Race details [1] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 1 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
Date | January 10, 1971 | ||
Official name | Motor Trend 500 | ||
Location | Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California | ||
Course | Permanent racing facility 2.700 mi (4.345 km) | ||
Distance | 191 laps, 500 mi (806 km) | ||
Weather | Chilly with temperatures of 64 °F (18 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
Average speed | 100.783 miles per hour (162.195 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 23,000 [2] | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Petty Enterprises | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Ray Elder | Fred Elder | |
Laps | 67 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 96 | Ray Elder | Fred Elder | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | untelevised | ||
Announcers | none |
The 1971 Motor Trend 500 was the first race in NASCAR's Winston Cup era (also known as the Winston Cup Grand National Series) that took place on January 10, 1971. 191 laps on a road course at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California that spanned a total distance of 2.620 miles (4.216 km). [2]
Attendance was estimated at 23,000. It took four hours, fifty-seven minutes, and fifty-five seconds. [2]
Due to a then-struggling economy, both Ford and Chevrolet cut back on factory support for the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. [3] NASCAR would also limit engines in the aerodynamic superspeedway cars to 305 cubic inches starting in this race. [3]
Defending NASCAR Grand National West series champion Ray Elder won the race; making it the first time that the 500-mile event at Riverside was won by a manufacturer other than Ford. [2] The average speed was 100.783 miles per hour (162.195 km/h) while the pole speed was 107.084 miles per hour (172.335 km/h). This race was the final NASCAR Cup Series event with triple-digit numbered cars; with three of them qualifying for the race. (Kittlekow #107, Schilling #148, Collins #177). [2] Elder became the first winner in NASCAR's "modern" history.
Only 11 cars finished this 5-hour marathon. [2] The 8th-place finisher was 22 laps down, and the 11th-place finisher dropped out with 34 laps to go. [2] The top prize at this race was $18,715 ($125,223 when adjusted for inflation) and the prize for finishing last (40th) was $1,015 ($6,791 when adjusted for inflation). [2] Richard Petty competed in this race but failed to finish; he would end up in 20th after starting from the pole position. [2] The majority of the drivers who failed to finish had an engine problem. [2] 43-year-old Hershel McGriff entered and raced a Cup race for the first time since 1954, when he won a Grand National race at North Wilkesboro in an Oldsmobile, back when he was 26. McGriff would qualify in 8th and finish 12th. [2]
Harry Hyde and Dale Inman were notable crew chiefs for this event; working for Richard Petty (Inman) and fourth-place finisher Bobby Isaac (Hyde). [4]
At the end of the race, the margin between Elder and Bobby Allison was ten and a half seconds. [2] Ray Elder would score the first of his two NASCAR cup victories here [2] (with his second victory taking place at the 1972 Golden State 400 [5] ). This race was Ron Grable's only start in the NASCAR Cup series and that G.T. Tallas finished the race with his career best of 11th place.
Grid [2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 43 | Richard Petty | '70 Plymouth |
2 | 12 | Bobby Allison | '70 Dodge |
3 | 96 | Ray Elder | '70 Dodge |
4 | 71 | Bobby Isaac | '71 Dodge |
5 | 48 | James Hylton | '70 Ford |
6 | 02 | Dick Bown | '70 Plymouth |
7 | 72 | Benny Parsons | '69 Ford |
8 | 04 | Hershel McGriff | '70 Plymouth |
9 | 39 | Friday Hassler | '69 Chevrolet |
10 | 32 | Kevin Terris | '70 Plymouth |
11 | 38 | Jimmy Insolo | '69 Chevrolet |
12 | 10 | Bill Champion | '69 Ford |
13 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | '69 Ford |
14 | 44 | Dick Guldstrand | '68 Chevrolet |
15 | 08 | John Soares, Jr. | '70 Plymouth |
16 | 17 | David Pearson | '70 Ford |
17 | 19 | Henley Gray | '69 Ford |
18 | 88 | Don Noel | '70 Ford |
19 | 64 | Elmo Langley | '69 Mercury |
20 | 83 | Joe Clark | '69 Chevrolet |
21 | 99 | Pat Fay | '71 Ford |
22 | 26 | Carl Joiner, Jr. | '69 Chevrolet |
23 | 6 | Jerry Oliver | '70 Oldsmobile |
24 | 95 | Bob Kauf | '69 Chevrolet |
25 | 15 | Paul Dorrity | '71 Chevrolet |
26 | 82 | Ron Gautsche | '69 Ford |
27 | 4 | Dick Kranzler | '70 Chevrolet |
28 | 07 | Ivan Baldwin | '69 Chevrolet |
29 | 23 | G.T. Tallas | '69 Ford |
30 | 00 | Frank James | '69 Chevrolet |
31 | 7 | Jack McCoy | '70 Dodge |
32 | 77 | Ray Johnstone | '69 Plymouth |
33 | 5 | Ron Grable | '70 Ford |
34 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | '69 Mercury |
35 | 148 | Harry Schilling | '69 Dodge |
36 | 177 | Roy Collins | '69 Dodge |
37 | 79 | Frank Warren | '69 Plymouth |
38 | 108 | Mike Pittelkow | '69 Chevrolet |
39 | 33 | Glenn Francis | '70 Chevrolet |
40 | 18 | Bob England | '70 Chevrolet |
Section reference: [2]
The 1971 Miller High Life 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.
The 1967 Capital City 300 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 10, 1967, at Virginia State Fairgrounds in Richmond, Virginia. Until the 2020 The Real Heroes 400, this was the last race to have a random draw for the pole position.
The 1971 Delaware 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 17, 1971, at Dover Downs International Speedway.
The 1969 Motor Trend 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on February 1, 1969, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
The 1970 Motor Trend 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on January 18, 1970, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
The 1975 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 5, 1975, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
The 1972 Texas 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 12, 1972, at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas.
The 1972 Carolina 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on March 12, 1972, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.
The 1972 Miller High Life 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on March 5, 1972, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.
The 1972 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on September 24, 1972, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.
The 1973 Tuborg 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on June 17, 1973, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
The 1976 Riverside 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 13, 1976, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. The California 150 for sportsman cars was run prior to this race. The winner was Ivan Baldwin followed by Dan Clark and Jim Sanderson.
The 1980 Richmond 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on February 24, 1980, at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.
The 1976 Los Angeles Times 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 21, 1976, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. Each copy of the souvenir program was $2.
The 1979 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 14, 1979, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. Buying a souvenir program at this race was relatively inexpensive for the era at $2 USD per copy.
The 1971 World 600, the 12th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 30, 1971, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It marked the return of Chevrolet to NASCAR.
The 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 4, 1973, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The 1975 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 19, 1975, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. A companion race known as the Permatex 200, in the Late Model Sportsmen Series, would be held one day prior to this event on the same track.
The 1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that occurred on June 9, 1991, at Sears Point International Raceway in the American community of Sonoma, California.
The 1972 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held on October 22, 1972, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. While not televised, the 1972 American 500 was covered by local radio stations WAYN-AM and WEEB-AM.