The 1987 Miller American 400 was the 14th stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 19th iteration of the event.

With the victory, Earnhardt was able to increase his driver's championship lead over Bill Elliott by 304 points.

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.

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).

Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 42.168 and an average speed of 170.746 miles per hour (274.789 km/h) in the first round.