1988 Miller High Life 400 (Michigan)
The 1988 Miller High Life 400 was the 14th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 20th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 26, 1988, before an audience of 70,000 in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In the final 29 laps of the race, Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace would manage to fend off against second-place driver, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott, to take his sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Bill Elliott and Junior Johnson & Associates driver Terry Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1988 Miller High Life 400 program cover, featuring Bobby Hillin Jr. and Bobby Allison. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | June 26, 1988 | ||
| Official name | 20th Annual Miller High Life 400 | ||
| Location | Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2 mi (3.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Average speed | 153.551 miles per hour (247.116 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 70,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 41.694 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Laps | 106 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, Chris Economaki | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Saturday, June 24, at 11:30 AM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, June 24, at 2:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,[5] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.
Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 41.694 and an average speed of 172.687 miles per hour (277.913 km/h) in the first round.[6][7]
Four drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 200 | 106 | running | 185 | $64,100 |
| 2 | 1 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 200 | 24 | running | 175 | $42,875 |
| 3 | 18 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 200 | 29 | running | 170 | $28,075 |
| 4 | 9 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 12 | running | 165 | $26,175 |
| 5 | 2 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | running | 155 | $20,325 |
| 6 | 11 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 3 | running | 155 | $16,000 |
| 7 | 35 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 200 | 0 | running | 146 | $14,150 |
| 8 | 4 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | 1 | running | 147 | $15,450 |
| 9 | 28 | 29 | Cale Yarborough | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 199 | 1 | running | 143 | $9,700 |
| 10 | 12 | 12 | Mike Alexander | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 199 | 0 | running | 134 | $15,950 |
| 11 | 31 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 199 | 0 | running | 130 | $10,425 |
| 12 | 10 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 199 | 0 | running | 127 | $9,950 |
| 13 | 21 | 88 | Buddy Baker | Baker–Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | 198 | 1 | running | 129 | $9,500 |
| 14 | 13 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 198 | 0 | running | 121 | $7,050 |
| 15 | 29 | 2 | Ernie Irvan (R) | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | running | 118 | $6,250 |
| 16 | 26 | 31 | Joe Ruttman | Bob Clark Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 198 | 0 | running | 115 | $6,250 |
| 17 | 32 | 10 | Ken Bouchard (R) | Whitcomb Racing | Ford | 197 | 0 | running | 112 | $4,675 |
| 18 | 39 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | running | 109 | $7,500 |
| 19 | 20 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 197 | 0 | running | 106 | $10,985 |
| 20 | 41 | 98 | Brad Noffsinger (R) | Curb Racing | Buick | 196 | 0 | running | 103 | $4,420 |
| 21 | 6 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 195 | 0 | running | 100 | $6,725 |
| 22 | 37 | 96 | Dana Patten | Patten Racing | Buick | 194 | 0 | running | 97 | $3,510 |
| 23 | 30 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 94 | $5,375 |
| 24 | 24 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 186 | 0 | running | 91 | $6,265 |
| 25 | 33 | 1 | Dale Jarrett | Ellington Racing | Buick | 183 | 0 | running | 88 | $3,255 |
| 26 | 7 | 23 | Eddie Bierschwale | B&B Racing | Oldsmobile | 174 | 0 | cylinder | 85 | $3,070 |
| 27 | 16 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 165 | 0 | engine | 82 | $11,610 |
| 28 | 34 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 158 | 0 | engine | 79 | $5,900 |
| 29 | 22 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 128 | 0 | crank | 76 | $3,715 |
| 30 | 14 | 97 | Rodney Combs | Winkle Motorsports | Buick | 126 | 0 | engine | 73 | $2,805 |
| 31 | 27 | 92 | David Sosebee | LC Racing | Ford | 124 | 0 | ignition | 0 | $2,750 |
| 32 | 25 | 68 | Derrike Cope | Testa Racing | Ford | 121 | 0 | clutch | 67 | $5,410 |
| 33 | 17 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 105 | 0 | engine | 64 | $9,650 |
| 34 | 23 | 33 | Morgan Shepherd | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 83 | 0 | engine | 61 | $5,275 |
| 35 | 3 | 28 | Davey Allison | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 70 | 23 | engine | 63 | $12,440 |
| 36 | 40 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 51 | 0 | engine | 55 | $5,185 |
| 37 | 15 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 41 | 0 | engine | 52 | $5,150 |
| 38 | 8 | 90 | Benny Parsons | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 22 | 0 | oil pump | 49 | $5,110 |
| 39 | 36 | 36 | H. B. Bailey | Bailey Racing | Pontiac | 21 | 0 | oil leak | 46 | $2,470 |
| 40 | 38 | 51 | David Simko | Simko Racing | Pontiac | 9 | 0 | engine | 0 | $2,450 |
| 41 | 19 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 2 | 0 | engine | 40 | $3,050 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 42 | 80 | Jimmy Horton (R) | S&H Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 43 | 78 | Jay Sommers | Sommers Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 44 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| 45 | 99 | Connie Saylor | Ball Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- Higgins, Tom (June 27, 1988). "Wallace Rolls To Michigan Win (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (June 27, 1988). "Wallace Rolls To Michigan Win (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 28. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Foster, Terry (June 27, 1988). "Rusty wins 400 squeaker (Part 1)". Detroit Free Press. p. 52. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Foster, Terry (June 27, 1988). "Rusty wins 400 squeaker (Part 2)". Detroit Free Press. p. 54. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. June 24, 1988. p. 24. Retrieved May 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (June 25, 1988). "Pole-Sitter Elliott Continues Michigan Mastery (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 21. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (June 25, 1988). "Pole-Sitter Elliott Continues Michigan Mastery (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 27. Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.