The 1971 Motor Trend 500 was the first race in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

era (also known as the Winston Cup Grand National Series) that took place on January 10, 1971. 191 laps on a

road course Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily closed publi ...

Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riversid ...

in Riverside,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

that spanned a total distance of . Attendance was estimated at 23,000. It took four hours, fifty-seven minutes, and fifty-five seconds. Due to a then-struggling economy, both

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

cut back on factory support for the

1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season began on January 10 and ended on November 20. Richard Petty was the champion for this Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup season. After 20 years of being named the ''NASCAR Grand National Series'', R. J. Rey ...

season. NASCAR would also limit engines in the aerodynamic superspeedway cars to 305 cubic inches starting in this race.

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. The average speed was while the pole speed was . 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). Elder became the first winner in NASCAR's "modern" history. Only 11 cars finished this 5-hour marathon. The 8th-place finisher was 22 laps down, and the 11th-place finisher dropped out with 34 laps to go. The top prize at this race was $18,715 ($ when adjusted for inflation) and the prize for finishing last (40th) was $1,015 ($ when adjusted for inflation).

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...

competed in this race but failed to finish; he would end up in 20th after starting from the pole position. The majority of the drivers who failed to finish had an

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

problem. 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.

Harry Hyde Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired t ...

and

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/ Winston Cup Series crew chief. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three decades. They won 188 races and seven championsh ...

were notable crew chiefs for this event; working for Richard Petty (Inman) and fourth-place finisher Bobby Isaac (Hyde). At the end of the race, the margin between Elder and Bobby Allison was ten and a half seconds. Ray Elder would score the first of his two NASCAR cup victories here (with his second victory taking place at the 1972 Golden State 400). 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.

Qualifying

Finishing order

# Ray Elder #

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an 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 ...

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) 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, an ...

Bobby Isaac Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most ...

James Hylton James Harvey Hylton (August 26, 1934 – April 28, 2018) was an American stock car racing driver. He was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series. Hylton finished secon ...

Friday Hassler Raymond Lee "Friday" Hassler (July 29, 1935 – February 17, 1972) was a NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver. Career Hassler made his debut in 1960 but only drove a handful of races per year until 1967 when he drove 21 of the 49 ...

# Kevin Terris # Carl Joiner # Henley Gray #

Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing, stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race ...

# G.T. Tallas #

Hershel McGriff Hershel Eldridge McGriff Sr. (born December 14, 1927) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A long-time competitor in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, formerly known as the Winston West Series, he won the series' 1986 championship, a ...

# Bob England # Dick Kranzler #

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

Dick Bown Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat * '' ...

# Elmo Langley # Jack McCoy # Ron Gautsche #

# John Soares, Jr. #

Frank James Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate American Civil War, soldier and Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War, guerrilla; in the Reconstruction era, post-Civil War p ...

# Ron Grable #

Dick Guldstrad Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat * '' D ...

# Jimmy Insolo # Bill Champion # Bob Kauf # Paul Dorrity # Jerry Oliver # Frank Warren # Mike Pittelkow # Ray Johnstone # Don Noel # Glenn Francis #

David Pearson David or Dave Pearson may refer to: * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), British librarian and scholar * David Pearson (racing driver) (1934–2018), American car racing champion * David Pearson (geologist) (born 1942), Canadian scientist, acad ...

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

# Harry Schilling # Roy Collins # Ivan Baldwin # Pat Fay

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Richard Petty had the lead position as the green flag was waved. * Lap 4: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 5: David Pearson took over the lead from Bobby Allison. * Lap 21: Joe Clark's vehicle developed transmission issues. * Lap 25: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson. * Lap 36: Ray Johnstone had a terminal crash. * Lap 38: Problems with the vehicle's clutch ended Mike Kittlekow's day on the track. * Lap 40: Frank Warren developed terminal issues with his transmission. * Lap 56: Bob Kauf's vehicle had a terminal transmission issue which knocked him out of the race. * Lap 58: Bill Champion's vehicle had a terminal transmission issue which knocked him out of the race. * Lap 76: Dick Guldstrad managed to lose a frame out of his vehicle, making his car too unsafe for further racing. * Lap 84: Ray Elder took over the lead from Richard Petty. * Lap 97: Frank James developed a faulty transmission in his vehicle. * Lap 107: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Ray Elder. * Lap 118: A faulty lug bolt ended Ron Gaustche's race. * Lap 120: Ray Elder took over the lead from Bobby Allison. * Lap 133: Steering issues brought Dick Bown's day on the track to a premature halt. * Lap 136: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Ray Elder. * Lap 150: Ray Elder took over the lead from Bobby Allison. * Lap 155: Bob England managed to render his vehicle's engine non-functional. * Lap 156: Hershel McGriff ruined the ignition of his vehicle by driving at high speeds. * Lap 157: G.T. Tallas managed to render his vehicle's engine non-functional. * Lap 166: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Ray Elder. * Lap 180: Ray Elder took over the lead from Bobby Allison. * Finish: Ray Elder was officially declared the winner of the event.

References

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Motor Trend 500 The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, United States, in January, and then in later years, November. From 1963 to 1981, the race was held in January and was ...

NASCAR races at Riverside International Raceway