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]
Race report
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 (162.195km/h) while the pole speed was 107.084 miles per hour (172.335km/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 ($140,801 when adjusted for inflation) and the prize for finishing last (40th) was $1,015 ($7,636 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.
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