The 1977 Firecracker 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 4, 1977, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
For the first time since 1949, three women raced in an official NASCAR Cup Series race: Italian Lella Lombardi, Belgian Christine Beckers, and American Janet Guthrie. One driver scored one-seventh of a point in one season (for sharing a fastest lap, recorded only down to the second, with six others) but scored 51 more in other years.
Race report A racing grid of 41 drivers competed in this race; including Belgian driver Christine Beckers and Italian Lella Lombardi. D.K. Ulrich would finish last due to an engine problem on the fourth lap. Janet Guthrie was the only American-born female driver on the grid. While A. J. Foyt, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip would lead the opening laps of the race, Donnie Allison and Richard Petty would fight it out for supremacy in the crucial final laps.1977 Firecracker 400 racing information at Racing Reference
Lombardi and Beckers were invited by NASCAR with the idea to pit the three women against each other on the track. Lella Lombardi and Christine Beckers raced as teammates in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing just outside the top-10 in their Ford-powered entry, three weeks before this race then raced against each other here.
Richard Petty would go on to defeat Darrell Waltrip by 18 seconds in front of 65,000 people; marking the final win for Richard Petty in his trusty 1974 Dodge Charger. Engine problems knocked most of the drivers out of the race. Neil Bonnett would win the pole position with a qualifying speed of while the speed of the race was .
There was two-hour rain delay two laps before halfway. There was a storm covering from the tri-oval over the first and second turns for about two hours while the third and fourth turns were in sunshine due to the incessant hot and humid weather of Florida during the summer months.
Most of the vehicles at this event were Dodge or Chevrolet with some Ford vehicles and a single entry by an AMC Matador. Winnings for this race ranged from $19,075 ($ when adjusted for inflation) for the winner to $1,390 for last-place. ($ when adjusted for inflation).1977 Firecracker 400 racing information at Driver Averages Ramo Stott would retire from professional stock car racing after this event.1977 Firecracker 400 racing information at Race Database
Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 5 Neil Bonnett Dodge Jim Stacy 2 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet Junior Johnson 3 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet L.G. DeWitt 4 36 Ron Hutcherson Chevrolet John Gwinn 5 43 Richard Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises 6 51 A.J. Foyt Chevrolet A.J. Foyt 7 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet M.C. Anderson 8 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet Hoss Ellington 9 12 Bobby Allison Matador Bobby Allison 10 81 Terry Ryan Chevrolet Bill Monaghan
Results POS ST # DRIVER SPONSOR / OWNER CAR LAPS MONEY STATUS LEDPTS 1 5 43 Richard Petty STP (Petty Enterprises) Dodge 160 23075 running 95185 2 12 88 Darrell Waltrip Gatorade (DiGard Racing) Chevrolet 160 16350 running 21175 3 3 72 Benny Parsons 1st National City Travelers Checks (L.G. DeWitt) Chevrolet 160 12300 running 1170 4 14 21 David Pearson Purolator (Wood Brothers) Mercury 160 6900 running 0160 5 6 51 A.J. Foyt Gilmore (A.J. Foyt) Chevrolet 160 4700 running 4 6 8 1 Donnie Allison Hawaiian Tropic (Hoss Ellington) Chevrolet 160 4570 running 12155 7 32 15 Buddy Baker Norris Industries (Bud Moore) Ford 160 6670 running 0146 8 1 5 Neil Bonnett Pocahontas Group (Jim Stacy) Dodge 158 4020 running 1147 9 30 90 Dick Brooks Truxmore (Junie Donlavey) Ford 157 5220 running 0138 10 7 27 Sam Sommers M.C. Anderson Chevrolet 156 3570 running 0134112624 Cecil GordonBurger King (Cecil Gordon)Chevrolet1544820running0130121081 Terry RyanValvoline (Bill Monaghan)Chevrolet1542370running0127132514 Coo Coo MarlinCunningham-Kelley (H.B. Cunningham)Chevrolet1542270running0124143449 G.C. SpencerLady & Son Auction (G.C. Spencer)Dodge1542195running012115386 Jim HurtubiseMoran Electric (Ray Emerson)Chevrolet1542065running0118162192 Skip Manning1st National City Travelers Checks (Billy Hagan)Chevrolet1535195running011517912 Bobby Allison1st National City Travelers Checks (Bobby Allison)Matador1523935running13117181575 Butch HartmanHartman Autocar (Butch Hartman)Chevrolet1521765running010919273 Richard ChildressBlack Gold Oil (Richard Childress)Chevrolet1513475running0106202352 Jimmy MeansMarianne II (Bill Gray)Chevrolet1512805running0103213579 Frank WarrenNative Tan (Frank Warren)Dodge1492845running0100222867 Buddy ArringtonPagoda Motel (Buddy Arrington)Dodge1482535running09723211 Cale YarboroughHolly Farms (Junior Johnson)Chevrolet1462350running1399242270 J.D. McDuffieJ.D. McDuffieChevrolet1432350engine091254045 Baxter PriceBaxter PriceChevrolet1421165running088261841 Grant AdcoxAdcox-Kirby (Herb Adcox)Chevrolet1341140running085271330 Tighe ScottScotty's Fashions (Walter Ballard)Chevrolet1232015engine082283391 Harold MillerBartow Paving (Harold Miller)Chevrolet1181140running07929436 Ron HutchersonEncyclopedia Britannica (John Gwinn)Chevrolet1171805engine0301147 Bruce Hillt. edwards (Bruce Hill)Chevrolet1111040engine073312905 Lella LombardiBearfinder (Charles Dean)Chevrolet103785rear end0321960 Ramo StottLou ViglioneChevrolet81990engine067331654 Lennie PondU.S. Army (Ronnie Elder)Chevrolet571595steering064343916 David SiscoBath World (David Sisco)Chevrolet561560engine06135319 Bill ElliottDahlonega Ford Sales (George Elliott)Ford46915overheating058361722 Ricky RuddAl Rudd Auto Parts (Al Rudd)Chevrolet45910transmission055373793 Christine Beckerst. edwards-Genre (Junie Donlavey)Ford33695brakes0383664 Tommy GaleSunny King Ford & Honda (Elmo Langley)Ford331500engine049392448 James HyltonKansas Jack (James Hylton)Chevrolet241470rear end046402068 Janet GuthrieKelly Girl (Lynda Ferreri)Chevrolet11890engine043414140 D.K. UlrichHair Shack (J.R. DeLotto)Chevrolet41390engine040
Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Cale Yarborough 2630 0 2 Richard Petty 2613 -17 3 Benny Parsons 2426 -206 4 Darrell Waltrip 2315 -315 5 Buddy Baker 2196 -434 6 Dick Brooks 1992 -638 7 Cecil Gordon 1933 -697 8 Richard Childress 1851 -779 9 David Pearson 1809 -821 10 James Hylton 1726 -904
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