1971 Motor Trend 500

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]

1971 Motor Trend 500
Race details[1]
Race 1 of 48 in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version)
Layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version)
Date January 10, 1971 (1971-January-10)
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 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

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 (162.195 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 ($135,234 when adjusted for inflation) and the prize for finishing last (40th) was $1,015 ($7,334 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.

Qualifying
Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 43Richard Petty'70 Plymouth
2 12Bobby Allison'70 Dodge
3 96Ray Elder'70 Dodge
4 71Bobby Isaac'71 Dodge
5 48James Hylton'70 Ford
6 02Dick Bown'70 Plymouth
7 72Benny Parsons'69 Ford
8 04Hershel McGriff'70 Plymouth
9 39Friday Hassler'69 Chevrolet
10 32Kevin Terris'70 Plymouth
11 38Jimmy Insolo'69 Chevrolet
12 10Bill Champion'69 Ford
13 24Cecil Gordon'69 Ford
14 44Dick Guldstrand'68 Chevrolet
15 08John Soares, Jr.'70 Plymouth
16 17David Pearson'70 Ford
17 19Henley Gray'69 Ford
18 88Don Noel'70 Ford
19 64Elmo Langley'69 Mercury
20 83Joe Clark'69 Chevrolet
21 99Pat Fay'71 Ford
22 26Carl Joiner, Jr.'69 Chevrolet
23 6Jerry Oliver'70 Oldsmobile
24 95Bob Kauf'69 Chevrolet
25 15Paul Dorrity'71 Chevrolet
26 82Ron Gautsche'69 Ford
27 4Dick Kranzler'70 Chevrolet
28 07Ivan Baldwin'69 Chevrolet
29 23G.T. Tallas'69 Ford
30 00Frank James'69 Chevrolet
31 7Jack McCoy'70 Dodge
32 77Ray Johnstone'69 Plymouth
33 5Ron Grable'70 Ford
34 70J.D. McDuffie'69 Mercury
35 148Harry Schilling'69 Dodge
36 177Roy Collins'69 Dodge
37 79Frank Warren'69 Plymouth
38 108Mike Pittelkow'69 Chevrolet
39 33Glenn Francis'70 Chevrolet
40 18Bob England'70 Chevrolet

Finishing order
  1. Ray Elder
  2. Bobby Allison
  3. Benny Parsons
  4. Bobby Isaac
  5. James Hylton
  6. Friday Hassler
  7. Kevin Terris
  8. Carl Joiner
  9. Henley Gray
  10. Cecil Gordon
  11. G.T. Tallas
  12. Hershel McGriff
  13. Bob England
  14. Dick Kranzler
  15. J.D. McDuffie
  16. Dick Bown
  17. Elmo Langley
  18. Jack McCoy
  19. Ron Gautsche
  20. Richard Petty
  21. John Soares, Jr.
  22. Frank James
  23. Ron Grable
  24. Dick Guldstrad
  25. Jimmy Insolo
  26. Bill Champion
  27. Bob Kauf
  28. Paul Dorrity
  29. Jerry Oliver
  30. Frank Warren
  31. Mike Pittelkow
  32. Ray Johnstone
  33. Don Noel
  34. Glenn Francis
  35. David Pearson
  36. Joe Clark
  37. Harry Schilling
  38. Roy Collins
  39. Ivan Baldwin
  40. Pat Fay

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

  • 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
  1. "1971 Motor Trend 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  2. "1971 Motor Trend 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  3. "Summary of the 1971 Motor Trend 500". Muscle Car Films. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  4. "Notable crew chiefs". Race Database. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  5. "Ray Elder's second victory". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
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