1971 West Virginia 500

Last updated
1971 West Virginia 500
Race details
Race 35 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Date August 8, 1971;50 years ago (1971-08-08)
Official name West Virginia 500
Location International Raceway Park, Ona, West Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.455 mi (0.732 km)
Distance 500 laps, 227.5 mi (366.1 km)
Weather Temperatures of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds of 4.1 miles per hour (6.6 km/h) [1]
Average speed 83.805 miles per hour (134.871 km/h)
Attendance 10,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Melvin Joseph
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 279
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1971 West Virginia 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 8, 1971, at International Raceway Park in Ona, West Virginia. [2] [3]

Contents

The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.

Race report

Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning 0.455 miles (0.732 km). [2] [3] The total time of the race was two hours and fifty-seven minutes. [2] The average speed of the race was 83.805 miles per hour (134.871 km/h) while the qualifying speed for the pole position was 84.053 miles per hour (135.270 km/h). [2] Ten thousand people would attend the live race to see Richard Petty defeat Bobby Allison by more than two laps. [2] [4] It was quite the battle between Petty and Allison during the course of the race. Petty beat on Allison all night and at one point pinned Allison against the wall so hard that both cars came to a stop. [2] [4] There was a grid of 32 competitors; [2] only 14 of them were counted as finishing the race. [5]

Notable crew chiefs to participate in this race were Dale Inman, Vic Ballard, and Lee Gordon. [6]

Jerry Churchill decided to quit the race after the first lap; giving him a meager $300 paycheck ($1,917 in current US dollars). [2] [3] [4] Bill Shirey would also quit on lap 31; earning the same amount that Churchill did. [2] [3] Bill Seifert would leave the race on lap 187 due to a legitimate illness brought on by dehydration in the West Virginia summertime heat. [2] [3]

No replacement was found and he brought home $330 from his hard day of racing ($2,109 in today's American dollars). [2] [3]

Qualifying

GridNo.DriverManufacturer
149Bobby Allison'70 Mustang
243Richard Petty'71 Plymouth
364Elmo Langley'71 Ford
414Jim Paschal'70 Javelin
548James Hylton'71 Ford
655Tiny Lund'70 Camaro
733Joe Dean Huss'69 Camaro
811Junior Spencer'69 Camaro
987Buck Baker'71 Firebird
1006Neil Castles'70 Dodge
1110Bill Champion'70 Ford
1286David Ray Boggs'71 Firebird
1345Bill Seifert'69 Ford
1424Cecil Gordon'69 Mercury
1515Wayne Andrews'71 Mustang
1626Earl Brooks'69 Ford
1741Gary Myers'70 Mustang
1819Henley Gray'69 Ford
1994Al Straub'71 Mustang
205Pee Wee Wentz'69 Camaro
2178Paul Tyler'69 Camaro
227Jimmy Vaughn'69 Camaro
233Charlie Glotzbach'71 Chevrolet
2474Bill Shirey'69 Plymouth
2530Walter Ballard'71 Ford
2625Jabe Thomas'70 Plymouth
2734Wendell Scott'69 Ford
2870Wendell Scott'69 Mercury
2947Raymond Williams'71 Ford
302Randy Hutchinson'71 Camaro

Finishing order

  1. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  2. Bobby Allison (No. 49)
  3. James Hylton† (No. 48)
  4. Tiny Lund† (No. 55)
  5. Cecil Gordon† (No. 24)
  6. Jim Paschal*† (No. 14)
  7. Gary Myers (No. 41)
  8. Walter Ballard (No. 30)
  9. Bill Champion† (No. 10)
  10. Jabe Thomas† (No. 25)
  11. Earl Brooks† (No. 26)
  12. J.D. McDuffie† (No. 70)
  13. Wendell Scott† (No. 34)
  14. David Ray Boggs (No. 86)
  15. Joe Dean Huss (No. 33)
  16. Buck Baker*† (No. 87)
  17. Randy Hutchinson* (No. 2)
  18. Neil Castles* (No. 06)
  19. Jimmy Vaughn* (No. 7)
  20. John Sears*† (No. 4)
  21. Gordon Birkett* (No. 50)
  22. Ed Negre*† (No. 8)
  23. Wayne Andrews* (No. 15)
  24. Bill Seifert* (No. 45)
  25. Elmo Langley*† (No. 64)
  26. Junior Spencer* (No. 11)
  27. Charlie Glotzbach* (No. 3)
  28. Pee Wee Wentz* (No. 5)
  29. Raymond Williams* (No. 47)
  30. Al Straub* (No. 94)
  31. Frank Warren* (No. 79)
  32. Bill Shirey* (No. 74)
  33. Henley Gray* (No. 19)
  34. Paul Tyler* (No. 78)
  35. Jerry Churchill*† (No. 73)

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

Related Research Articles

1971 Daytona 500 Auto race held at Daytona International Speedway in 1971

The 1971 Daytona 500, the 13th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on February 14, 1971 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Spanning 500 miles (800 km) on the paved oval track, it was the first Daytona 500 in the Winston Cup era of NASCAR. During this time, Richard Petty was becoming one of the winningest veterans on the NASCAR circuit.

1971 Motor Trend 500 Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1971

The 1971 Motor Trend 500 was the first race in NASCAR's Winston Cup era 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).

The 1971 Islip 250 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that was conducted on July 15, 1971, at Islip Speedway in Islip, New York

1971 Delaware 500 Auto race run in Delaware in 1971

The 1971 Delaware 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 17, 1971, at Dover Downs International Speedway.

The 1970 Georgia 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on November 8, 1970, at Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia.

1969 National 500 Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1969

The 1969 National 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series stock car race that was held on October 12, 1969, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This race is still being held in today's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series as the 'Bank of America 500'.

The 1970 Greenville 200 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on June 27, 1970, at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina.

The 1971 Myers Brothers 250 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place on August 6, 1971, at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This race was the final NASCAR Cup Series event at Bowman Gray Stadium.

1973 Gwyn Staley 400 Auto race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1973

The 1973 Gwyn Staley 400 was a NASCAR NASCAR Cup Series racing event that took place at North Wilkesboro Speedway on April 8, 1973, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

1972 Texas 500 Auto race run held at Texas World Speedway in 1972

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.

1972 Carolina 500 Auto race held at North Carolina Motor Speedway in 1972

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.

1972 Old Dominion 500 Auto race held at Martinsville Speedway in 1972

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.

1973 Tuborg 400 Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1973

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.

1980 Richmond 400 Auto race held at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1980

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.

1972 Northern 300 Auto race held at Trenton Speedway in 1972

The 1972 Northern 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 16, 1972, at Trenton Speedway in Trenton, New Jersey.

1971 Volunteer 500 Auto race held at Bristol International Speedway in 1971

The 1971 Volunteer 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 11, 1971, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

1971 National 500 Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1971

The 1971 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 10, 1971, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Most of the vehicles used in the race had a rating of 427 cubic inches.

The 1971 Asheville 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 21, 1971, at New Asheville Speedway in Asheville, North Carolina.

The 1971 Kingsport 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 23, 1971, at Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, Tennessee.

1970 Rebel 400 Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1970

The 1970 Rebel 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on May 9, 1970, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. The race is known for a crash involving Richard Petty that inspired NASCAR to implement the window net; a mandatory safety feature in today's NASCAR vehicles.

References

  1. ↑ "1971 West Virginia 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "1971 West Virginia 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1971 West Virginia 500 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  4. 1 2 3 "1971 West Virginia 500 information (third reference)". Everything Stock Car. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  5. ↑ "Petty Laps Allison To Win West Virginia 500". West Virginia Culture. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  6. ↑ "1971 West Virginia 500 crew chiefs". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1971		Succeeded by
Preceded by Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.