Los Angeles Times 500

Los Angeles Times 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Venue	Ontario Motor Speedway
Corporate sponsor	Los Angeles Times
First race	1971
Last race	1980
Distance	500 miles (805 km)
Laps	200
Previous names	Miller High Life 500 (1971–1972); Los Angeles Times 500 (1974–1980)

Last updated July 11, 2022

The Los Angeles Times 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, United States, in February from 1971 to 1972 and in November from 1974 to 1980.

Past winners

Year	Date	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
Year	Date	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Miles (km)	Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
1971	February 28	21	A. J. Foyt	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	200	500 (804.672)	3:43:36	134.168	Report	^[1]
1972	March 5	21	A. J. Foyt	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	200	500 (804.672)	3:56:04	127.082	Report	^[2]
1973	March 4	Not held
1974	November 24	12	Bobby Allison	Penske Racing	AMC	200	500 (804.672)	3:42:17	134.963	Report	^[3]
1975	November 23	15	Buddy Baker	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	200	500 (804.672)	3:33:12	140.712	Report	^[4]
1976	November 21	21	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	200	500 (804.672)	3:38:49	137.101	Report	^[5]
1977	November 20	5	Neil Bonnett	Jim Stacy	Dodge	200	500 (804.672)	3:53:50	128.296	Report	^[6]
1978	November 19	15	Bobby Allison	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	200	500 (804.672)	3:37:44	137.783	Report	^[7]
1979	November 18	27	Benny Parsons	M.C. Anderson Racing	Chevrolet	200	500 (804.672)	3:45:52	132.822	Report	^[8]
1980	November 15	27	Benny Parsons	M.C. Anderson Racing	Chevrolet	200	500 (804.672)	3:51:46	129.441	Report	^[9]

Multiple winners (drivers)

# Wins	Driver	Years Won	Ref(s)
2	A. J. Foyt	1971, 1972	^[1]^[2]
	Bobby Allison	1974, 1978	^[3]^[7]
	Benny Parsons	1979, 1980	^[8]^[9]

Multiple winners (teams)

# Wins	Team	Years Won	Ref(s)
3	Wood Brothers Racing	1971, 1972, 1976	^[1]^[2]^[5]
2	Bud Moore Engineering	1975, 1978	^[4]^[7]
2	M.C. Anderson Racing	1979, 1980	^[8]^[9]

Manufacturer wins

# Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won	Ref(s)
3	Mercury	1971, 1972, 1976	^[1]^[2]^[5]
2	Ford	1975, 1978	^[4]^[7]
2	Chevrolet	1979, 1980	^[8]^[9]
1	AMC	1974	^[3]
1	Dodge	1977	^[6]

Notes

Ontario's first two NASCAR 500s were run in late February and early March and both were won by A. J. Foyt in the Wood Brothers Mercury. Foyt's 1972 win was his final NASCAR-sanctioned win. The purse for these races were $180,200 and $175,345 respectively, surpassing the Daytona 500's as the highest in the series.
Ownership changes at Ontario Motor Speedway kept the scheduled March 4, 1973 NASCAR event from running.
Bobby Allison won the 1974 running for Roger Penske's first win on a NASCAR oval; Allison was fined nearly $10,000 after the race when postrace inspection discovered unapproved valve lifters.
David Pearson led the final 120 laps in a runaway win in 1976; it was his tenth big-track win of the season.
Bonnett's 1977 win was his first on a superspeedway and the last for the Dodge marque until 2001. Dodges finished 1-2 as Richard Petty skidded through Turn Four in a last-lap bid for the win.
Janet Guthrie in 1977 would lead five laps under caution it was the first time a woman led a lap in Cup Series, and it would not happen again until 2013 when a woman would lead laps in a race in Cup Series.
Bobby Allison posted his fifth win of 1978 in the Times 500. Richard Petty engaged Allison and others in a huge battle for the lead in the first half of the race, driving a Chevrolet, before blowing his engine. Cale Yarborough pitted on the pace lap with distributor problems but rallied to finish third.
The 1979 500 was the race that clinched the seventh driving title for Richard Petty, while the 1980 500 clinched the first driving title for Dale Earnhardt. Benny Parsons won both times. The 1980 race also was contested on a Saturday.
The 500 was a combination race between Winston Cup and NASCAR's Winston West series. The Winston West series staged two stand-alone races at Ontario — on May 15, 1977, Gary Johnson edged Bill Schmitt in the Winston 250, while on April 13, 1980, Canadian racer Roy Smith passed Schmitt with eleven laps to go to win the Datsun 200.
Ontario also hosted double-header races, the Datsun Twin 200, for Indy cars and stock cars under United States Auto Club sanction, which also drew numerous NASCAR competitors. On March 6, 1977 Jimmy Insolo edged Bobby Unser and A. J. Foyt in the stock car 200; on March 26, 1978, Foyt led 71 of 80 laps to beat Jim Thirkettle and Insolo; on March 25, 1979, Foyt beat Joe Ruttman and Rusty Wallace for the 200-mile win.

Related Research Articles

Richard Lee Petty, nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times, while also winning a record 200 races during his career. This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races in one season (1967). Statistically, he is the most accomplished driver in the history of the sport, and is one of the most respected figures in motorsports as a whole. Petty remains very active in the sport as both a NASCAR team owner in the Cup Series, and owner of Petty's Garage in Level Cross, North Carolina.

Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won several major sports car racing events. He holds the USAC career wins record with 159 victories, and the American championship racing career wins record with 67.

Robert Arthur Allison is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks with high purses. Allison raced competitively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1961 to 1988, while regularly competing in short track events throughout his career. He also raced in IndyCar, Trans-Am, and Can-Am. Named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers and a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, he was the 1983 Winston Cup champion and won the Daytona 500 in 1978, 1982, and 1988.

Benny Parsons American racecar driver and journalist

Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, and was a 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. He was the older brother of former NASCAR driver car owner and broadcaster Phil Parsons of Phil Parsons Racing.

The 1976 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Series was the 28th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 5th modern era NASCAR Cup series. The season began on Sunday, January 18 and ended on Sunday, November 21. Cale Yarborough, driving the #11 Junior Johnson Holly Farms Chevrolet scored his first of three consecutive NASCAR Grand National Series Winston Cup Championships. Skip Manning was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

The Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place in November at the North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 2003. It was the first NASCAR Cup Series victory for three drivers including Mark Martin in 1989, Ward Burton in 1995, and Johnny Benson in 2002. It was the final race win for Bill Elliott in 2003.

The 1977 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Series was the 29th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 6th modern era NASCAR Cup series. The season began on Sunday, January 16 and ended on Sunday, November 20. Cale Yarborough driving the Junior Johnson #11 Holly Farms Chevrolet won his second consecutive NASCAR Grand National Series Winston Cup Championship. Ricky Rudd was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

The 1978 Daytona 500, the 20th running of the event, was the second race of the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was held on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Defending winner Cale Yarborough won the pole and Bobby Allison won the race.

The 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season began on Sunday January 10 and ended on Sunday November 20. Richard Petty was the champion for this Winston Cup season. After 20 years of being named the NASCAR Grand National Series, R. J. Reynolds first became the primary sponsor in a decade where the growing anti-tobacco movement banned its advertisement on television and motorsports was the ideal place to place their advertisements. Through NASCAR, Winston merchandise was unveiled to live viewers of the races. This kind of merchandise would also be given out at stores that sold cigarettes in subsequent years. Race car drivers were encouraged to smoke cigarettes until the mid-2000s brought in strict drug testing policies in addition to a smoking cessation program by Nicorette, a GlaxoSmithKline brand.

The 1972 Daytona 500, the 14th running of the event, was held on February 20, 1972, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. A. J. Foyt, driving a 1971 Mercury, won the race.

The 1971 Miller High Life 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.

The 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 24th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 1st modern-era NASCAR Cup series season. The season began on Sunday January 23 and ended on Sunday November 12. Richard Petty won his second consecutive Winston Cup Championship and fourth overall. Larry Smith was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

The 1975 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Series was the 27th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 4th season in the modern era of the NASCAR Cup series. The season began on Sunday, January 19 and ended on Sunday, November 12. Richard Petty, driving the #43 Petty Enterprises STP Dodge scored his sixth NASCAR Grand National Series Winston Cup Championship. Bruce Hill was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year. NASCAR introduced a new points system for 1975, a system designed by statistician Bob Latford. For the first time, each race on the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National schedule carried an equal point value, a system that would be used for 36 seasons, from 1975 to 2010. The original points system ran for the first 29 seasons, from 1975 to 2003.

The 1978 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Series was the 30th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 7th modern era NASCAR Cup series. The season began on Sunday, January 22 and ended on Sunday, November 19. Cale Yarborough driving the Junior Johnson #11 First National City Travelers Checks Oldsmobile won his then record third consecutive NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Winston Cup. Ronnie Thomas was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year in a tight battle with Roger Hamby.

The 1975 Los Angeles Times 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 23, 1975, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.

1972 Miller High Life 500 Auto race held at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1972

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.

1976 Los Angeles Times 500 Auto race held at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1976

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 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 1977 Wilkes 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on October 2, 1977, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

The 1977 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 1, 1977, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama. The tenth of 30 races of the 1977 Winston Cup Grand National season, the Winston 500 started 41 cars.

References

1 2 3 4 "1971 Miller High Life 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 3 4 "1972 Miller High Life 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 3 "1974 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 3 "1975 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 3 "1976 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 "1977 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 3 4 "1978 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 3 4 "1979 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
1 2 3 4 "1980 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

External links

Ontario Motor Speedway race results at Racing-Reference

This NASCAR-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to sports in California is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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.

[1971R-1] 1 2 3 4 "1971 Miller High Life 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1972R-2] 1 2 3 4 "1972 Miller High Life 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1974R-3] 1 2 3 "1974 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1975R-4] 1 2 3 "1975 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1976R-5] 1 2 3 "1976 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1977R-6] 1 2 "1977 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1978R-7] 1 2 3 4 "1978 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1979R-8] 1 2 3 4 "1979 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1980R-9] 1 2 3 4 "1980 Los Angeles Times 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]