in about two last before then, and changed the right side tires under the green, but he still, in my opinion, remains in the lead lap, and it came back in. Travis Carter made a slight chassis adjustment on his car. He's been running up there with the front leaders, that little change could make the big difference. - Well, one record that is definitely in jeopardy here today is the number of drivers that have led the race. The record is 12, and by our unofficial count, there have already been at least 11 different leaders, we'll check on that. Benny Parsons, what makes this track so competitive? - It's a great race track. You know, it's a track that, if you're really running super, you can outrun the competition, in other words, put some distance on them, and you know, there's some racetracks that you can't do that. - Benny Parsons had his thoughts on Michigan international speedway. Raft here is about effective as it is at Talladega. We were talking to some of the guys yesterday about just how far back you either lose the draft, or able to pick it up, and Darryl Walter told us that it depends on how many cars are in the draft, the fewer the cars, the further back you lose the draft. In other words, if there's five or six cars running in the lead draft, you may be able to pick it up a quarter of a mile back, and pull you on up, and catch the lead pack, and this afternoon, nobody should have had any problem catching the draft, because there's been no fewer than 12 in that lead draft all day. We're getting ready to go back to green at Michigan. - Well, next Saturday night, the Golden Bristol run on the Gary Baker's high-banked five-eighths mile speedway, that's the Bush Volunteer 500. It's coming up next Saturday night. Labor Day, these same cars and stars will be at Darlington for the Southern 500. September 3th, 13th, they go to Richmond for the Wrangler, Sanford set 400. September 20th to Dover for the CRC Chemicals 500, and the end of September on the 27th, the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville. If you're listening to it today, you really should get out and see Winston Cup racing. Why not make your plans now to attend your next Winston Cup race? 'Cause as you've heard today, it is quite a show. - Facecar getting ready to ease off on the pit road as a field will come up to full power, and go back to green. Harold Kinder has a green flag in hand. The leader is Benny Parsons. Petty rides second, third, right now is Bonnet. Fourth is Bobby Allison, and fifth is the Gatorade car of young Ricky Rudd, and they get two lines of traffic coming out, about three wide. Already they haven't even dropped the green as they come down to the line. This time, Lake Speed is up in the front of the pack, trying to get his lap back as he scoots down to the bottom of the lace track. He's not gonna be able to get it. Benny Parsons takes a minute to turn one. - On your leader's state of the high side of the racetrack, going past still a smoking kale garble. It's gonna be Parsons later with Richard Petty's second, Neil Bonnet, third, still single file. Now to Bobby Allison who holds down fourth spot, going fifth, is the Ricky Rudd on the wheel with six for Darrell Walsh. Earnhardt up to seventh, eighth for Mike Alexander, Joe Rutman his ninth, and moving 10th as lobotomy on the back stretch. - The lead trio working their way to turn three, led by Benny Parsons with Richard Petty in the number two spot of Neil Bonnet riding third, and that is a replay of what we saw here for many laughs in the midpoint in this race. Now Bonnet goes up to the top of the track to challenge Petty for second. Allison is in fourth position as they come off turn four. - It'd be hard to pick a winner out of that front four, all four have looked awfully strong this afternoon. Parsons again in front. Bonnet eases up to the number two spot this time, kicks Richard Petty back to third, they're in turn one. - The man out of the trap and trying to make a move, it's Ricky Rudd who is now side by side, lower on the racetrack with Bobby Allison for fourth place. It's Rudd now steps on the button, grabs fourth away, tucks in single file with Allison now fifth, and feeling it challenged from Waltrip. Off turn number two and down the back straightaway, still Benny Parsons leading. - Ricky Rudd has not yet led this race, he'd like to get up there and mix it up with the old veterans. Bonnet moves to the front as he slips inside Benny Parsons. Richard Petty is right there in third, a tremendous amount of experience in that lead trail, and young Ricky Rudd is tacked right onto the tail line to that four car draft as they come off turn four. - Well the two fords will have a chance to hook up and try to draft away, but Petty will play the spoiler. Down to the inside, he leads Bonnet to the line by perhaps two feet. Parsons goes to the low side to pick up Petty's draft. - On those two cars trying to kick themselves through the turn, Richard goes, Benny doesn't, and Benny has a tuck in the third. Now Richard Petty, as he has the lead, we all watch the battle for fourth place, as Waltrip works to the inside of Ricky Rudd. Off the turn now and down the straightaway, still Waltrip and Rudd and Rudd is strong in trying to pull. - Ricky Rudd pushes the pedal down and pulls away from Darryl Waltrip, he brings Bobby Allison with him, Allison drafting into the number five spot, and Waltrip, who looked like he had a piece of third, suddenly finds himself sixth. Kayl Yarborough a lap down his in seventh place in that draft, and Earnhardt, who is actually holding seventh place in the races right on his rear deck. - Eight cars right in that lead draft, just about a half a car leaked the part as they come back to the line. The car that pulls out now and gets out of the draft, trying to make up some ground, with Waltrip in the mountain new machine, he takes a look and turn one, and he like holes, there's no way. - He is wise there because nobody, if you don't go with somebody else, certainly here, you're going to be dropped the good number of positions right back in the way this race is gone. That's way to wild and see because you can be eighth in one second and be leading the race two seconds later. Down the back straightaway, no position change. Petty showing the way, but Bonnet closing. - Here's Bonnet moving up to the rear deck of Richard Petty. Bonnet really likes that entrance to turn three move, this time he elects to follow Petty in, and comes down to the low side of the racetrack. Bonnet repeatedly demonstrating the ability to run high or low in turn three and four, and that could be significant late in the race. - Here's Bobby Allison, this time he tucks out of the draft, takes a look on the inside, riding back in about seventh position, trying to move up a spot, Kale Yarbrough, pulled down like he was going to help him a little bit and changed his mind. We're talking about the strategy of the drivers a moment ago, would they lay back, not tip their hand? I asked Bobby Allison about that yesterday, how do you rate yourself as a driver, Bobby? - Well, I think I drive hard, but I also try to use my head, I don't believe in just burning a car down early, but sometimes you can lead a race early because nobody else is dialed in. By the times you can. So it's a situation where I do try to run a car as hard as I can all the time, and the easiest place to win a race from is definitely the front. So if I can be up there, I prefer to, but on the other hand, I'm not gonna slide down the corner and tear the tires off the car or burn the radiator down or something like that, just trying to lead. - Bobby Allison right now is riding along and Eli Goldie is gonna get caught back in some traffic as the two front runners break away a bit. - Indeed, as Richard Petty goes with the old Bonnet Bobby Allison now being kicked back a bit, as Richard Petty pulls away, it's gonna be the third position for Ricky Rudd, Benny Parsons up to fourth, and now Walter trying to pass Allison in fifth. - Seven cars in that second batch, chasing the leader Petty and Bonnet, then a seven car pack, and then a couple of seconds of interval back to the next foul angst led by Kyle Petty, and in that group is Harry Gant, who is hooked up with Buddy Baker and trying to make some moves. Buddy Baker, last time here, remember, kind of as we told you earlier in our broadcast, made a play to waiting game, and he told me that he might do the same thing today, but I'm kind of in agreeance with Ned Jarrett on that part, Baker will stay a little closer to the front if the car is capable of getting there. He's not been able to work his way no better than up to then fifth position, I think this afternoon. Richard Petty takes him around and turns two. - Heck of a battle to turn two for third position on, back it's again two by two by two, Benny Parsons showing the way right behind him, go Ricky Rudd and Walter, and here comes Alison, he'll try and make it three wide. Everybody battling for fourth. - Parsons running in that number three spot, dipping to the inside as Walter, if he's got Ricky Rudd right on the outside, there, door post to door post, Kale Yarbroughs in the thick of that, though a couple of laps down, and inside him goes Bobby Allison to take over sixth spot. - The fords are very stout today here at Michigan, Bonner rides second, right in Petty's draft, and Benny Parsons sits in third and thinks his car might be better suited than the General Motors products for the Texas and Michigan Speedway. - Oh, he's doing pretty well up here. After the Texas race we got in a situation that we didn't win, but it was a wreck with five laps to go, which kind of took our opportunity to win away. But you know, we'll just have to run this thing, maybe this racetrack is suited to a four. - 150 laps are coming up complete this time around, as Neil Bonner takes the field over in turn number three. - Bonner at the leader with Petty, two car lengths back in the number two spot. - They continue to run side by side for third, and that battle involves Benny Parsons and Daryl Walter. Walter has gone to the outside of Parsons, and that's a dead heat for third. - Coming down to the line, it's still Neil Bonner and Richard Petty, and since that round of pit stops, a few laps ago, those two cars have been able to maintain at least a six or seven car advantage on the rest of the field, but from second back through sixth position right now, you're like, oh, it's been pretty hot. - It has been awfully, as a matter of fact, Ricky Rudd was thinking, you're making it three wide for third place, but the lower groove was occupied by race traffic in the person of Gary Boulou, who has been awfully slow since his last pit stop, but Ricky Rudd was going downstairs, except he had nowhere to go. - The lead draft is definitely established. The two cars of Neil Bonner and Richard Petty have proven very cooperative. They're managing to stay together out front and hold off the charges that have come from the multitude of drivers who have held that third spot since the last caution. - And they better not look back. Harry Gantt made a late pit stop, made a chassis adjustment. The rear of the pack and it's now zeroing in on the front running pack. - It has to be the fastest car in the field. He has really been coming up through it and it looks like you're putting the black flag on Kale Yarborough again as that smoke is flared up on the car down in turn number one. It's Neil Bonner, in front. Richard Petty riding second. Bonner feels like the Woodbrothers team just has to win a race. He told me yesterday, everything is broken on the car this year, but the paint job. - It's not breaking half. If I break in half, they keep both pieces of me. I don't know, Barney, you know, every week, I say, well, it can't continue, but it has. But, you know, like I say, I'm not being over optimistic. I'm not repeatedly saying the thing's over and over. It's a fact that that car is gonna win races. We've just got to keep it together all day. - Well, he's kept it between the walls here this afternoon, put the nose in the wind and he has been by far one of the strongest cars. Harry Gantt continues to reel in the front seven as Bonner brings him back across the stripe up to Eli Gold. - As they work again, those front automobiles will set him for you single foul. Neil Bonner, Richard Petty, going third as Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, back up to fourth. Fifth is Benny Parson, sixth is Ricky Rudd. Gary Blue's car, though, at least a lap down, has caught on the tail of that draft, but having broken away from Dale Earnhardt and now on the move is Harry Gantt as he tries to chase down the leaders. - Perhaps the most significant thing here is Gantt's ability to run them down without any help. He's been running all by himself since he broke loose from Dale Earnhardt. A matter of a half dozen laps ago, despite that fact Gantt is closing, he's within about 10 car lengths. As they work into the 18 degree banking of Turn 4. - Carol Yarber is on pit road. They did black flag him. That smoke increased a little bit to help the hood over on it, trying to make repairs there, but he's losing another lap right now through the leaders. - I'm afraid for him, but the heats up again for the lead down. A turnover one to Eli Gold. Richard Petty wants that lead away. - And he was low on the racetrack, but Neil Bonner'd awfully stout, maintains the lead. Richard looked as though he had it downstairs, he'll try it again. Off turn number two, this time, as they straighten out. - Richard thinks better of it, as a matter of fact, Neil asserts himself. Richard Petty settles for a second, now it has a visit from Walter. - Walter grabs hold of the draft of Neil Bonner, moves alongside Petty. Petty takes the low line into three. That's been the good way into that turn, but Walter keeps the pedal down, pulls out by half car length. He's put daylight between himself and Richard Petty in the race for the number two spot. Still Bonner leading, off turn four. - Out of four, Bonner has just a car like Petty comes up. Right onto his bumper, Bonner comes down to the inside, and they go three wide at the stripe, and leave Bonner in their way, because Petty and Walter continue their battle off into turn one, let's pause 10 seconds for station identification. Trouble in turn one. - Kyle Petty getting sideways, took a tap along with Joe Rutman, he got sideways. Earnhardt gets through after a scary moment, and Kyle Petty's car comes to a smoking stop on the apron of turn number two. - They'll race back to the line up in front of Dave Despaine. - Richard Petty has the advantages, they come through turn three and four, he's got Walter at a half car length down. Petty picks the line as they come to the flag, it's gonna be Richard Petty with the advantage. Walter at second, Allison third and fourth is Harry Gant. - They come across the stripe that way, diving onto pit road immediately, will be the Neil Bonner car. Warner Hudson's sponsorship on that machine as it comes down and hit, I guess we'll see everybody diving on the pit road again. - I'm sure they will, Bonny, and they could probably go the rest of the distance from here on, should they run the rest of the way under the green, we have not seen a full pit stop under the green here this afternoon, the action has been so hot and a few minor spin outs, no major situations, accepting Morgan Shepherd's deal up there and another deal down in the first turn, but at least it has kept the competition very, very close here, they've been able to make those pit stops under the caution, we'll see the rest of it coming back in the next time around. - Joe Rutland's car is in the pits, he was involved in that spin out down in turn number one, but apparently only flat spot of the tires, they take a quick check around the car, change one tire on the right side of the car and send him back onto the racetrack. Again, let's go back to Eli Gold. - Well, it was a situation as Kyle Petty came through the turn, the car just began to break loose with a good plume of smoke, along came Joe Rutland who tried to find a way through and the nose of that automobile wanted to go anywhere, but straight, so finally Joe wrote it out, gathered the car back in as Kyle Petty spun to the apron where the car still resides, by the way, as the maintenance and safety crews are getting to him right now and Dale Earnhardt was coming through the vicinity in the Wrangler Jeans machine and he had himself a bit of a scary moment although not directly involved. He was right there and had a bird's eye view and did have to move up just a lane or so to make sure he was not at all to be involved. - All kinds of things are happening on pit road, let's go to Ned Jarrett. - Dale Earnhardt overshot his pits as it came in by full car length, however, the crew is servicing him, changing right side tires and left side tires. Harry Gant was in for a four-tower change, feeling that he has a shot that's getting up there now because he knew that he had the fastest car in the field before this caution came out. - Earnhardt's sitting right directly in the path that they used to come into the garage area but he has the service now on the car. Four new tires, tank of Union 76 gas and so he's back out and ready to go again. - Kyle Petty has a problem on pit road and they're going a lap down that appears from where we are that they had a jack stuck under the car. Let's go to the garage and Ned Jarrett. - Neil Bonnet has just crawled out of the Warner Hodgson Ford number 21, Neil what went wrong? - Neil had dropped a valve spring about three, broke a valve spring about three or four laps before the caution and it started hammering the valve out, it was fixing to drop a valve, it was fixing to pit just before the caution come out and park it. - That luck of you and the Wood Brothers this year, unbelievable continues. - Ned the car just seems every week to really show us a lot of muscle, capable running out front and everything and we just got to get things turned around. If it'll finish 500 miles or 401 of these things, it'll stand a good chance to win one. - Neil there's no question what you had one of the strongest cars in the field. Could you detect anybody else out there that you, who do you think has the best shot at winning this thing right now? Somebody holding something back? - I feel like Richard Petty got the strongest car by means. His car is plenty strong right now, if he runs all day he'll be tough. - Okay, that's the words of a fellow that's been out there racing with him and he ought to know. - Well Richard Petty has never been any further back than six or seven this afternoon and that was kind of jumbled up on restarts and right now, he is up at the head of the field, go ahead. - Better look at the Kyle Petty situation while Ned was off in the garage area, we could see that they had a long breaker bar about a six foot bar that they were jacking under the left front end of the car, trying to maybe bring the sheet metal back in line, we could only get the backside view of it, the jack was not stuck under the car, it just took a long time to complete that service and apparently Kyle has gone a lap down. - That is too bad because he had been up in ninth position on our latest rundown and it stayed in the top 10 most of the day here. 158 laps are complete of the 200 that will make up the Champions Park plug 400. Ned Jarrett talking with Neil Bonner in the garage area, there'd been an awful lot of rumors about concerning what he might do before the end of the season or certainly by next season that he might leave the Wood Brothers if there were a couple of teams that were trying to hire him away. I asked him about that yesterday and he said he could put that rumor to rest. - I've worked to deal with Warner and Hodgdon, he's gonna, he's financially helped me considerably to run the Grand National Circuit and then he's gonna turn right around and help me on my sportsman cars and I'm gonna possibly do some other stuff for him. So I'm set for a while with Warner and I'm looking forward to it. - So Neil told us yesterday he had signed the deal with Warner and Hodgson, he would remain with the Wood Brothers for the rest of this year and through next year, that is his current plans right now. 159 laps complete, Mike Joy. - They're working on Kyle Petty's car, he's back in the pits and they've changed the right front tire and they're jacking on the left front of that car. Let's go to Ned. - Mike Joy, there is a sheet metal damage to the left front of the car and what they were trying to do is pull that out so that it would not get in against the tower and also so that it would not keep the air from going into the radiator. It was pretty jumbled up on the left front there but that appears to be the only damage to the car. They have changed all four tires on it now after he spins so he's back out and running. Kale Yarber is back in the pits with a hood up on the valve lean car number 27. He's had those problems with the leaky valve covers and taking advantage of this caution to work further on it. He's already at least a couple of laps down. - So that's the situation here at Michigan International Speedway with 40 laps remaining when they come back across the stripe this time and they can go the distance. They should not have to make another pit stop. - And Joe Rutman also had a long pit stop and he's reported as being on the tail end of the lead lap or in danger of going a lap down. So several of the top contenders have had problems here under this last caution period. They'll be back to racing in a lap and Dan Henley is by from the Winston racing team and the point battle just continues to get closer and closer. Bobby Ellison's on the hot seat now. - He is on the hot seat, that's for sure. He's only 94 points ahead of Darrell Walter but this time overall and in the second leg, you know, Darrell Walter was 80 points ahead of Bobby. So it's really coming down to quite an exciting battle. - There's been a lot of pressure on both these drivers. Of course, a couple of years ago, Darrell felt like he was in a position to win in the national driving title, the Winston Cup Points Championship and watched it all go away out of Ontario, California. This time he feels like he may be in a better position being keeping the pressure on Bobby. - He is definitely very confident. You know, one race, he gained over 100 points and I think last week he gained 10 points. If he continues to chip away at it five, 10 points a week, he won't have any problem. He will be a very competitive thing toward the end. - Well, it's going to be an interesting season as we get down to the final 11 races of the year or the final 10 after this one. Dan, thanks for stopping by. - That's exactly right. I'll tell you, these races get any more exciting. I don't believe I'll be able to come to them. - You'll have to sit in the lounge and pull the shades, right? - Yes, that's right. Thank you, Barney and Mike. - We're getting ready to go back to green at Michigan and there will be 40 laps to run of this one, 80 miles to complete the 400 miles champion spark plug, 400 here at Michigan. It's been a good afternoon. There's been 10, 12 cars and that lead draft looks like we're going to go right down to the wire with the same kind of finish here this afternoon. They're up in front of Dave to Spain. - Terri Labonti sits on the point of the lead lap. He'll be taking the green flag from Harold Kinder. He's got Bobby Allison and tow, Richard Petty rides third, sitting in that four spot as Benny Parsons. Fifth is Harry Gant. - Harold Kinder waves the green. They come up to the gearbox to rev those engines to about 7,500 head off into turn number one with Terri Labonti leading the pack. - Labonti is there with Allison and Richard Petty. Nobody making a move right now is again that double final restart your leaders. We'll try and pair themselves away from some of the lower cars. Fourth is Benny Parsons moving up the fifth spot. Harry Gant hanging a tight six is going to be Darryl Walsh up in seventh now for Ricky Rudd. Off turn number two down the back straightaway, three wide for the lead. - Allison wants that lead. He whips around Labonti, Richard Petty comes right with him and it's Petty who has the muscle as he takes both the leaders and grabs the first spot going into turn three. Petty out front with Allison and number two and dropping back to third spot is Labonti. A bit of separation perhaps four car lengths back to Benny Parsons and fourth. - Neil Bonnet must have known what he was talking about because Richard Petty looked like he was shot out of a cannon but don't give up. Here comes Bobby Allison down on the inside. He's going to see how stout he is in turn one. - And every time by whoever dives closer into the turn comes out through the turn with the lead. This time Bobby makes the first move and Bobby stays low on the race track, has the nose in front but again the strong Richard Petty out of the field goes to the high side. So our theory disproven this time is off turn number two it's still Petty. Allison dropped back to second. Labonti third here's Parsons moving for it. - Petty doing it any way he wants to. He's zing by on the inside on the straightaway. The last lap that time he muscled Allison around the outside to retake the lead. So it is Petty in front with Allison second. Labonti rides third Parsons closing in fourth. Here comes Harry Gant up the inside then sandwiches back in line in fifth. - Gant jumped into the line like a chisel hit on the end with a hammer he just punched his way into line. The lead draft strings out there are 15 cars on the lead lap and they're all in contention. - As they work through the turn this time staying single file Petty the leader, Allison second third, Labonti Parsons is fourth. Gant going fifth, higher on the racetrack, sixth is Waltrip, seventh now for Rudd, eight for Buddy Baker, nine going as Earnhardt and running tenth Johnny Rutherford off the turn down the back straightaway battle for third. - Petty continuing to be the front runner but third place is the issue. Moving on the inside Harry Gant has moved around Terry Labonti and Labonti has slipped from first to fifth after this restart slipping up high Harry Gant looked like he might lose the spot back but he tucks back into line with another good moved a hold onto fourth. - Well if Harry Gant could have held the lead around to the finish line he would have been the 14th different leader here in the champion 400. It may not be Bobby Allison's trying to take it away up in four Gant's on the high side. Allison's on the low side, Allison has led before and as so far today the bottom lane has been the one that worked but here comes Gant on the high side and he becomes the 14th different leader. That's how competitive this race has been. - Benny Parsons putting out a charge for the lead over in turn three. - Unbelievable scramble going into turn three that time they were stacked for a breast for a moment and then wisdom proved to be the better part of valor and Parsons got out of the throttle dropping back into four spot as Allison holds the lead coming off four. - 10 cars are in that lead draft and there's only one run in single file and that's Bobby Allison the leader there three wide for the second spot heading to Eli Gold. - You just don't know where to look first as it's going to be wall tripping second spot away off the flying wedge into the turn. Who has third? No one yet. Petty wants it so to Gant. Harry's on the low side of the racetrack. Steps on and he has third. Here comes Benny Parsons showing some strength. He wants fourth with Petty again kicked to the outside and off turn number two the battle is for fourth with Petty and Parsons. - Petty holding on to that advantage for the moment and now Terri Labani follows Petty's draft around Parsons to take over fifth spot. 10 cars in an unbelievable kaleidoscope of action through turns three and four. They know the laps are counting down. Bobby Allison is the leader. Walter Pride second, Gant is third. - As they come back down to the line to complete 169 laps scooting down to the inside. Benny Parsons swings out makes him three wide again. Joe Rutman and Dale Earnhardt knock heads up in turn one. - As they work their way through the turn. Joe Rutman trying to give way. Now is Earnhardt and he battle it. It's going to be Rutman with a position right there. You talk about the rubber band effect. Benny Parsons is up to second seconds ago. Now he's battling to stay along the leaders. Meanwhile off turn number two a battle for the lead and the inside goes Harry Gant. Here they go four wide again for the lead. - Gant had to lay advantage for a moment. Allison and Petty dive by on the inside side by side. Petty has the advantage on the low side. It turned three. Now here comes Allison around the outside. And Allison drives the Hardee's machine right past Richard Petty. Petty comes back on the inside. Gant has a notion to go between them. - You couldn't put a piece of paper between them as they almost touch out of turn four if Petty gets the lead and he does. No Gant is the leader and this has become the most competitive race in the history of Michigan international speedway 51 lead changes. - The folks at home must think we're nuts but tell you the truth. This is what we're watching. It's racing like this with Gant the lead and now Richard Petty's second. Off turn number two, Allison is going third. Wall tip is fourth now. LaBadi is fifth, Ricky Rudge sixth. Rutman seventh, Baker eighth. Earnhardt ninth. - Petty going back after the lead as they hit the back stretch at 175 miles an hour into the teeth of a stiff wind that's blowing across the turn three and four area and right into the face of the drivers as they come down the backshoot then of course they have to run a crosswind as they work around three and four. That could be a factor late there. Side by side for the lead. Coming down to the line again, Richard Petty has the inside groove on Harry Gant and they cross the stride just in a dead heat. And then Jarrett, there's no way to plan any kind of strategy on one on a finish. - Absolutely not but Bobby Allison just made a daring move. Looked like Ron Bichard's movement. Talladega moved all the way the inside of Petty and Gant and took the lead in the turn one. - Yeah but in turn number two net here comes Petty again. He'll go inside of Bobby Allison and don't forget now Harry Gant. He's watching comfortably but now the battle for the lead. Petty and Allison side by side and here's Gant along with Walter Gant. - Gant drops off the draft of Allison and gets behind Richard Petty instead. Then has to move back and let them go as they run side by side for the lead. Petty on the inside Allison on the outside. Side by side for second or Walter Gant. Terry Labonti is sandwiched in fifth. Benny Parsons back in about 10th spot. - 10 cars in that lead draft. They bunched three and four abreast at times in their single file. That's the way it's been all afternoon here at Michigan. We look for somebody to come up through the field like a bowling ball in a minute as they're back in turn one. Somebody's out of the draft and not somebody is Harry Gant. Now as Labonti goes by and run tries to go by along with Baker. Setting it for you at the point. Go turn to Petty. Down by three car length is Allison. Then two car lengths back to Walter and on the move again is Gant. He'll go to the inside. Try to put a pass on Labonti for fourth. - 14 drivers have swapped the lead back and forth now 51 times and there are still 26 laps to go here from Michigan International Speedway. This is MRN, the motor racing network. Michigan International Speedway. 175 laps are complete, 50 miles to go. And the champions spark plug 408 cars are less than a half a car length apart running for the lead as we get down to the conclusion of this one. We lost Benny Parsons a moment ago as he took the car to the garage area. Let's go to Ned Jarrett. - Well Benny has just coasted into the garage area Barney Hall. Benny, do you know what went wrong? Do you know what went wrong? - No, I lost the cylinder on that restarting end and just started getting slower and slower. So, you know-- - Oh that unbelievable luck continues. - It's something, you know. At least I didn't wreck the car, so, but you're right. It just keeps on going and I don't know when it's gonna stop. - Well that's a small consolation. He didn't wreck the car but he's out of the race here near the end when he had such a good shot of winning it. - There have been 15 cars all day long right up front. But now it's Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. Nobody's been able to do anything with him for the last five times around the Speedway. Richard leads him up into turn number three. - Yeah Allison rides about a half a car length back and Mike Joy, I think Neil bought it may have hit the tip. He said he felt Petty had the strongest car in the field. - It appears that way. Bobby Allison seems to have the power, but Petty has the combination of power and handling that have kept him at the front of the field. The Fords ran very, very well here, but not for long. The bad luck that has plagued the Budmore team and the Wood brothers continue. And things happen that just aren't supposed to. Leonard Wood says it's really getting hard to understand. - We've been racing for about 30 years or so and we've never burned out a left for real wheel bearing until Sunday. And we've burned out right rears or right fronts or something. But we've never burned out a left rear. And these things just continue to happen seem like. I know over the years that sometimes look like no matter what you do, you can still win and then sometimes no matter what you do, you lose. So we're looking forward to winning. - The car has been a contender everywhere it's been this year, but the luck has just not been on their side. - Hot battle at the start finish line. Bobby Allison makes a move on Richard Petty on the outside, may take the lead away and turn one. - Trying it on the outside, Bobby cuts down on the banking and grabs the position away. Something we have not seen Bobby do a whole lot of. He's tried his passing to the low side, but here comes Petty right back. Midway between one and two, Richard goes downstairs, draws alongside Bobby Allison and now down the back straight away with Waltzip and Gant watching the battle is for the lead with Allison and Petty. - Allison seems to have gotten stronger as this race progresses, but Richard Petty has been strong all day long and those two are side by side in turn three. Now Allison holding the button down just a little bit longer, opens up about a half car length, moves up to the top of the track. Petty takes the advantage, comes low and retakes the lead. - Bobby Allison may be finding out just what his car will do inside and outside if we get down to the concluding laps of the champion spark plug 400. Richard Petty has the lead again this time as they work turn one. - Going to have to work around race traffic this time, moving past Cecil Gordon's automobile. - So all the cars among the leaders for the first time in a long time say single file. As the rest of the pack now works its way through, Johnny Rutherford still, rim riding as his car has been up near the high side of the wall throughout most of the afternoon. Your leader is Petty on the back stretch. - Buddy Baker after running two full laps inside Terry Le Bonny side by side has finally moved around Le Bonny and so Big Buddy is in his strongest position of the race thus far. He is fifth and about five car lengths behind the lead quartet led off turn four by Richard Petty. They come to the stripe to take the side 20 laps to go and the champion spark plug 400. Richard Petty will lead them across. Bobby Allison will be second, Walter was third and Gadd is fourth. Fifth is Baker in the sixth spot is Le Bonny. Riding along in seventh would be Ricky Rudd and there are eight cars in that lead draft. - Richard Petty has broken a little ground on the second place car. Bobby Allison right now and has pulled away by about four car lakes, Dave, this pain. - As they hit turn three going into the banking, Petty has definitely pulled out the stops. Allison has got his hands full because he's got Daryl Walter up and Harry Gant all over him. Gant writes third Walter up his fourth and now Buddy Baker is right on the tail end of that battle. - Buddy Baker back in fifth position but Richard Petty has at least a four car linked advantage on the second place car. Harry Gant's going after second spot on Bobby Allison in the south end of the track. - And Harry is awfully strong pulls to the inside of Bobby Allison trying to maintain a spot there. Of course this will allow Richard Petty to pull just a bit further away. Gant goes underneath and grabs the spot away and now says see you Bobby and sent sail for Richard. Petty, Harry Gant is not stopping. He has broken away from Allison and draws alongside Petty for the lead. - Gant is going right after Richard Petty. He says, I'm not letting him get away and Gant whips around Petty on the inside. Petty holds the button down, takes the top line. Let's see who's got the muscle. It's Gant on the low side and Petty elects to duck in behind here. He Gant the new leader. - He's had the horsepower all day and dead, Jarrett. You said they made a chassis adjustment on the car. Since they did, the car has been flying. It might win the race for them. - It absolutely has been one of the fastest cars on the cracks since they made that. And Barney was not a major chassis adjustment either. I saw them turn the wrench and it was just maybe around and a half on the screw adjustment on one of the wheels. That's not a great deal. But they were so close, apparently, and it doesn't take much just maybe to make a tenth of a second of left. - And it's working for you. - Gant in front. Petty rides second, one car link, separate first and second. It's a car link back to third at Bobby Allison. Fourth is Walter, he's about a half a car link, and off, and as they tighten it up, Buddy Baker works his way up to fifth position, and there's less than half a car link among the front five. They're today to speak. - You can throw a blanket over that first quintet. Buddy Baker's been impressive in catching up with this group. He showed late moves at Michigan before. Perhaps he's saving something out of his deck. - Buddy Baker did it here the last time. He didn't make a move at all until about the last 15 or 20 laps. He's in a position if he has the stuff to do something now. They're back in one and there's a lead change. - And Richard Putty goes low, grabs it away from Harry Gant. Very effortlessly, a move that Petty has pulled off many times today. Now Harry Gant trying to hang on to the high side. And then we have a car that goes spinning off the banking and slides. It's Terry LaBotti, who is sideways off turn number two. The car is in the grassy area, and it comes to rest pointing in the right direction up against the apron of the race track. Your leaders are in turn number three. - As they freight train through the three and four banking, no sign of the yellowish yet. The race is still on with Richard Putty running out front Gant second. Allison third, Wabtrup is fourth, and Buddy Baker fifth. - Coming back to the line, LaBotti's car still down on the grass, trying to get it fired, and caution will go out of the field as they cross the line with Richard Putty in the lead, and 14 laps to go. And that may change the whole complexion of this race as it has done so many times here at Michigan International Speedway. Quickly, let's go to Ned Jarrett. Ned, I guess most of them will stay on the race track. - I suspect they will, but I see some tires going up on the wall, Barney, and as we've mentioned before, cool tires run faster than the warm tires, so maybe with that many laps to go, we will see them coming in. If anyone does, the rest of them cannot afford not to. - Well Ned, everybody stopped and nobody gambled. - No, they did. Everybody's changing four tires. There's a major chassis adjustment, Jane on Dale Earnhardt's car. He's one of the last ones to get out of the pits. He races Johnny Rutherford and Joe Rutman down Pit Road right now. Harry Gant also changed four tires. So did Daryl Walter, Richard Putty, and everybody else. Bobby Allison included. - Well, one of the first car, in fact, to get out of the pits was Allison. How important is that, Ned, to beat everybody out on that last pit stop? - I think it's very important right now, 'cause you gotta be able to the front of that pack as many cars as we have running in that lead lap and for the lead, you could get caught back there in that pack and just not be able to get out of line. If you're one of those first two or three cars, as we've seen all afternoon here, you got the best shot at staying up there. - The way they got off Pit Road, Bobby Allison was first, and Richard Putty was second. Third car off was Daryl Walter, Ricky Rudd, the fourth out of the cars that were among the leaders, Fifth Harry Gant, Sixth Buddy Baker, and Seventh, is the Dale Earnhardt machine out of the cars that were running for the lead. 188 laps completed, and 12 to go. We're under the ninth caution of the day. - We'll set the stage for you. With 12 laps to go, 24 miles. It's been a good one all afternoon, and it's far from being over. 10, 12 cars, been in that lead draft. Here's how they came off Pit Road, and how they'll make it on the restart. Bobby Allison was the first off. Richard Putty came out second. Then it was the number 11 car of Daryl Walter, Fourth, Ricky Rudd, Fifth Harry Gant, Sixth Buddy Baker, and Seventh Earnhardt. That's the way they should scramble. They may be showing Dave Marcus on the lead lap, and if he is, he will be the leader. - Marcus did not pit, apparently, and so he is posted as the leader. They will, of course, restart double-file. As fans familiar with NASCAR racing, no, the cars in the lead lap go to the outside, and it will be Marcus followed by those next seven cars. Quite a bit of sheet metal damage on the right side of Joe Rutman's machine because they, great for this restart. And there are still 14 cars shown as on the lead lap, and you can't tell me that any one of those 14 couldn't win this race. The cars in the lead lap include, and this is not an order, incidentally. Marcus, Bobby Allison, Richard Putty, Daryl Walter, and Ricky Rudd. They are running in that order. The front five, also on the lead lap, Count Harry Gant and Buddy Baker. Terry Lebani has now lost a lap, so make that 13 cars on the lead lap. The Joe Rutman automobile, Johnny Rutherford posted on the lead lap, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, the cars of Jody Ridley, Mike Alexander, and, of course, Marcus the leader. Ernie Moore is making some kind of hand signals to Harold Kinder. They are still out there, and apparently they will take another lap under caution before they put them back under green, at least more more. They're still out here in the turn. Barney sweeping up as Lebani slid along. He kicked up a good bit of dirt and pebbles, and the maintenance crew is out here with the big push brooms trying to clean the track off. Local? Well, we talked about a couple of times how close the points battle has been this year between Bobby Allison and Daryl Walter, and Daryl told me in the garage area yesterday that he felt like he'd rather be in the position he is right now and have Bobby Allison leading by a few points. Was still plenty of time to chase him down. I asked Bobby how he felt about that. I'd do if he likes Ben in second, maybe we can just keep him in second, because I feel like the best place to win a race from is the front. We've run good, we've earned what we've got, and our guys have just done a tremendous job, and we've had a little bit of bad luck, and that's allowed them to narrow the gap some, but I think that we just continue this to race hard, and we're going to win the thing racing, or we're going to lose it racing, but we're going to race. [MUSIC PLAYING] This is Lloyd Axton for Blue Speed. It's that time of day when you can say, come on and head for the mountains. You know the best is coming your way. Head for Bushby, reach out, it's here. It's time to head for the mountains. The taste is smooth, and waiting for you. Waiting for you. Head for the mountains. Head for the mountains. Here's to a beer brewed slow, cold, and natural. For a taste as smooth as it's named. For head for Bushby. Head for the mountains. Head for Bushby, Annheiser Bush, St. Louis, Missouri. Well, with $250 peak, coolest move of the race award, Barney will almost have to be decided in these next 10 laps. Well, I would think it would be. And whoever makes the right move is going to come home victorious here this afternoon. Pace cars on Pit Row. We've 20 miles to go to complete the Champions Park plug 400. Who's going to be in victory lane? They come down the line. Dave Marcus is the leader. As Harold Kendr puts him under green, Bobby Allison wastes no time in trying him on the outside, and he's got to grab it in one. And Marcus gave Allison some room, knowing he was not quite as strong as the rest of the lead automobile. So Allison leads the other leaders to the high side. Petty following second now. Walchips single file going third. Everybody moving by Marcus. Up to fourth now is Ricky Rudd. Harry Gant fifth. Baker going sixth. Rutman as they were in seventh and off. Turn number two down the back straightaway. They mix it up for the lead. Richard Petty dives to the inside, grabs the lead. Brings Darryl Walter with him. And they blister Bobby Allison with an inside pass. Allison has to tuck down in line in third spot as they work turn three and four with Petty out front. Ricky Rudd is your fourth place man. And Harry Gant writes fifth, Baker. And Rutman there in sixth and seventh single file. Seven cars to the lead draft as they come to the line. Petty's in front. Look out. Here comes Walter. The inside and going underneath. Walter is Bobby Allison. Three wide for the lead and turn one. Allison Lowe, Walter in the middle. Petty high. Nobody gives this time. They'll stay there. And finally sorting it out as Petty is kicked to the high side. Walchips goes low. And he'll challenge Allison for the lead. Off turn number two it is. Walchips. Now here comes the challenge. From Harry Gant or at least Ricky Rudd. Rudd moves into the second spot with Allison holding on and here he moves along with Petty. Oh look at Petty come out of line to the inside. He's around right. He's alongside Allison. But no, he won't make that low move this time. They've still got eight to go. Petty may be saving something. The leader is Walter. Allison and Petty are side by side for second. Ricky Rudd is fourth. There are 10 cars in striking distance. Any of whom could win this race as Johnny Rutherford along with Joe Rutman. Richard Childress and Dave Marcus close on the lead pack. Walchips has the leads. They shuffle turn one. But Walchips goes rim riding. Opens it up downstairs for Allison and Petty. But neither one can take advantage. Maybe something to file away right there is. Walchips gave him some room. Darryl has the lead. Petty is now battling with Allison side by side for second with Richard working to the inside of the race. Tracking Allison to the outside. Along comes Buddy Baker. Likewise, Ricky Rudd as they paddle for the lead. Looks like the first lap of this race. What a mob scene. 10 cars out there beating on each other. Walch are about front Allison in the number two spot. Petty is sandwiched on the low side of the racetrack. Inside Ricky Rudd doesn't seem to cause him any problem. He motors right upside Bobby Allison for second. Petty riding door to door with Bobby Allison back there is going to lose the spot. We'll go back to fifth position. Here's Allison underneath Walter. He may grab the lead in one. And Bobby does go downstairs. Has the lead. Richard Petty trying to take the free ride. Couldn't do so. He'll try and wear his way into the running order. But there's nowhere to go, so he stays low. He draws alongside Walchips for second. Petty stood on the move, but here comes Walchips to the high side. Off turn number two, Allison the leader. Walchips is there second, and Petty cannot tuck back in. Petty can't find a place to get in line. He slips back a four spot behind Ricky Rudd. Buddy Baker is right there. But now Petty just stays in it on the low side of the racetrack, hanging on to the third spot, running side by side with Ricky Rudd. He can't get back in line, so he just keeps his foot in it. Five laps to go. Allison leads them off the corner. Walchips jumps to the inside, looking for the lead. Rudd is third. Baker is fourth. Petty is fifth. Sixth is Rutman. Seventh is Gann. Eighth is Rutherford and ninth is Earnhardt. Standing room only here at Michigan. Everybody on their feet watching as it's going to be Walchips. Low on the racetrack. In turn number one with the lead. Allison going high. How's second? But here comes Petty. He'll stay low and grab second place away from Bobby who opened the door. Allison tucks in the third spot now with Ricky Rudd going fourth. Baker rumbling to fifth with Harry Gannon, likewise Rutman. This is the juncture when you might like to try a little different line on the racetrack see how the car will stick but they're so close up there that all the lines are occupied. The leader is Darryl Waltrip. Petty is on the inside of Bobby Allison taking over second. He'll go after Waltrip as they come off the banking for the lead. Heading back down to the line, Richard Petty gets the inside groove this time. He was fifth. Last time around, he leads this left. That's how strong Petty is. Down to the inside, Allison is there again as he's going after Petty in the south end of the crack. When Bobby dives first, he usually takes the lead but loses it near turn two. This time again, the nose of the Hardee's machine is barely in front of Richard Petty. Bobby Lowe on the racetrack, Petty is upstairs, Waltrip comfortably in third. If comfortable is a car length and a half and now Waltrip closes three ways off turn number two down the back stretch, it's going to be Petty up front. Petty moves up against the wall, Waltrip moves up with him, Allison caught on the low side out of the draft, slips back as far as fourth. Ricky Rudd moves around him to take over third spot, Buddy Baker is right there. This one is going to be one with a split second decision right here at the exit of turn four on the last lap. Three laps to go and seven cars are in the lead pack, seven followed by three. Five cars in the outside draft and they've kicked Allison and Gant all the way to the tail end of the parade. It's going to be Waltrip diving inside of Richard Petty entering turn number one. Waltrip who pulled this maneuver before and pulled it off well tries one more time, throws the nose of the Duke Ruma's machine in front but again Petty, so very strong, works the high side of the banking trying to reassume the lead. Ricky Rudd watching in third, Baker up the fourth, Rutman fifth, Gant is sixth and seventh now, Allison. Petty opening up two car lengths down the back stretch that time, he's got a lot of horsepower to work with into the number two spot goes Ricky Rudd, the youngster who'd love to win the super speedway battle, Waltrip slipping back to third, here comes Buddy Baker around the outside trying to take third spot, that's the best he's run today. This will make a nervous wreck out, if you're just watching this, you can imagine what it's like for the drivers out there with two laps to go as they cross the slide this time, it's Richard Petty and Ricky Rudd back in one, given a veteran like Roger Kensky up here, he is fighting his nails and watching and he's been around races, it's Richard Petty in front now, here's a challenge trying to look to the high side, nothing there for Ricky Rudd, so it's going to be Waltrip now to third, Petty still your leader, Rut second Waltrip third, Baker fourth, Gant fifth, sixth now for Rutman, seventh Allison in a single file. Here's where you reach down into the deck and pull out the whole card, Ricky Rudd is on the tail and a Richard Petty, shoving that spoiler right under Petty's rear deck as they hit turn three, Waltrip right there in third, Buddy Baker fourth, way up to the top goes Buddy, check that, Bobby Allison checking out the traction. Petty the leaders, they come down, White flag from Harold Kinder, there's one lap to go, Petty looking for win 195, Rudd looking for win number one, the last lap. Here we go, nobody, this time making a move, I think they'll wait for Dave to Spain's vicinity through turns one and two, the only man making a move out of single file is going to be Rutman, but here goes Rudd, he'll try Richard Petty to the high side, exiting turn number two, nothing there, Richard is strong, off the turn, here's Waltrip, he'll go inside of Ricky Rudd as a car spins off turn number two, he gets out of harm's way, that's Johnny Rutherford, the leaders are up to turn three. All eight foot all the way into the paddle, Richard Petty has two car lengths on, Darry Waltrip and Ricky Rudd who are side by side for second, fourth is Harry Gant, Buddy Baker and Allison side by side for fifth, coming to a finish. Richard Petty comes out of turn number four with a half a car length lead as they come down to the line, diving to the inside of the racetrack, will be Walter, but he will miss it by about a car length, it will be Petty winning, Walter will finish second as a shuffle into turn number one and Rutherford spun off the course in turn number two, no caution came on as a complete just one and Richard Petty wins it, here at Michigan International Speedway. Petty wins the champion spark plug 400, Darryl Walter finishes a car length back in second, Ricky Rudd, right on his bumper is third, Kerry Gant is fourth, fifth is Buddy Baker's sixth, his Joe Rutman, his seventh is Bobby Allison, a photo finish for eighth, we couldn't call it at the line between Richard Childress and the Bill Elliott automobile, tenth will be the car of Mike Alexander, 11th will be Dave Marcus and 12th will be Johnny Rutherford, still on the lead lap and 11 of them in, can't talk, it's so exciting, 11 of them in the lead pack. We need to make that sixth position going to Dale Earnhardt, I think you said Richard Childress we're so used to seeing that number three number, but it will be Earnhardt. He'll bought it, hit it right on the numbers, he said Richard Petty would be the man to beat, he was, he's in victory lane right now and Richard Petty wins the champions spark plug 400. Pete, coolest move of the race award, he like gold your nomination. You hate to give it oftentimes to the winner, but today's survival of the fittest, Richard Petty, he was cool, hanging in there through the battles, he's the winner in my vote. Dave Despaine, best single move of the race, Kale Yarbrough in turn two, early on running with the leaders, got it clear sideways, stayed right in the throttle, dirt cracked it all the way around, did not cause a big chain reaction crash, Kale Yarbrough. Barney? I guess I'd have to give it to Richard because he made more than one cool move all day long, at times that the car was in real tight spots either backed off, made his move, came through a couple of holes, it wasn't really there to keep the car out of trouble all day long, my vote would go to Richard. Well I'd have to go with Kale when he had that tire cut down, I got the car sideways, that was a cool move and traffic getting it back under control, so we'll have to repole and check in with Ned for his vote, but meanwhile let's go to victory lane. Well I'm going to have to vote for the fellow standing beside me right now, Richard Petty because he made a number of cool moves all afternoon and certainly the one on the last was the one that really counted, Richard Kool moves or fool moves, some of them were both. I tell you, you've run one heck of a race here and have you ever been in a more competitive fault race? I don't believe I've ever been passed any more times or passed anybody any more times than what we did today, but it was just one of the deals that in a draft everybody ran the same speed and we never did really get separated out to find out who had a quick corn who didn't and you know if you caught the draft right you could pass anybody and if they caught you right then they could pass you any time, so it was just that I would gotten the right place for some reason at the right time and then a couple of them right behind me, Darrell and 88 got to racing and that was just enough for the last lap was all I needed. Probably that some reason was that 20 some odd years of experience. Well no, not really, and then when you get in a situation like that you use experience and stuff and you know where you want to be, but then when one of the other boys make a different move then you've got to throw away what you were thinking of doing and do something else, so probably really better that way because you know 20 years of experience just being able to have reflexes and that might make a lot of difference. Richard you have to feel good, there's been some people over the years, not that many that said well you know the young lines coming along and all the competition there is, but by all you ran up there with them bulldozed your way through there all day long and then came out to Victor it has to make you feel good. Well you know I'm like anybody else when the boys get the car handling good and they got it running good like today then I can race with anybody but I'm like everybody else if the car don't run but it's so good then I'm just so good and you know what makes the driver look good is a good car and that's what we had today. Well there's a man that knows what all it takes to be in Victor Lane and here he is. Well Richard Petty wins the champions spark plug 400 and he'll also win $250 from Peak Antifreeze and Coolant for the peak coolest move of the day. Well he's undoubtedly a credit to the sport over the years he's probably done more for Winston Cup stock car racing the most popular driver in the world of racing probably the petty name is known more in motor sports than any in the history of it he well deserved to win today when you beat the field he beat here this afternoon you earned your nickels that's for sure. Well going into that last couple of laps any one of those seven cars Barney could easily have been in Victor Lane. Well there were no less than seven well in the final 20 laps we had about eight cars in the lead draft right up there inches apart up to that point there had been no less than 12 all day most competitive race we've ever seen here and we keep saying every week there's no way it can be better than we saw at Talladega can't have any better finishes we just it's just that kind of sport. Well with 14 drivers swapping the lead back and forth and estimated 57 times and those are both records for this speedway Winston Cup racing has got to be the most competitive auto racing in the world and if you don't believe it after this broadcast you never will. Kale Yarborough takes on the goodies headache award the valve cover leakage problem that took them out of contention certainly Kale who was in the middle of that lead pack when they dropped the checkered flag would have been in position to win had they not had that problem. The Travel and Sportsmanship award $1,000 that's gone to rookie driver Ron Bouchard who sat on the pole and ran up front with the leaders until the engine let go in his machine. It's time for the STP World Racing Scoreboard with racing news and results from America and abroad the STP World Racing Scoreboard is presented by STP Oil Treatment around the world around the track STP Oil Treatment is number one. First on today is STP World Racing Scoreboard let's go to Woody Carson at Houston. It's time for the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the second time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first time in the first 1235s and it was Harold Payne the winner of both events. Charles Lambert finished second in the first race, Ricky C second in the second. The Winchester and Old Dominion speedways both rained out last night. Friday night's NDRA show at the log cabin raceway went to Buck Simmons with Larry Moore second. Here in Michigan this weekend Randy Sweet of Kalamazoo was the overall winner of Berlin Raceway's Saturday night. He tied the track record in qualifying. Bruce Vanderland of Grand Rapids won the first 50-lapper and Canadian Junior Hanley won the second. Greg Ecklin reports from the Midwest. Colorado driver Mike Gregg read a tightly contested field to paint the check-out flag in the Corus venture nationals at the Bellville High Banks in Kansas. Finishing right behind Gregg was Sweet of Drift as the Indian Apple is Indiana. And Stan Fox is Jamesville, Wisconsin. Fox is going for a third straight midget national battle at the High Banks half-mile track. Larry Neuber called in to report from the Springfield Illinois Fairgrounds, the USAC championship dirt cars George Snyder. Ahead of Larry Rice, Jim McElreath, Jack Hoot, and Joe Saldana. Tom Bigelow led from the pole with Snyder getting the lead on lap 66. He and Roger Rager then traded the lead over the final distance. Snyder was the winner and the sprints after Rager dropped out with mechanical problems. Bill Hill reports. The King of the Outlaw Steve Kinzer won the 21st annual Knoxville, Iowa national Saturday night for the second straight year. Kinzer had earlier in the week won the big race at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Missouri, while Point Leader Doug Wolfgang won an El Doris Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. A fast-closing Sammy Swindell finished close to Kinzer while Point Leader Wolfgang was third. This is Bill Hill for the world of Outlaws. The STP World Racing Scoreboard has been brought to you by STP gas treatment. STP does it all. That's why STP outsells them all. Local stations will run about three minutes over on today's broadcast so we can give you the complete order of finish of the Champion Spark Plug 400. A little bit of work to sort out those seven cars crossing the line in rapid fire order at the finish. We'll give you that finishing order right after we pause ten seconds for station identification. The STP Buick of Richard Petty's. It's in Victory Lane here at Michigan International Speedway, the winner of the Champion Spark Plug 400. Gerald Walter finishing second picks up a number of points on Bobby Allison in the quest for the Winston Cup. Ricky Rudd comes home third after leading with just a couple of laps to go. In fourth is Harry Gantt. Both those drivers still looking for that elusive first victory on the tour. Fifth is Buddy Baker and sixth, the Point Leader Bobby Allison. Finishing seventh was Joe Rutman. In the eighth position, Bill Elliott had a fine day for local sponsor Mel Geer. Running ninth was the Richard Childress car with Dale Earnhardt aboard. And tenth, the rookie of the race was Mike Alexander. Finishing eleventh was Dave Marcus and twelfth was Jody Ridley. Thirteenth was Johnny Rutherford. Those were the cars in the lead lap. Terry LeBoddy wound up fourteenth today, like speed was fifteenth and sixteenth was J.D. McDuffie. Seventeenth was Kale Yarbrough. Two laps down the winner of the Goodies' Headache Award. And 18th was Gary Boulou. Nineteenth, three laps off the pace was Kyle Petty. Twentieth was the 99 car for Rick Newt. Twenty first was Tommy Gail. Twenty second was Joe Boer. And twenty third was Jimmy Means. Twenty fourth spot went to Joe Milliken. Cecil Gordon was twenty fifth. And twenty sixth was James Hilton. All those cars were running at the finish. Benny Parsons finished twenty seventh. Twenty eight was Neil Bonnet. Twenty ninth was the pole sitter Ron Bouchard. In thirtieth was Tim Richmond. Thirty first was Bobby Walwack. Thirty second was Bruce Hill. Thirty third in his first winst to cup start was Bob Schacht. Thirty fourth was Morgan Shepherd. Thirty fifth was Buddy Arrington. And the thirty sixth and final position went to Dick May in the Henley Gray automobile. For Bonnie Hall, this is Mike Joy. Talk to you from Riverside in the month and two weeks. Motor Racing Network Classics is a production of the motor racing network with studios in Concord, North Carolina. Remember to visit mrn.com for all the latest news and information. Any use of the accounts or descriptions contained in this broadcast must be with the express written permission of NASCAR and the motor racing network. [MUSIC PLAYING]