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Wikipedia / 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 .

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 and Chevrolet cut back on factory support for the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series 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. (Pittelkow #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 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 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 and Dale Inman 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

  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 Guldstrand

  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:

  • 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 retired with transmission issues.

  • Lap 25: Richard Petty took over the lead from David Pearson.

  • Lap 36: Ray Johnstone had a race ending crash.

  • Lap 38: Clutch problems ended Mike Pittelkow's day on the track.

  • Lap 40: Frank Warren retired due to transmission issues.

  • Lap 56: Bob Kauf retired from the race due to transmission issues.

  • Lap 58: Bill Champion retired with transmission issues.

  • Lap 76: Dick Guldstrand retired due to a frame problems.

  • Lap 84: Ray Elder took over the lead from Richard Petty.

  • Lap 97: Frank James retired due to transmission problems.

  • 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 retired due to ignition trouble.

  • Lap 157: G.T. Tallas retired due to engine trouble.

  • 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